Florida is renowned for having the second-largest coastline in the United States, ranking just behind Alaska with a coastline length of nearly 1350mi.
Several beaches and restaurants along Florida’s Gulf Coast and some lesser-known spectacular beaches such as Casino Beach and Hollywood Beach Broadwalk.
It is an all-year traveling destination largely from the east coast, mainly for its spectacular beaches. Florida is largely appealing for its water bodies, beaches, soft sands, and warm sunny weather for a perfect tan. The contrast between family-friendly and party-focused beaches in Florida serves to attract different types of tourists.
Florida offers a unique environment for fellow tourists, ranging from gorgeous boardwalks amid palm tree-lined streets to wildlife encounters, hatching sea turtle populations, and dolphins playing offshore.
Enjoy and relax at some of Florida’s greatest beaches. Swim in its enthralling turquoise sea, or make sandcastles with your child, and take in the breathtaking sunset.
Let’s explore a few of the best beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast to enjoy during your family holiday or a vacation with your friends.
Family-Friendly Beaches
1. Panama City Beach
Based on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in northern Florida, Panama City has 27 long miles of beautiful beaches.
Panama City contains one of many first-rate beaches throughout the United States of America.
Activities
Panama City Beach is one of the best beaches in Florida, where you can enjoy different types of water sports activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, jetskiing, and boat rentals, paddle boarding, and fishing charters.
You can also take a boat tour around Shell Island and St Andrews state park.
There are several sites and theme parks near Panama city beach for families to enjoy. Some of them are Gulf World Marine Park, Shipwreck Island waterpark, Zooworld Zoological Conservatory, and Coconut Creek Family Fun Park. Panama city beach is one of the best beaches in Florida.
2. Siesta Beach
Siesta Key beach is settled close to the shimmering Gulf of Mexico. Siesta Beach has been awarded as the best beaches in Florida and the United States. This charming yet unorthodox, 8-mile long stretched-out island provides shopping centres, resorts, dining, and amazing nightlife.
Activities
Siesta Key provides some unique activities, such as the Siesta Key drum circle. It is a great fun activity for a late Sunday afternoon.
Here, you can also go on fun boat tours and have a relaxing spa experience. Parasailing over the beautiful Florida beach is an activity that is not to be missed.
Beaches for Sporting Activities
3 Miami Beach
Miami Beach is an island city located in South Florida, connected to mainland Miami via bridges. Often called Mid-beach, it is home to most of the luxurious hotels in Miami.
Miami is known for its white sandy beaches stretching along the coast, as well as the palm-lined Lummus Park and South Pointe Park.
Activities
There are a lot of water sports activities to enjoy here in Miami Beach. Some of them are speed boating, sightseeing, paddleboarding, and snorkeling. You can also try scuba diving, jetskiing, surfing, and paragliding. It ranks with some of the best beaches in Florida.
4 Fort Lauderdale Beach
The beach of Fort Lauderdale is the main tourist spot for most travelers in Fort Lauderdale. The city of Fort Lauderdale has more than seven miles of crystal beaches. It gives visitors different ways to relax and get comfortable.
The coastline of Fort Lauderdale is packed with all kinds of shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, and several entertainment spots.
Activities
In Fort Lauderdale, travelers can participate in various water sports activities such as boating, windsurfing, jetskiing, and snorkeling. If relaxation is what you crave, simply sit back with your bathing suit and sunscreen and enjoy the gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Armed lifeguard forces heavily guard Fort Lauderdale’s beach. The beach is regarded as one of the safest and most pristine best beaches in Florida.
5. Fort Myers Beach
Fort Myers has a beautiful beach that lies along the waters of Estero Island. The island is connected by bridges to the mainland. It’s popular among all the beaches in Florida and it is known for dolphin-watching entertainment.
The delicate sand extends for several miles, but the best place to be at Fort Myers Beach is at the fishing pier nearby, where some visitors can be seen fishing or enjoying different delicacies.
Activities
Visitors can be seen fishing or sitting below the umbrellas, playing beach volleyball on the warm sand, enjoying the cool breeze coming from the ocean.
If you love watersports, then you should try jet skiing, canoeing, kayaking, or paddleboarding. You can also enjoy boat tours and banana boat rides.
Pet-Friendly Beaches
6. Pensacola Beach
Situated in northwest Florida, Pensacola Beach is just a short drive from the coast of mainland Florida. The city of Pensacola Beach generates a great holiday point.
One of the best things about Pensacola beach is that pets are allowed at some of the allocated beaches, such as Dog Park West and Pensacola Beach East. It’s a major relief for pet owners who want their pets to enjoy the beach as much as they do.
