The best beaches in Florida are found stretching the length of the peninsula’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts. With glam that competes with any luxury destinations in the world, top beaches in Florida that rival any other tropical havens on the planet, and a culture that is inviting to visitors, Florida beaches have become one of the top tourist destinations in the entire United States.
Laying on the best beaches in Florida, you will instantly be transported to another far-off exotic destination with the comforts of western amenities and beyond. And don’t even get us started on the to-die-for Florida beaches climate! For over a century, tourists have been flocking to dozens of Florida vacation spots and nice beaches in Florida because the industry has mounted itself as the cream of the crop when it comes to American beaches. Isn’t it about time you see for yourself?
The Florida coastline owns a majority of the best places to go in Florida with the best resorts in Florida to give you the ultimate getaway. But there are more things to do in Florida than relax at the beach — there are loads of museums, natural attractions, amusement parks, golf courses, and lots and lots of shopping to be done. A visit to sunny Florida vacation spots are an exciting adventure through and through with activities for everyone; For families, solo travelers, and retired travelers, Florida is for YOU!
However, if all you want is to escape to one of the best beaches in Florida for a week, keep reading! We’ve compiled a list of the best beaches in Florida (and even a few of the close-by best Bahamas beaches) to attract even the most far-distanced traveler. Here is your list of best Florida beaches in some of the most incredible Florida vacation spots.
Best Beaches in Florida Vacation Spots
1. Santa Rosa Beach, Grayton State Park
Where is it?
Located just up the street from one of the other famed Florida beaches (see #2), Santa Rosa Beach will take you less than an hour to get to from Panama City.
What to expect?
Grayton State Park (where the beach is located) is great for a list of leisurly activities. Besides the beach, it also has many great nature areas including walking paths, sand dunes, excellent bird watching areas, and more.
What’s there?
There are a few great bars — even some live music. Many of the lunch menus are basic so we advise packing a lunch for a picnic on the beach. If you stay for the sunset, the dinner menus at the same places get better!
2. Panama City Beach, St. Andrews State Park
Where is it?
Also in the northwest of Florida, this tiny beach town is known nation-wide and home to the best beaches in Florida! Some of the best stretches of beach in this town are located in St. Andrews State Park. It will cost you $8 upon park entrance which affords you parking all day.
What to expect?
St. Andrews State Park is a protected nature preserve which is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico with excellent hiking trails and fishing piers. It is one of two preserves nearby. There is excellent wreck-diving for scuba divers and even helicopter tours over some of the best places to go in Florida.
What’s there?
The area is actually pretty limited in terms of concession-style bites, but just a short skip to Front Street there are phenomenal restaurant choices as well as shops and other small music venues.
3. Clearwater Beach
Where is it?
Located just across the bay from Tampa, Clearwater beach is only about a half-hour car trip from the city.
What to expect?
The ultimate of nice beaches in Florida, Clearwater Beach is known for its long stretches of soft, white sand and wide best beaches in Florida and some calm Florida beach resorts. Tourists come for jet-skiing, parasailing, and stand-up paddleboarding in its calm Gulf waters.
What’s there?
Cyclists and rollerbladers of all kinds will pass you along a winding beachfront promenade full of seafood restaurants and cafes of any budget. After the sun goes down, Pier 60 hosts a nightly festival with street performers and local vendors.
4. Pass-a-Grille Beach, St Pete Beach
Where is it?
Pass-a-Grille Beach is located in St. Petersburg just across the bay from Tampa. It’s a few miles outside of the city so as to be a more calm experience than other best beaches in Florida.
What to expect?
Pass-a-Grille Beach is an unexpectedly quiet stretch of beach in St. Pete which is normally known for its more obnoxious beach and party-going. Many honeymooners make their way to Pass-a-Grille because of its laid-back atmosphere.
What’s there?
There are plenty of walk-up counter services and casual outdoor seating eateries located nearby. Whether you’re looking for seafood and wine or pizza and beer, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
5. Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Naples
Where is it?
Naples is about a two-hour car ride across the peninsula from Miami through Everglades National Park. This makes for an excellent day trip but, believe it or not, actually takes longer to get to than the Bahamas which have equivalent or greater beaches than the best beaches in Florida.
What to expect?
Many visitors come here for the plethora of seashells that wash up onto the shore. Snorkeling and kayaking can also be a fun activity for an otherwise low-key visit. Careful to stay in the well-laid area for safe swimming as anywhere in the non-designated swimming zones can get quite dangerous because of the rough currents..
What’s there?
Charcoal grills are laid out along the beach which makes picnicking the go-to for most beach-goers here. Make your lunch plans accordingly!
6. South Beach, Miami
Where is it?
Located on the coast of Miami, you don’t have to go far to reach this notorious beach. Among other best beaches in Florida, South Beach has probably gained the most recognition world-wide because of its proximity to Miami and for having some of the top Florida beach resorts.
What to expect?
It’s a big party on ‘SoBe’, as the locals refer to it. If you want to see or be seen, South Beach in Miami is the place to go. The beach is all about tanning and showing off your perfect beach bod. Of course, there are typical beach attractions such as jet skis and parasailing, but no one will pay attention to you from shore. All of the action happens in the sands of South Beach; one of the best places to go in Florida.
What’s there?
South Beach’s Art Deco district expands the length of one side of Ocean drive with a rowdy nightclub scene and uppity restaurants. All seemingly have outdoor seating with a view, so you won’t have to worry about missing out on the action. There’s truly an unlimited selection of foods, drinks, and party atmospheres to fit everyone’s fancy on South Beach.
Discover more things to do in Miami with our ultimate guide to Miami.
