Miles of white sugary sands. Balmy turquoise waters. Dolphins flipping in and out of the waves.
Throw in exceptional seafood too, and that’s what you can expect on the beach in Orlando. Beyond Orlando’s full-throttle theme parks, this down-to-earth city is fringed with exceptional beaches. These are the best of them.
What to expect in Orlando
It’s not just theme parks
You’ve clocked up thousands of steps and rattled every bone in your body in Orlando’s theme parks. The perfect antidote? A lazy, hazy trip to the beach. And there’s a whole host of them, unravelling along Orlando’s coastline that tumbles into the Atlantic on the eastern side and the balmy Gulf of Mexico to the west. Long and wild and sugary soft where you can pause to watch sandpipers pick their way through the shallows and loitering crabs escape the gaze of pelicans flying overhead. Catch waves, eat fish tacos, and dig your toes in the sand.
Vitamin Sea
The best beaches in Orlando
Thought Orlando was all Disney and delirious theme park rides? Think again. Walk along the boardwalks covering the back of its beaches and you’ll reach the shoreline, carefully stepping over the shells and seaweed that have washed up onto the sands with the briny scent of salt hanging in the air. Dig your heels in here before flopping on your towel, crushing the sand like confetti in your palm and staring at the hazy murmur of the sea or the rotating cast of characters gathering around the picnic tables.
There’s Cocoa Beach with its popular pier and mellow waves. Beautifully turquoise seas rolling onto Clearwater Beach backed by lively seafood joints. Paddleboards, kayaks and watersports galore at Siesta Key. Dizzying fairground rides and a pier filled with seaside nostalgia at Daytona Beach. But for something quieter – for a beach of raw-unadulterated nature – strike out a little further to Anna Maria Island for beaches dripping in all the allure of the Caribbean. But wherever you end up – salt on your skin, sand squelching below your feet, sun tingling your face – all you need is a snorkel and sunscreen.
Orlando’s top eight beaches
From proper bucket-and-spade territory with butt-crunching fairground rides to serene stretches of sand where dolphins appear through the heat haze, check out these fantastic beaches.
Cocoa Beach
Pure perfection
Melbourne International Airport: 22 miles.
The 800-ft pier is the centre of the action on this beach, strung with souvenir shops, and there are rods to hire for the day. Hire a board and head into the ocean or paddle out in a kayak where you might just spot dolphins slicing through waves like butter as you near the mangroves. And when you’ve pulled yourself out of the water, order the fish tacos and a pina colada.
Daytona Beach
One for the kids
Daytona International Airport: 3 miles.
Stare through the heat haze in either direction on this beach and the ribbons of golden sand seem to stretch on for miles on end. It’s one for the kids with a bright and lively boardwalk lined with ice cream shops, dazzling arcades, fairground rides and trashy tattoo shops. And that’s before you’ve wandered over to the pier, built in 1925 and pounded by the Atlantic ever since.
New Smyrna Beach
For those in the know
Daytona International Airport: 19 miles.
An under-the-radar spot just an hour’s drive from Orlando with a handful of breezy sunlit restaurants dishing up seafood with a side of Florida cool. It’s got balmy gin-clear seas and sugary soft sands where locals hang out looking out for dolphins breaching the water or snowy egrets skimming the shoreline at first light.
Canaveral National Seashore
Wild and beautiful
Melbourne International Airport: 58 miles.
If you’re seeking something wild and beautiful, look to this undeveloped stretch of beach rolling out for 24 miles. Surfers hang out in the waves off Playalinda Beach, where loggerhead and green turtles come to nest, and naked bathers stretch out in the nudist section. Squint hard enough and you might even spot rocket launches from Cape Canaveral.
Clearwater Beach
Clearwater
St Petersburg Airport: 12 miles.
So-named because of the boundless sapphire waters breaking onto the sand, this is a beach for shell scooping in the shallows, burying your toes in the sand, slipping on a snorkel and gazing back to shore. Feeling hungry? Bring a sunset picnic or even better, book a table in one of the waterside kitchens rustling up fresh oysters and just-caught tuna nachos.
St. Pete Beach
Soft sands and turquoise waters
St Petersburg Airport: 13 miles.
Just a few sandy miles south of Clearwater, St Pete Beach is all soft white sands, drooping palms and turquoise waters but with more of a family vibe swirling about the place. Beach bums, curly-haired surf dudes, beardy hipsters and young tots all descend here. Float in the water, starfish in the sand, and wind past the galleries, bars and cafes lining the oceanfront.
Siesta Key Beach
Outrageously pretty
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport: 10 miles.
Walk along this popular beach, gazing out across the turquoise ocean, and you’ll feel the sand crush between your toes like confetti. It’s all outrageously pretty and full of life, whether you want to paddleboard, kayak, jet ski or cycle along its bike paths. Plus, there are volleyball courts and snack joints when your stomach starts rumbling.
Anna Maria Island
Worth the trip
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport: 13.5 miles.
It takes a little more effort to strike out to this island, sitting 137 miles west of Orlando. But when you roll out your towel over bone-white sands on a beach that could easily pass for the Caribbean, you’ll only feel smug you made the journey. Skirting a small, dozing town, enjoy slow mornings grabbing coffee and sunset walks on the sugar-fine sand.
Top tips:
The best time to visit is during May with temperatures around 24C.
Always swim in designated areas and obey warnings from lifeguards.
Stay well away from turtles. Turtle nesting and hatching season, from 1 March to 31 October.
For an enviable oceanside trip, Orlando is fringed with eye-wateringly pretty beaches. All sugar-soft sand and turquoise waters. Take this as your sign to book your Orlando escape.
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