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Florida might be as flat as a pancake, making you wonder how much adventurous fun you can really have in this state. But the longer I live here (over half my life now), the more I’m convinced we have the most spectacular beaches of any place in the world along our roughly 1,800 miles of coastline.

I’ve spent pre-dawn mornings dodging nesting sea-turtle mothers as they lumber toward the waves, while the sun shimmers across the ocean’s surface. I’ve waded along beaches backed by high-rise hotels, next to massive shadows in the water that turned out to be frolicking manatees. And I’ve watched dolphins turn more flips than in any theme park, as if they were celebrating another sublime Gulf of Mexico sunset with just as much joy as me.

Since my college days at the University of Florida in Gainesville, when I traveled with the student outdoors club on weekend adventures that included snorkeling in freshwater springs and paddling canoes through mangrove labyrinths in the wilderness of the Ten Thousand Islands, I’ve dedicated my time in Florida to exploring its wild. And so much of it, it turns out, exists along our easily accessible beaches—both developed and remote—and in the shallows, just offshore.

In my opinion, here are some of the best beaches in Florida for first-time visitors and outdoor junkies. As a local, I’d recommend you venture out with your scuba diving certificate, fishing license, hiking shoes, or your treasure hunting-acumen—or perhaps, most blissfully, just your bare feet.

From rideable-year-round waves at Sebastian Inlet and Cocoa Beach to hunting for Spanish galleon coins along Vero Beach and scuba diving to World War II shipwrecks off Panama City Beach, these sandy stretches offer mega adventure. Pack the SPF 30 (nay, 50), plenty of water, and get psyched for Florida’s coastline to wow you.

Best Florida Beaches to Beeline to From Orlando

Vero Beach

📍 Location: Along the stretch of Atlantic Ocean roughly 100 miles southeast of Orlando

🏖️ Why We Love It: You can grab a metal detector after a storm and search for uncovered treasure from 18th century Spanish galleons that wrecked in these waters.

In 1715, a fierce hurricane hit just offshore from Vero Beach, along Florida’s coastline later dubbed the Treasure Coast, and sank eleven of 12 ships in the Spanish Fleet, spilling untold treasures onto the ocean floor. Much of the loot has since been recovered by professional salvage teams. But every so often, especially after a big Atlantic storm, the sandbars below get rearranged, and lucky beachgoers can find items like gold and silver coins and jewelry washed ashore.

✅ Know Before You Go: To ensure it’s legal, keep your treasure hunting to the sand between the dunes and waterline (1715 Fleet − Queens Jewels LLC owns the salvage rights to the remains of the 1715 Fleet in the water.) Seagrape Trail Beach, in the northern reaches of Vero Beach, is my favorite spot to scour the sand and has parking in a small lot onsite. You might even spot salvage boats bobbing in the waves and hunting for treasure, too.

Cocoa Beach

📍 Location: About 60 miles east of Orlando on Florida’s

🏖️ Why We Love It: You can chill in the surf lineup for the next set while watching a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, just north.

One of the closest beaches to Orlando, Cocoa Beach puts on zero pretense. This is your classic Florida beach town where locals cut out of work early (or skip it entirely) anytime the surf is up, and mom and pop hotels and restaurants still line State Road A1A.

If you’re a fan and lucky, you might see surf legend Kelly Slater catching a wave, too. (He grew up riding the breaks here, and still has family in the area.) The local nearby pays homage to the GOAT.

There’s also no cooler experience than waiting in the lineup when a rocket streaks across the sky. This happens several times a month, thanks to SpaceX, just up the road at the Kennedy Space Center (check the and time your visit accordingly.)

🔍 Don’t Miss: A post-surf pint or piña colada served up with a pile of nachos, live music, and ocean views at , a popular locals bar. Consider this an après-surf rite of passage.

Sebastian Inlet State Park, Melbourne Beach

📍 Location: About 90 miles southeast of Orlando

🏖️ Why We Love It: You can explore gorgeous, undeveloped coastline backed by big dunes and lapped by some of the East Coast’s best surf waves.

As popular with anglers as it is with the board-riding crew, Sebastian Inlet State Park is one of the prime coastal jewels in Florida’s state park crown (the state has a whopping 175 of them.) It spills its golden beaches across three miles of pristine barrier-island coastline, and spans both the north and south sides of Sebastian Inlet, a saltwater fishing haven where the Indian River Lagoon and Atlantic meet. On the north side of the inlet, the jetty pier stretches 1,000 feet into the ocean, luring those with fishing poles in tow to cast a line for snook, redfish, black drum, king mackerel, and more.