Activities
There are a lot of fun activities to experience here at Pensacola Beach, such as chase-n-fins, condor sailing adventures, a visit to the Fort Pickens area, jolly sailing and dolphin cruises, hot spots, fishing charters, key sailing, and radical rides.
You can also enjoy paddleboarding and kayaking with your four-legged friend. Just don’t go too far into the water.
Whatever style you may crave, just relax under the hot sun on the quiet shores of Pensacola beach’s leaf-green coastline. Everything is available with less travel and less crowded. It is one of the best Florida beaches.
Some of the Best Beaches and Islands in Florida
7. Santa Rosa Beach
Santa Rosa is one of the largest and most spacious beaches in all of Florida, located in South Walton county.
Santa Rosa gives the best luxury experience with great beach houses. The beach is known for its scenic beauty, white sand beaches, and turquoise water. The beach community provides the best of everything so that you can enjoy your visit to this tropical paradise.
Activities
There are a lot of fun activities to be experienced, such as standup paddleboarding, hiking on nature trails, and fishing charter tours.
If you are a party person, there are several bars, clubs, and pub tours to enjoy here.
Several other adventure activities include horseback riding, beach bonfires, bike tours, and boat tours.
8. Cocoa Beach
Cocoa Beach in Florida doesn’t have fancy buildings or traffic-jammed roads. It’s a quiet and calm town. Its beauty depends on what it provides naturally.
It is an hour’s drive from the theme park capital of the state towards the nearest beach. Cocoa Beach is a well-liked day trip for families and friends. You can stay at one of Orlando’s top-class resorts.
One of the least expensive vacation spots for most of the beaches in Florida, there is never any lack of exciting things to do and see in and around the white sands of Cocoa Beach. You can also get to enjoy some of the fun activities.
Activities
To experience Cocoa Beach town to the full extent, one can try to visit Lori Wilson Park, Cocoa Beach pier, and Rikki Tikki tavern.
If kids want to enjoy their day here, then they should visit Cocoa Beach skate park, surfside playhouse, and the aquatic center.
Enjoy some great water sports activities such as kayaking tours. Check out the neighborhood with electric bike group tours.
9. Venice Beach
Venice is located 23 miles south of Sarasota in Southwest Florida. Venice Beach is well-known for its offshore coral reef and Caspersen Beach, where smaller prehistoric shark teeth are often found on fine-sand beaches. This is one of the best beaches in Florida.
Fishing is a very famous activity on Venice Pier with an amazing view of the Atlantic ocean. Several beach commodities are also available. It also has a great picnic spot with several picnic tables.
Venice Beach is also a famous family beach, among the most popular beaches in Florida. The white sands and the public fishing lane built on the beach are great places to walk across the turquoise water. Venice presents one of the best beaches in Florida.
Activities
Some great activities to experience are kayaking around the canals of Venice and fishing.
During your time in Venice, you can check out downtown Venice, which has a lot of prehistoric buildings and the iconic Venetian Waterway Park.
10. Sanibel Beach
Sanibel is a special, narrow barrier island with an east-west adaptation. This east-west selection has helped Sanibel earn its fame as one of the Shell island’s best, so hit the white sand on the beach with a bucket and shovel and roam around the beach at low tide to peruse the ocean’s reward of conch, cockles, and scallop armor.
Some of the great places to visit in Sanibel island are J.N’Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Bowman’s beach, the Bailey Mathews National Shell Museum, Sanibel Causeway, and Sanibel Island Lighthouse.
Activities
Some of the best activities are sunset sails, eco sails, and fishing tours.
If you love dolphins, the beach community has dolphin sighting services. Several watersport activities, such as surfing on Bowman’s beach and several kayaking adventures, are also available.
11. South Beach
Located on the southern tip of Florida, South beach is present in the locality of Miami near Miami Beach. The area fairly sparkles with nightlife.
It’s stylish and eccentric, and it is just a fun place to be. The scene and aura of the place are exciting yet relaxing. It is one of the best Florida beaches.
The exciting places to visit on the South beach are Deco Plage, Everglades National Park, and several pubs and bars.
Activities
South Beach is known to provide some of the best water sports activities to experience in Florida, such as airboats, snorkeling, and boat rowing.
If you truly want to explore the beach neighborhood, then you can find segway tours, South beach cultural food tours, and walking tours.
12. Clearwater Beach
Clearwater Beach in Florida is the northernmost expanded barrier island through the Tampa Bay Beaches. Different from other island communities, Clearwater beach is a member of the City of Clearwater.
Today, beach lovers get attracted from all over the world to chill and relax at Clearwater beach. Several resorts, attractions, recreation, restaurants, and shops are also available.
