Florida Beach Guide

Exploring White Florida Beaches

In this Florida Beach Guide you will find information, personal accounts and some pictures of Florida beaches.

With more than 300 sunny days each year, sinking your toes into the warmth of beach sand is probably one of the most popular Florida tourist attractions to enjoy.

Thanks to the state's peninsular shape there is more than 150 beaches along Florida's coastline.  Among them are exclusive resort beaches with amenities for swimming, sunbathing and water sports, as well as secluded, rarely visited beaches where you can feel like a castaway. 

But Florida's beautiful beaches attract visitors not only because of their white, fine sand and warm waters.  Spectacular natural surroundings and abundant wildlife, especially in areas of State and National Parks and Preserves, are very unique and semitropical in nature.  They are also home to many different animals.

Some beach creatures are easy to spot: ubiquitous gulls and terns, pelicans, crabs, but every now and then you may catch a surprise view of a dolphin, or even a glimpse of the familiar triangular fin of a shark.

Many of the beaches in Florida are on barrier islands that run parallel to the coastline.  Sometimes you may not even realize that you are on a barrier island.  They are long, narrow, offshore deposits of sand or sediments.  Some of the larger barrier islands are found in Miami Beach, Daytona Beach, Sanibel Island, Marco Island.

Of course, there are different types of beach goers.  Each year, thousands of college students travel to Florida for an entertaining Spring Break party.  Then there are those who are just curious to see what is so special about South Beach.  

Winter visitors come to escape the cold of rust belt winters.  There are divers and snorkelers, shell collectors, joggers, anglers, pet walkers, treasure hunters, sun worshipers, sunset watchers, people watchers, and plenty of plain beach enthusiasts.

The fact is, what we intended in this beach guide is to show you that some of the best beaches in the United States are found right here in Florida.  

Travel magazines have their favorites: Fort DeSoto Park (North Beach, St. Petersburg), Caladesi Island State Park (Clearwater), and Cape Florida State Park (Key Biscayne).  

My personal favorites would be: Bahia Honda in the Keys, Cocoa Beach, Sanibel Island, Venice Beach, and a long stretch of sand along the  Gulf coast, between Panama City and Pensacola.

We recommend that you make your own list, and the good thing 
is - there is plenty to choose from.