7. Daytona Beach
Where is it?
Less than an hour northeast of Orlando and ninety-minutes south of Jacksonville, Daytona Beach makes the perfect day trip for many Florida vacationers skipping around the best beaches in Florida.
What to expect?
Daytona Beach is a 23-mile-long white-sand beach with a wide-array of touristy activities and a decent enough surf to catch some waves. Many people spend a week or longer at one of the top beaches in Florida without running out of things to do.
What’s there?
Daytona Pier is loaded with places to eat and drink all the colorful beachy beverages your heart can desire. Its got seafood straight out of the Atlantic below and many other options for the more picky eaters of your family!
8. Fort Lauderdale Beach, Fort Lauderdale
Where is it?
Located just forty minutes north of Miami, Lauderdale Beach of Fort Lauderdale makes an excellent alternative to the crazy of South Beach for any beach-goers hoping for a more laid-back beaching option and some of the best Florida beach resorts.
What to expect?
Once devastated by Spring Break tourism, the Fort Lauderdale Beach has been turned into a much more tame, year-round, family-friendly places to go in Florida with some of the best resorts in Florida.
What’s there?
There are tons of bars that line the beach with food joints dotted within. The 23-mile-long stretch of golden beaches in Fort Lauderdale has an unprecedented selection of tourist activities, but the Fort Lauderdale Beach is perhaps the most-concentrated.
Learn more about the Venice of America with our ultimate guide to Fort Lauderdale.
Bahamas Beaches BONUS: Top Places to Go in Florida
We wouldn’t feel right showing you the top 10 beaches in Florida (or within a day trip to) without including other spectacular beaches you can’t miss at just an ear’s shot away! Bahamas have even nicer beaches than on the Florida coast.
Hop on a plane and make a day trip to Bahamas out of it! Play with the beautiful Exuma pigs, roll in the soft white sand, and take a nap underneath the whistling, swaying palms of the Bahamas out islands! Here is a mini list of the most awe-inspiring beaches in Bahamas that may be even better than the top beaches in Florida!
9. Pig Beach Bahamas, Big Major Cay
Where is it?
Pig Beach is located on Pig Island — otherwise known as Big Major Cay of the Exuma Cays. The Bahamas are one of the most often traveled destinations for Florida tourists. The Bahamas out islands are known for softer sands and more turquoise water than the Florida coastline.
What to expect?
One of the nicest beaches in the Caribbean with its own kind of local celebrities; the world-renown Swimming pigs! These lovable Exuma pigs make a day trip to Bahamas entirely worth it — especially if you are saving yourself up to five hours in the day by taking a private plane tour.
What’s there?
In terms of eateries, Pig Beach is fairly bleak. Luckily, it is located on Big Major Cay which is a bustling destination of the exotic Bahamas.
10. Pink Sands Beach
Where is it?
Harbour Island is most-known for its pink sands even though there are several spots in the the Bahamas offering this pink-hued soft sands. Harbour Island lies just northwest of Eleuthera Island of the Bahamas.
What to expect?
Harbour Island is world-renown for its pink sands thought to have come from millions of tiny fragments of coral that have washed up onto the shore.
What’s there?
Many people come for the pink sands which can’t be seen anywhere better in the world, but they stay because of the magnificent coral reefs off the coastline with marine life that can’t be topped off the coast of Florida.
11. Paradise Island
Where is it?
Paradise Island sits just offshore from the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. Two bridges connect to the city of Nassau, over Nassau Harbour. It is easily accessible while on a day tour to Nassau from Miami or Fort Lauderdale.
What to expect?
There are some easily accessible white-sand beaches including the popular Cabbage Beach and Paradise Beach, both on the Atlantic Ocean. For amusement park-lovers, the Aquaventure water park is known as world-class, and an extensive marine habitat is perfect for divers!
What’s there?
You may recognize Paradise Island when you see it in photos by its luxury resorts that not even Florida beach resorts can match. Places like Atlantis Resort make this a stop on everyone’s Bahamas-Florida itinerary.
Day Tour Bahamas Out Islands
The Bahamas offer beaches that Florida can’t touch, but many don’t get visited enough because of time restraints. Luckily, there’s a way you can get to some of the most remote Bahamas Islands and back to your Florida vacation destination within one eventful day. Astronauts have claimed that Bahamas are the most beautiful region in the world coming back down from space. See what they mean from their perspective! Imagine flying to a new country and returning to your comfy bed in Florida all within the same day! Read more about my amazing Miami to Bahamas Day Trip adventure by Plane!
Best Beaches in Florida Vacation Spots
We’ve shown you some of the top beaches in Florida as well as some of the top places to go in Florida that includes a new country! As to be expected, these Florida beaches are world-class and there are enough of them to fit any type of beach-goer. Florida is home to many of rich and famous people from around the world, and the luxury and opulence show. Yet, it is inviting and accommodating to all visitors of Florida beaches.
Florida has been masterfully built into a tourist haven for beach enthusiasts and with good reason. Artists and art collections were attracted to the area, galleries and museums established, and the best resorts in Florida brought travelers from all over the world. There is so much the nice beaches in Florida have to offer whether you’re staying at the luxurious Florida beach resorts or not. Don’t miss out on things to do in south Florida!
The Bahamas culture is inviting and out Florida’s front door. It is just a short hour-long flight to a truly untouched paradise – virtually deserted islands, giant turtles, mystic stingrays and swimming pigs, white and pink sand beaches – what more do you need? What are you waiting for? Book your Bahamas Day Trip by Plane today!
For more exciting details on Florida and the Bahamas, check out our USA Travel Guide
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