Your Favorite Beach in the US?

I haven't been to any outside the West Coast...but *my* beach, where I spent all my days growing up is Cherry Beach, in Long Beach, Ca. Love it!

I have heard that Texas has great beaches?

Now I haven't been many places or beaches, but if you want my personal favorite, Cannon Beach, Oregon. I love it there. Lots to do and see.

Wherever you choose have fun! :)

For starters, HOU is a great area to fly out from due to you relative distance to the west and east coast. That is one reason we love the DFW area... You can be on either coast in a reasonable amount of time.

Southwest has some great deals going on now as well!!!

Now to your question... My favorite US beaches..

Maui.. Kaanapoli and Kapula Bay

Florida... We LOVE ....

San Destin as a family place to go. It is just outside of Destin, close to the shopping, etc. We stay at the Hilton SanDestin Golf Resprt and Spa and LOVE it. It is in a gated area, safe environment for children as well. Lots to do. Love the sugary beach

Marco Island... We enjoyed the Hilton Resort there as well. Lovely beaches and a lot of fun. Smaller area for visiting but fun. We Flew into Ft. lauderdale and drove across Alligator Alley to Naples and Marco Island.

Ft. Lauderdale is a good beach. We liked the Marriott resort there.

We just got back from St Pete.. the Don CeSar Resort. Beautiful beach and loved it. This place does have a lot of corporate events (the reason we were there) so you might not like it as much because of that.

South Beach is one of my favorite but it is NOT family friendly. We like the Loews Resort on Collins Ave up by the Lincoln Ave shopping area. Beautiful resort.

We've also stayed at the Hilton Bentley... very nice but on the far end of the beach and we ended up walking a lot of grabbing a cab. The Bentley is featured on the Kartrashian Miami show because it is where they stayed.

California...
We visited in LA and enjoyed the Santa Monica pier, etc. Fun.

All of these places are within a 2-3 hr flight from HOU or Bush .

Have fun!!

I am not a huge beach person, but I really loved the beaches of Coronado Island (off the coast of San Diego). I bet the flight would be about 2-2.5 hrs from HOU.

One plus is that you have access to all of San Diego's attractions as well: the zoo, Sea World, LEGO Land, Old Town, etc. We'll be making our 3rd trip to San Diego this August and I can't wait to hit that Coronado beach.

I've been to Gulf Shores, Alabama, Panama City Beach, FL, and Destin, FL. Out of those, I LOVED Gulf Shores. We drove from DFW. I think it's only 8 hours driving from Houston, so it would a short flight and not a bad drive.

I agree with KM - Marco Island, Naples, Sanibel or Captiva Island - all in SW Florida. Now is the low season (all of the snow birds have left) so I bet you can get a great airfare and hotel price.

I highly recommend Naples. It's beautiful. There are lots of water and non-water activities to do. You can walk and eat on 5th Ave. The kids will LOVE the Naples Zoo. There is a water park that is awesome for their ages. And the beaches are so nice. The hotels are great at any proce. I like the Residence Inn or Staybridge cause there is breakfast - then out we go to the beach. If you want to spend some cash, try the Waldorf or Naples Beach Hotel. Another fun thing to do is Cruise Naples. They have nice boats (2 hour ride) or a 20 person boat that spins around and gets you wet (so much fun - for kids, too).

Also, consider the Tampa area - there is a lot to do up there for families.

Have fun!!!

Marco island, we stayed at the Marriott lots of kids activities it was beautiful!!

Kailua Beach, Hawaii. Nothing else compares in my opinion.

The water in most (I think all) of California is really cold. I am used to it, but if I was to travel to a beach with my kids (they are close to your kids' age) i would want the water to be warm. Cancun is super nice (i have not been to Mexico with kids though). Hawaii is closer for me than Florida, so I would pick Hawaii. If Florida is easier for you from Texas, my friend was just talking about Sarasota Beach and how amazing it is.

I love my home state and all the beaches around (Santa Cruz, Carmel, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara. Oxnard Embassy Suites Mandalay Bay is beautiful and priced well. San Diego (Mission Bay) is close to Sea World. Some of the hotels around Mission Bay have a shuttle to Sea World San Diego.

Short flight from Houston? Southern California....La Jolla (San Diego) up to Zuma Beach....(Los Angeles).

East Coast beaches are okay. I don't like the grass growing out of the sand....I've NOT been to Florida so I cannot comment on Florida beaches.

If you want my favorite beach in the United States? Barbers Point, Hawaii.

Have fun!

South Padre. You can drive and save costs and take more supplies with you.

Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Florida !

From your location, CA or FL would make the most sense and I would vote against CA. Sure, it's beautiful but for a few days, the water is too cold to swim in even in summer (for the most part). I'd go with one of these great FL recs.

Lovers Key in Ft. Meyers Beach is beautiful...white sand, warm clear water...heaven. We did a day there and a day in Sanibel/Captiva during a weekend getaway a few years ago.

The Gulf coast of Florida has extremely warm water and is very kid/family friendly. We go to Fort Myers beach a lot but have also been to Siesta Key and Sarasota. If you can afford it, the Bahamas are great too if you choose a family friendly resort, however...with young kids, the absence of jelly fish and undertow (for the most part) on the Gulf Coast might make your trip to the beach a little less stressful. lol

Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys . . . I also like the beach in Boca Raton, FL (very near where I live).

The Oregon Coast is very awsome but it can be very cold. So depending of if you want a cold or warm beach would determin where I would say to go. If you don't care the Oregon coast. I grew up in Pacific City area which is right off 101 in Oregon. 2 hours south of Portland and those beaches are amazing!!!! If you want a warm on the east coast of nice.

Lake Tahoe, for us. We live about 40 mins. from there, and water is beautiful, clean and with all the pine trees and welcoming people, it's great! However, since it is in the mountains, don't go before oh... mid June or so because the water is primarily from melted snow (brrrrrrr). Anyway, there are hotels, cabins, and camping areas everywhere. :) Also, there are water craft to rent and boat tours as well.

Lumahai Beach, Kauai
Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach, CA

Oh we loved Cocoa Beach FL and also Santa Barbara CA! Absolutely breath taking!

I just got back from Mexico Beach, Florida. It's absolutely amazing - white sand, quiet beaches, 1.5 hour flight from Houston into Panama City. We found a condo right on the beach on VRBO.com.

Cape Sandblast, Florida. NO high rises or hotels. Lots of wildlife. We saw dolphins, sting rays,sea turtles nesting and sharks. It is amazing. Beautiful, secluded, but not too too far from civilization. We loved it.