Awards and Recognition
Regarded as one of the best beaches in Florida, Clearwater Beach sparkles with flawless white sand beaches and its tempting warm waters.
Apart from the beaches, there is Clearwater Beach’s tempting small-town aura. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is one of the coolest places in the region.
Activities
Some activities to enjoy your time at Clearwater Beach are sunset cruises, lunch cruises, whale watching, parks, and fishing at the pier. The Helicopter tour is an absolute treat for the eyes.
If you like adventure, then you should try water sports like snorkeling, jet skiing, and boating on one of the best beaches in Florida.
13. St Augustine Beach
Located on Florida’s East Coast, St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. It puts forward many things to observe. You can get to learn historical facts about America’s oldest city.
This place has great restaurants to fill your tummy. The town of St Augustine is filled with historical sites. The area has a forty-mile-long coastline. It’s a gorgeous small beach town.
St. Augustine is one of the best beaches in Florida, and it hosts many tourist attractions, such as military forts, old-age hotels, lighthouses, scenic hiking trails, and museums.
Activities
Some of the best things to do in St Augustine are cultural and historical tours.
If you like haunted places, then you should take a ghost and vampire tour.
Enjoy several activities such as sunset cruise, Matanzas river kayaking, wildlife watching or day cruising. The famous old town cycle cruise is also available. You can also visit the gorgeous Crescent beach one of the best beaches in Florida.
14. Turtle Beach
The beach was named for its famous sea turtle nests. It is illegal to disturb the turtles or touch their nests while they are depositing their eggs.
Green turtles, Loggerhead turtles, Leatherback turtles, and other sea turtles are frequent on these beaches. Lifeguards are on duty at Sea beach for swimmers and surfers, and also to keep an eye on sea turtles.
The beach is a great picnic destination with several picnic pavilions, picnic shelters, grills, park benches, outdoor showers, restrooms, a horseshoe pit, and free parking. The beach ranks as one of the best beaches in Florida.
Activities
There are a lot of activities to enjoy here, some of them are boat ramp, canoe launch, fishing, playground for kids and wildlife/bird watching.
Secluded Beaches
15. George Island State Park
George Island State Park is similar to most Florida state parks. St. George Island is completely composed and underdeveloped, but it has a beautiful beach.
It’s also a barrier island. The nine-mile-long extent of white sand pristine beaches promotes an incredible, untouched location for exploring and enjoying.
Great places to visit here are Bob Sikes Cut, Sea Oats art gallery, Pelican Reef, and the amazing Saint George island lighthouse. The beach is one of the best beaches in Florida.
Activities
It’s a small island, but some activities can make your visit here memorable, such as fishing, camping, kayaking, and biking.
For nature enthusiasts, you can go hiking on some of the gorgeous hiking trails alongside the best beaches in Florida state.
16. Caladesi Island State Park
I can promise you that true Florida can be experienced right here on this island, located just north of clear water between the gulf islands national seashore.
You can visit here via the Caladesi Island ferry, the ferry runs up and down every day from Honeymoon Island State Park.
Several dolphins are often spotted near the Caladesi island’s seashore. Just a short walk, you can enjoy the local seafood, you can visit an old cafe that goes by the name of the Old Bay Cafe near Dunedin fish market, the cafe has a gorgeous view of Caladesi Island.
Activities
Things to experience are expressday tours, deep-sea fishing tours, jet ski rentals, and escape thrill. Enjoy these activities on one of the best beaches in Florida.
17. Canaveral National Seashore
This barrier island provides an amazing sanctuary-type vibe for both wildlife and vegetation. Situated along the Gulf of Mexico, the island provides a long extension of fine white quartz sand. It’s a wide-open, underdeveloped town. It’s one of the best Florida beaches. It stretches a long way of sand dunes along the coast.
Some great places to visit here are Castle Windy Trail, Apollo Beach, and Mosquito Lagoon.
Activities
One can experience, the North Brevard Historical Museum, Titusville Playhouse for kids, Manatee observation deck, American Space Museum.
Check out the famous Spacewalk of Fame, and experience the neighbourhood with several bike tours or take a visit to the beautiful sand point park. No wonder this is on of the famous beaches in Florida.
Famous Islands With Beautiful Beaches
18. Fernandina Beach
Fernandina beach is located on the northern part of Florida’s Atlantic coast side, it is a gorgeous destination, an amazing place to explore and enjoy. A great downtown atmosphere with local shops, cafes, and restaurants. The white sands beach comes on the list with some of the best Florida beaches.
Some great spots and parks to explore are Downtown Fernandina, Peters Point Beachfront Park, Egans Creek Park, Burney Park, and the famous Goffinsville Park is worth a visit.
