Which Florida Beach Town Is the Best Florida Beach Town?

Fly into Tampa or St. Pete and you’re within roughly a half-hour drive of what are consistently lauded among America’s best beaches. St. Pete Beach and neighboring Clearwater Beach, just north, are the stuff white sand dreams are spun of. Lapped by the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, these beaches are a perennial family favorite as the sea is often as calm as a lake–and usually clear enough, too, to see from your shoulders straight down to the sandy bottom.

I’m lucky to live close to both beach areas. When I’m craving a little more action on and off the sand, I’ll usually make Clearwater Beach my destination for the day. I like to arrive later in the afternoon, when the morning crowds have cleared out, and set up on the beach around Pier 60 Park. Every evening, from about two hours before sunset to two hours after, street performers and vendors cluster around the pier for a lively sunset celebration that’s a blast to stroll around. If you want to stay the night, I recommend the luxurious gulf front Sandpearl Resort , with its excellent sushi and seafood restaurant overlooking the beach, Caretta on the Gulf, or the new JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa, with a private beach and lively rooftop bar.

St. Pete Beach is one of my local go-tos living in Tampa, too. For an iconic stay on the sand at one of Florida’s Grande Dame hotels, The Don CeSar, aka the “Pink Palace,” is a family favorite that re-opened in early 2025 following a six-month renovation. Inside, with all the hotel’s 1920s history and lore, you’ll feel like you’ve walked onto the set of The Great Gatsby. At the buzzing pool bar and down on the lounge chair-dotted beach, however, it’s solid modern-era Florida beach fun, all year round.

When you’re ready for some urban entertainment in nearby downtown St. Pete, one of my favorite Florida cities, you can ride the SunRunner bus ($2.25 each way) between the beach and town. Hop off at stops along downtown’s main drag, Central Boulevard, to pop into cool coffee and wine bars like Pistil House and Bacchus Wine Bistro and stroll along the St. Pete Pier–a contemporary marvel with an inverted-pyramid design that’s topped with a great tiki bar, Pier Teaki. 

North of Miami on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, Fort Lauderdale Beach has been a spring break darling since the 1960s, when the cult movie, Where the Boys Are, was released. These days, the city’s beaches boom year-round thanks to 24 miles of golden sand shoreline backed by restaurants after resort on repeat. All the cafe-lined charm of downtown Fort Lauderdale’s pretty Las Olas Boulevard, along the New River just inland, is within easy reach, too. 

Along the stretch of Fort Lauderdale beach around the famous Elbo Room beach bar, it’s a nonstop parade of bikinis and bronzed bods. But as you head north from there, more family-friendly stretches of sand come into focus and joggers and rollerbladers getting some exercise in the fresh air outpace the party crowd along the beachfront promenade that stretches along the sand for miles. It’s worth a splurge to stay at the exquisite Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale here, with its Michelin-starred restaurant, MAASS, rooftop pool and plush lounge chairs in prime position on the beach.

In Fort Lauderdale Beach’s northern reaches, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is a 180-acre green lung between the Intracoastal Waterway and the beach where you can rent a kayak or paddleboard to explore. And for off the beach dining and entertainment that offers something different from Las Olas and the beachfront, the new marina-front complex at Pier Sixty-Six comes with superyacht views, tropical cocktails at the waterfront Nectar Room and Fort Lauderdale’s coolest rooftop bar, Pier Top–a city icon that dates to 1965 and where Champagne and caviar are served 17 floors up with views of the cruise port, downtown and the beaches all around.

I never feel more transported in Florida than when I’m down in the Florida Keys. It’s the color of the water (so Caribbean-esque, with its parfait layers of turquoise and deep blue), the unhurried ways of the locals and the “Conch Republic” separatist vibes of Key West that make these islands a short drive south of Miami feel so apart from anything on the mainland. And as long as you’re not looking for the long, white sand beaches that abound elsewhere in Florida, you might find your ideal Florida beach vacation here.

Since the Florida Keys are actually coral cays, there are very few traditional beaches along the 113-miles of islands connected by 42 bridges between Key Largo and Key West. That said, if you’re looking to fly and flop for a spell in these parts, I can recommend Sombrero Beach on Marathon and the sugar sand beaches at Bahia Honda State Park in the Lower Keys as suitable for that.

The real appeal of a beach vacation in the Florida Keys, however, is found out on the water. That might mean taking a glass bottom tour with the family or a snorkeling excursion at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, diving incredible shipwrecks like the mid-20th century wreck of the Eagle off Islamorada, or circumnavigating Key West during Barefoot Billy’s guided jet ski tours. There are a few hotels I love in the Florida Keys with their own private beaches for some time kicking back on the sand, too, including Baker’s Cay Resort in Key Largo, The Islands of Islamorada in Islamorada, The Reach in Key West and Sunset Key Cottages, on a private island just offshore from Key West.

Depending on how you like to spend a beach day, these three beach destinations in Florida bring different experiences to the table. Fort Lauderdale Beach is the buzziest scene with the best urban offerings in the mix, while St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach feel a bit quainter and appeal to families with young kids. When you want to go all in on snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing and fishing on your beach vacation, you’ll never go wrong in the Florida Keys.