What is the closest beach to The Villages?
The Villages is located in Central Florida, equal distanced to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Which beaches are the closest and how long does it take to get there? Also, there are some tips for making the most of your beach day
The closest beach, by distance, is Daytona Beach. Daytona is on the Atlantic side and is 64 miles from The Villages. It is an hour and 30 minute drive. All the beaches discussed in this blog post have public parking, beach chairs for rent, and public restrooms. Also on the Atlantic is Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach is 110 miles from The Villages. It only takes one hour and 45 minutes to get there because it's all on four lane highways. The drive takes you on the turnpike, so be sure to have your Sun Pass! if you need more information about Sun Pass, see my other blog post about toll roads near The Villages.
The Gulf coast beaches have finer sand and clearer, emerald water, but they are a bit further away from The Villages. Clearwater Beach, the beach pictured here, is 104 miles away and it takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there. No tolls are required to get to Clearwater Beach. Another amazing Gulf coast beach is Siesta Key Beach. South of Tampa, Siesta Key is 140 miles away and takes just over two hours to get there. The beach is amazing, the parking lot is huge, and the restrooms, showers, and snack bar facilities are all newly constructed.
Once you decide which beach you want to go to, here are some tips to make your trip more enjoyable. First, avoid the beach if there is an event going on, like avoiding Daytona Beach during the week of the Daytona 500 or Daytona bike week. Next, leave early in the day to get to the parking lot before everyone else arrives. You don't want to spend an hour driving around trying to find parking. All parking meters take credit cards as do the companies who rent beach chairs so don't take much cash with you. Last, you can always take your own chairs and umbrellas but most Florida beaches don't allow dogs or alcohol. Having many beaches within a two-hour drive of The Villages is such a great perk to living here. We have easy access to many of the most beautiful beaches in the country. But don't forget your sunscreen! Florida sun REALLY is intense!
Our favorite beach is Siesta Key but Clearwater Beach is a close second! We love the Gulf side. Sometimes, though, if there is a red-tide bloom on the Gulf side, we will go to the Atlantic Beaches. We do have our own beach chairs and umbrella to cut down on the cost of renting chairs and umbrellas at the beach. Costs range from $40-$60 per day for 2 chairs and an umbrella. But, you don't have to lug them from your car and it is nice that someone else has to dig the hole for the umbrella. Parking will run around $15-25 per day. All four beaches I mentioned allow you to bring your own cooler and food, however, each of them have restaurants or snack bars within walking distance. I wish we would go more often, but you will discover that there is SO much going on in The Villages and in the surrounding area that finding a day to go to the beach can be hard to come by!