Activities
Things to experience here are kayak eco-tour, an eight-flags road tour, and a private sail. Check out the Amelia Island Lighthouse. Kids can also enjoy the Pirate Playground.
19. Bahia Honda State Park
Historically known as “deep bay” named by the Spanish explorers. This eye-shattering, pristine white sandy beach is between the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The park has several picnic spots for travellers, the park is just for everyone and it’s quite amazing.
The great places worth visiting here are, the Old Seven-Mile Bridge, the National Key Deer Refuge, Blue Hole, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Boondocks Miniature Golf, Coconut Bar, and the Liquor Center.
Activities
Some of the best outdoor adventures one can enjoy are boat tours and tarpon trips.
The kayak adventures provided here are worth every penny. The beach community here also provides several great fishing tours. Do visit these beautiful beaches in Florida.
20. Naples Beach
It is often known by the name “Paradise Coast”. This area in southwest Florida provides some of the most pristine, gorgeous turquoise water beaches in the state. There are various locations on the islands of Naples where you can enjoy the quiet vibe and relax under the warm sun.
Some of the best beaches to visit in Naples are Bonita Beach, Barefoot Beach Preserve, Del Wiggins Pass State Park, and Vanderbilt Beach. These are some pristine and beautiful beaches in Florida.
The Historic Naples Pier is a very famous spot that you don’t want to miss.
Activities
Some activities to enjoy and have fun are day cruising, sailing, sunset cruises, whale watching, and craig tours.
You can have some fun time in the water by doing paddle boarding and kayaking.
Enjoy Naples with electric moped tours, segway tours, and trike tours.
21. Daytona Beach
The famous Daytona Beach is famous for its renowned wide beaches and smooth, hard-packed sands. The beautiful Atlantic pulls lots of visitors each year. The beaches here provide the perfect environment for jogging and morning exercises. The beach has a vibrant atmosphere that attracts families and couples alike.
Some great places to visit in the Daytona area are the Daytona Beach boardwalk and pier, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, the Daytona Lagoon, you can also enjoy fresh oysters on the seafront or take a visit to the Daytona Beach Bandshell.
Activities
There are several activities to enjoy during your visit to Daytona. Some of them are paddleboarding and kayaking. Private Daytona Beach day trips are quite an experience. You can also go sailing in the shimmering Atlantic or take a fishing trip. The beach is one of the best beaches in Florida.
22. Key West
Key West is an island city located in the Florida Keys, the beach is known to be just four miles long. Surrounded by a pristine tropical atmosphere and scenic nature. The city is famous for its picture-perfect beauty and its great nightlife.
Some of the top places to visit in Key West are the Dry Tortugas National Park, the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, Mallory Square, and Duval Street.
Activities
Key West presents some of the unique activities to experience some of them are glass-bottom boat tours and whale watching. Some great water sport can be experienced, such as snorkelling, standup paddleboarding, kayaking, and jetskiing.
Taste some mouth-watering dishes on dinner cruises, sunset cruises, and day cruises.
23. Amelia Island
The island is a part of the group of Atlantic narrow barrier islands along the Georgia border. The town here is worth giving a shot to experience its old historical architecture.
Activities
This beautiful island beach invites visitors to enjoy breathtaking experiences such as deep-sea fishing, snorkelling, scuba diving, and surfing. The beach offers a lot and easily ranks among some of the best beaches in Florida.
Explore Amelia island’s local wildlife and mouth-watering local food tours.
24. Grayton Beach State Park
Grayton Beach state park is one of the most famous gulf coast beaches in Florida, with white sand dunes stretched across the coast. This gulf coast beach is a gorgeous, scenic destination and a must-visit beach in Florida.
The beach has received much appreciation for its natural beauty. Most of the area of the island is conserved to create and preserve the state park forest and many different beach parks.
Activities
Different activities to experience in this tropical heaven are snorkeling, the Underwater Museum of Art is something that should be on your to-do list. Experience boat charters, fish, visit the Fusion Art Glass Gallery, and relax in the amazing spas. The beach ranks with some of the best beaches in Florida.
25. Jupiter Island
Jupiter Island also belongs to the group of narrow barrier islands. The town belongs on the list of Florida’s treasure coast. The beach on the island is one of the top tourist destinations due to its natural beauty and pristine, calm water that attracts many travelers from around the world. It is one of the best beaches in Florida.
Activities
The island community provides several watersport activities such as swimming, standup paddleboarding, surfing is quite famous here.
Closing Thoughts
Miles of coastline, it can be difficult to find the perfect white sand beach in this beautiful sunshine state. If you’re looking for the best Florida beaches for families, then this list can help you find some of the best beaches in Florida.
