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The Best Florida BeachesCaladesi Island State ParkGrayton Beach State Park

Photos: Mickey Luigi Logitmark / CC0 · Pinellas County / CC BY 2.0 · Larry D. Moore / CC BY 4.0

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The Best Florida Beaches

Start here if you haven't picked a coast yet. The wild beaches and the busy ones are mixed together on purpose; the separate Gulf and Atlantic lists split them out once you know which you want.

20 places · Florida

Must-see
BeachesLakes & rivers
Siesta Key BeachMust-see
Lifeguards seven days a week

Siesta Key Beach

The Gulf stays calm and shallow off the quartz sand, easy water for a family swim.

Plan your visit
Sarasota, FL Tampa Bay
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Grayton Beach State ParkMust-see
The quiet end of 30A

Grayton Beach State Park

Western Lake pools right behind the dunes and breaks through to the Gulf after a hard rain. Five dollars gets a car in.

Plan your visit
Santa Rosa Beach, FL Panhandle
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South BeachMust-see
Candy-colored lifeguard towers

South Beach

It's free, and it's the busiest beach in Florida. Ocean Drive's cafes and neon are a block off the sand.

Plan your visit
Miami Beach, FL Miami
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Bahia Honda State ParkMust-see
Pick a side of the key

Bahia Honda State Park

Calusa faces the calm Gulf side and Sandspur runs out toward the Atlantic, both over clear, shallow water.

Plan your visit
Big Pine Key, FL Florida Keys
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Dry Tortugas National ParkMust-see
Snorkel around Fort Jefferson

Dry Tortugas National Park

Almost 70 miles west of Key West, by ferry or seaplane only. The $15 park fee is already in the ferry fare.

Plan your visit
Key West, FL Florida Keys
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More to explore

Fort De Soto Park Beaches

Fort De Soto Park

Tierra Verde, FL · Tampa Bay

Dogs get a beach of their own, and ferries run out to Egmont Key and Shell Key.

Honeymoon Island State Park Beaches

Honeymoon Island State Park

Dunedin, FL · Tampa Bay

Walk the Osprey Trail through virgin slash pine, then catch the ferry to Caladesi.

Clearwater Beach Beaches

Clearwater Beach

Clearwater, FL · Tampa Bay

Park once and stay till dark. The free Sunsets at Pier 60 festival runs every evening.

Pensacola Beach Beaches

Pensacola Beach

Pensacola Beach, FL · Panhandle

In town it's an easy, lively beach day. Save the Gulf Islands shore for a wild one.

Fort Lauderdale Beach Beaches

Fort Lauderdale Beach

Fort Lauderdale, FL · MiamiFree

The sand is free and parking is $4 an hour. A1A's patio bars sit right across the street.

Cocoa Beach Beaches

Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach, FL · Space CoastFree

The surf is gentle and rideable, and the 800-foot pier has tiki bars and live music.

Bowman's Beach Beaches

Bowman's Beach

Sanibel, FL · Southwest Florida

Go at low tide with a mesh bag. The shelling is some of the finest on the Gulf.

Naples Beach Beaches

Naples Beach

Naples, FL · Southwest Florida

At dusk the whole beach turns to watch the sun drop, and dolphins often work the surf.

Delray Beach Beaches

Delray Beach

Delray Beach, FL · Palm Beaches

An easy break for boogie boards and first-time surfers, five minutes from a downtown lunch.

Smathers Beach Beaches

Smathers Beach

Key West, FL · Florida KeysFree

A reef seven miles out breaks the swell, so the shallows stay calm enough to paddleboard.

More beaches in Florida

These sit in the same parts of the state as the list above.

All of Florida →
St. Pete Beach Beaches

St. Pete Beach

St. Pete Beach, FL · Tampa Bay

The Army bought the pink Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach for a hospital in 1942, and it didn't reopen as a resort until 1973. For restrooms and showers, use the county beach access…

Cayo Costa State Park Beaches

Cayo Costa State Park

Boca Grande, FL · Southwest Florida$

A 30-minute boat ride from McCarthy's Marina on Captiva Island puts you on Cayo Costa's nine miles of white-sand beach. It's day trips only, and the island has no drinking water…

Fort Myers Beach Beaches

Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers Beach, FL · Southwest Florida

The Gulf off Fort Myers Beach deepens slowly, with no sudden drop-offs or big waves, along all seven miles of Estero Island. Lynn Hall Memorial Park and Crescent Beach Family…

Panama City Beach Beaches

Panama City Beach

Panama City Beach, FL · Panhandle

Panama City Beach is public from end to end, with 96 access points along Front Beach Road and Thomas Drive. The Russell-Fields City Pier, next to Pier Park, runs more than 1,500…

Anclote Key Preserve State Park Beaches

Anclote Key Preserve State Park

Tarpon Springs, FL · Tampa Bay

The 1887 Anclote Keys Light, a 102-foot cast-iron tower, stands on the south end of Anclote Key, about three miles off Tarpon Springs and reachable only by boat. Tour boats leave…

Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore Beaches

Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore

Pensacola Beach, FL · Panhandle$

Geronimo was a prisoner at Fort Pickens in the 1880s, put to work for about a year and a half at the brick fort across the bay from downtown Pensacola. The Army forced enslaved…

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Cayo Costa, Caladesi, Anclote Key and St. Vincent Island have no road to them, so you go by ferry or your own boat. You can drive to the other five, and none of the nine has a high-rise on the beach. Pack water and shade either way.

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