Florida's 11 most essential beaches

13.09.2023 - 00:51 / lonelyplanet.com

Palm fronds rustle gently in the breeze as sparkling blue waves kiss the shoreline, scattering sandpipers across the warm, white sand beach. Lifting your sunglasses, your eyes struggle against blinding rays to catch a glimpse of gulls and pelicans dive-bombing for afternoon snacks.

This is Florida, where no matter how you define fun-in-the-sun, one – or a couple dozen – of its almost 200 gorgeous beaches will surely be a perfect fit. Gallop through crashing waves, beachcomb for washed-up treasures, welcome your day with sunrise yoga, marvel at sea turtles nesting in the sand, or grab a board and tackle some monster swells. It’s all right here.

Hop aboard a ferry (or seaplane) from Key West and soak up the sun, cruising 70 miles of sparkling, emerald-green waters to the secluded paradise of Dry Tortugas National Park. Once there, mosey through Fort Jefferson, teeming with military history, or head straight for its dreamy, white-powder sands. Snorkel the shallow waters exploring the coral reef, or just cozy up with a good book and embrace peaceful solitude. 

Another quiet retreat, the unsigned Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, hides at the north end of Jupiter Island, just past Hobe Sound Beach (often packed with loud kids and teenagers). Escape the racket and treat your feet to a gorgeous two-mile beach stroll along its deserted sandy shores.

Detour: Many celebrities nest in Jupiter Island; it’s always fun strolling or biking down Beach Road checking out eye-catching mansions – many un-gated and easy-to-see. Tiger Woods lives here – so have Celine Dion, Alan Jackson and Burt Reynolds.

Take a romantic stroll along Melbourne Beach during nesting season (May to October), as moonlit skies cast spotlights upon determined sea turtles crawling ever-so-slowly to lay eggs at the top of this wide beach (50-60 days later, hatchlings struggle back to the sandy shoreline).

Local tip: Ditch the flashlights and maintain comfortable space to avoid disturbing the turtles.

The Treasure Coast earned its name for a reason. Valuables continue to wash ashore from countless nearby shipwrecks. Any beach along Hutchinson Island is ripe for harvesting tidal gifts, but my favorite is Treasure Shores Park near Sebastian. Just offshore is the resting place of a treasure-laden Spanish galleon that sank during a hurricane in 1715.

Detour: Visit nearby McLarty Treasure Museum to view many impressive artifacts recovered from the ocean’s depths. Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum in Sebastian boasts a bounty of treasures collected by this family of professional shipwreck salvagers. Rent metal detectors from their gift shop (which also sells actual treasures!) and sift for your own riches.

Known as “the shelling capital of the world”, beaches of