Its two main surf breaks, off both north and south jetties, draw huge crowds when they’re firing and remain rideable most of the year, even when the swell is minimal.

The park has a with 51 sites (from $28 per night) just a short walk from the beach. And (from $32 per night), just outside the park and three miles north, is another of my favorite spots for dark skies and waterfront sites. Make time to visit the fascinating little —on the south side of the state park at the site of the 1715 Fleet’s survivor and salvagers camp—where you can see gems and coins from the galleons as well as dioramas of the ships.

✅ Know Before You Go: You’ll need to secure a saltwater fishing license before casting a line ($17 for in-state residents per year, $47 for out-of-staters, or $17 for three days.) Do this ahead of your trip through the .

Hutchinson Island

📍 Location: About 130 miles southeast of Orlando (or 55 miles north of West Palm Beach)

🏖️ Why We Love It: It’s one of the few places where you can ride a horse on the beach itself.

Roughly between Fort Pierce and Stuart, this span of two barrier islands fronting the Atlantic has long, lonely stretches of sand because it’s mostly residential. In other words, it’s never an issue to find an empty swath for yourself. Surfers pad barefoot along the coquina shell path at , on North Hutchinson Island, to paddle out into waves that break cleanest and largest on the incoming tide (preferably with a westerly wind to help them hold their shape.)

Hutchinson Island is one of the only places in Florida where you can go horseback riding on the beach, too. ($50 per hour) offers guided excursions that include a dip in the ocean (up to the horse’s knees) at or   (currently closed for upgrades) in Fort Pierce.

🔍 Don’t Miss: in Jensen Beach is a sweet oceanfront spot to spend the night with the pounding surf as your sleep soundtrack. Sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs here between March 1 and November 15, so you might see one retreating back into the sea if you’re up early for dawn patrol.

Best South Florida Beaches for In-and-On Water ���ϳԹ���

Jupiter Beach

📍 Location: About 20 miles north of West Palm Beach on Florida’s Atlantic coast

🏖️ Why We Love It: It’s home to some of the state’s best scuba diving in the crystal-clear waters of the Gulf Stream, a short boat ride offshore.

Every visitor assumes the Florida Keys is the state’s ultimate scuba diving mecca. But keen and experienced divers know some of the best underwater views are north, just offshore from Jupiter Beach. The Gulf Stream swoops in close to Florida’s flanks here, turning the water gin-clear, bringing with it plenty of open-ocean species to admire.

Head out with , a local dive shop and PADI 5-Star operation, which departs from the inlet for daily two or three-tank charters (from $120, for two tanks) that visit offshore wrecks and reefs teeming with life.

Shark season happens January through March, and divers regularly spot lemon and blacktip reef sharks among other predators. August and September bring goliath grouper to spawn, with aggregations upward of 60 strong, sometimes congregating above wrecks looking to mate.

🔍 Don’t Miss: Unusual for a Florida beach, limestone rocks line the sand at The Nature Conservancy’s (many of which get buried by sand from storms, and later reveal themselves anew.) During high seas and at high tide (check timing ), water forced through the rocks creates plumes that shoot up to 50 feet into the air. Take the 1.4-mile long preserve trail for access to the coolest views.

Hobie Island Beach Park

📍 Location: Off the Rickenbacker Causeway on the shores of Virginia Key, right between downtown Miami and Key Biscayne

🏖️ Why We Love It: It’s an off-leash paradise for dogs and one of the best places to windsurf and kiteboard in all of South Florida.

There’s something singular about whizzing across the glassy waters of Biscayne Bay to the skyscraper-backdrop of downtown Miami and Brickell as you catch air at this wildly popular launch beach for kiteboarding and windsurfing. Hobie Island Beach Park is more commonly called Windsurfer Beach, thanks to the local concession that’s been here for decades. You can sign up for lessons ( offers private beginner lessons at $75 per hour) if you’re still getting a handle on things. And there’s even free, on-site parking, which is almost unheard of in Miami.

