The best beach in Florida??

[Markus H]

We - husband, wife and 5,5 years old son from Sweden - are planning a holiday in Florida in Jan-Feb. We are staying with a friend in Ft Lauderdale, and spending some days in Orlando. But we also would like to spend a week at a really nice, "tropical" beach - you now, not to crowded, with white sand, blue sea, green palmtrees... Where should we go?? We don´t want to be disapointed, since we are travelling a long way.

Markus

 

[Olaf]

I like the beaches on the Gulf side and the panhandle. The sand is very fine and white as snow. The water in the Gulf is also warmer. Although to be honest, you probably won't want to get in that water in Jan/Feb unless they are having unseasonably warm temps. The beaches on the Atlantic are OK, but nothing super special. Try St Pete, Clearwater, or Captiva Island.

 

[WDWfan uk]

We visited some great beaches on the Gold Coast in the West Palm Beach area - but the sea is not as calm as the Gulf as Steph says and I also agree that you may find it too cold at that time of year - even if you get some lovely warm weather, which I think you might, the sea temperature isn't likely to be that warm.
Going over to the Gulf, Naples has a fine beach - you can cross to Naples via the Tamiami Trail - and then you also have the islands of Sanibel and Captiva - I believe Captiva has the edge for less development.

It's great to have you posting on the DIS Markus ..... welcome aboard

 

[Scotfan]

We always go mid Feb and only this year was it too cold for me to swim in the sea (DH still did), we loved the beaches at Siesta Key ( near Sarasota) and on Marco Island which would be easy to get to from Ft Lauderdale.
We went to Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island this year and watched the Dolphins swimming about 100m from the shore - Idyllic.

 

[WDWfan uk]

I really must go to Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island ........ I've heard nothing but fabulous reports! We thought Siesta Key was a great beach too but further away from Fort Lauderdale than Naples etc.... . like you Mo, we went from Sarasota to Siesta Key - I couldn't find any hotels in the vacinity of that beach, only condos.

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Hi Markus - we've just got back from Marco Island and we would highly recommend there - or Naples/Sanibel.

Enjoy

 

[richard3330]

You simply HAVE to visit Honeymoon and Caladesi Islands they are incredibly scenic and very beautiful, we make them both a must-visit all the time.

Honeymoon Island is a short drive from Clearwater and is reached over a long bridge with a beaches either side. Parking and entry to Honeymoon is something like $10. A lovely little boat runs from Honeymoon to Caladesi every 40 mins or so and the trip takes about 10 minutes and costs a little extra on top of parking. The boat trip is very scenic and we were lucky enough to have dolphins bow-riding the waves of the boat during the journey.

When you arrive at Caladesi you are greeted by a marina which has a small information/ranger point and a restaurant/general stores. Then an idyllic little path takes you through a tropical garden and leads over a wonderful wooden bridge to the glorious white sandy beach which stretched for miles. There were many dolphins jumping and swimming about VERY close to the shore whilst we were there - it was very peaceful and it felt liek we were on a tropical island somewhere. The beach was very uncrowded and there was lounger hire. Caladesi also has many tropical bird walks and there is lots of wildlife on the island. The island also has clean changing/toilet facilties and a picnic area with BBQ'S.

After we spent the day (till about 4/5pm) at Caladesi we went back to Honeymoon on the boat and found that it also had wonderful beaches and GREAT shelling. One american couple told us that it is hard to find a nicer sandy beach in Florida that can beat Caladesi.

Hope you have a great trip and welcome to DIS UK!!


Richard