If you feel a bit tired of visiting these numerous theme parks, take a day off, drive to the ocean coast. Florida is home to many famous beaches where you can enjoy sun, sand, waves and the ocean air. The beaches listed below can be reached from Orlando. Beach access is free for byciclists and pedestrians, but in the most cases you have to pay for car parking. East Coast

As a rule, the water here is a bit cooler than at the other beaches, but here you can find the best waves. It's a good place to go surfing. The waves generally get bigger the further north you go.

Cocoa Beach is the closest beach to Orlando - about 45 minutes drive. Visitors of Cocoa Beach have access to picnic pavillions, grills, showers and a bathhouse. The Cocoa Beach Pier offers four restaurants, souvenir shop and live entertainment.

Daytona Beach (1 hour drive from Orlando) is a wide, flat beach where you can drive your car onto the sand. Facilities: picnic tables, restrooms and showers. Daytona is home of "Race Week" in February and "Bike Week" in March.

South of Daytona, New Smirna Beach is also wide and flat with vehicle access, but less crowded than Daytona (1.25 hour drive). Smyrna Dunes Park (at the north end of the beach) is a great spot for surfing, with swells consistently reaching two feet higher than elsewhere.

The beaches of West Coast offer warm, calm seas, and considered very safety for swimmers. Sunsets are marvelous here, so try to stay late and enjoy watching them. The most popular beaches, famous for their white sand and resort amenities, are St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Both are about 2 hour drive from Orlando.

The South East beaches of Florida are for those who prefer beaches with more metropolitan spirit. All they stays quite far from Orlando - the closest one, Palm Beach is 3 hours drive. The famous Miami Beach, a hotspot for celebrities, is located about 4,5 hour drive from Orlando.