🔍 Don’t Miss: Hidden away in nearby on Key Biscayne, bar fronts No Name Harbor and serves up Miami’s most gorgeous sunsets, best admired at alfresco picnic tables on the sand. Soak it all in with a glass of watermelon sangria and a side of ceviche, and you might think you’re somewhere in the Caribbean.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

📍 Location: Roughly 7 miles north of downtown Fort Lauderdale

🏖️ Why We Love It: You can go lobster and spear fishing on the that bustle with marine life just 100 yards from the beach.

Away from the party-focused crowds along Fort Lauderdale Beach proper (just south), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is beloved among snorkelers, free divers, and spearfishing anglers, thanks to rubbly patches in the sand and rocky overhangs that harbor abundant marine life. On the reefs closest to shore, you might spot species like turtles, tarpon, snook, and nurse sharks. Manatees also swim here, too. And you can take a short boat trip with ($90 for a tank dive) to reach spots like Nursery Reef and the wreck of 19th century British steel-hulled schooner the , which rests in just 31 feet of water.

✅ Know Before You Go: You can only catch lobster in Florida during the state’s official lobster season, which is a two-part affair. Lobster mini-season is always the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July for residents and non-residents. (Florida residents get a bonus day earlier in the month.) The regular spiny lobster season in Florida runs from August 6 to March 31. Permits cost $5 per year for residents and nonresidents, atop your saltwater fishing license. Be sure to check the to steer clear of no-take zones, which include Everglades National Park and areas within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, among others.

Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

📍 Location: Roughly between Key West and Islamorada, 131 miles southwest of Miami

🏖️ Why We Love It: You can gaze at dark night skies and stay at crème de la crème beachfront campsites.

The Florida Keys—an archipelago of coral cays stretching from just north of Key Largo all the way south to Key West—are not known for their bountiful beaches, which comes as a surprise to most visitors. But here, you’ll find some of the best stretches for both snorkeling and camping at this beloved state park, which sprawls 500 acres between Florida Bay and the Atlantic. Plus, it’s home to three natural beaches.

You can rent kayaks and snorkeling gear from the park’s onsite concession ($12 and $18 for single and double kayaks, respectively; $17 for a mask, fins, and snorkel.)  Explore from the shore or take the state park’s catamaran to scour the colorful reefs further offshore within . The park’s has oceanfront and bayfront sites (from $36 per night) as well as spots for RVs and boat slips in the marina if you prefer to sleep afloat.

Bahia Honda State Park also supports one of the Florida Keys’ most diverse habitats for birds, including endangered white-crowned pigeons and, during the fall and winter migration, scores of wood warbler species.

🔍 Don’t Miss: Take a short hike on the .4-mile out-and-back Old Bahia Honda Bridge Trail timed with sunset to reach the eponymous aged Bahia Honda Bridge. It was originally built in the late 19th century by Henry Flagler as part of Florida’s Overseas Railroad. And when the sun melts into the turquoise waters with the old bridge as a backdrop, there’s no better view.

Best Florida Gulf-Coast Beaches for Fearless Frolics

Venice Beach

📍 Location: About 20 miles south of Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast

🏖️ Why We Love It: You never know when you might find an elusive Megalodon tooth.

Look hard enough and you’ll find shark teeth on most any Florida beach. After all, the predators have an endless supply of those pearly whites (which often look black when you find them) thanks to a mouth that regenerates them as they lose ‘em. But my local dive buddies confirm Venice is hands down the best beach in Florida place in the state to search for shark chompers, either by combing through the sand or searching underwater via a scuba diving charter.

Megalodon teeth once belonged to the largest predatory shark ever to exist and can stretch over seven inches from top to bottom. You’re more likely to find them in the four to five-inch range, however, when you head offshore with (guided trips from $200 per person)—a husband and wife team offering three dives per day with access to some of the most fertile fossil-hunting grounds. (Chances are, you’ll dive to success in just 15 to 35 feet of water.) Winter months tend to be the best for foraging the sandy bottom, thanks to fewer crowds and frequent cold fronts that bring in clearer water.

✅ Know Before You Go: Venice Beach’s North Jetty Park was among the many places along Florida’s Gulf Coast devastated by a storm surge during Hurricanes Helene and Milton in September and October 2024, but shark teeth-hunting companies are open for business.

Marco Island, Tigertail Beach

📍 Location: 18 miles south of Naples in Southwest Florida

🏖️ Why We Love It: Its sugary sands are a stepping-off point to explore the nearby Ten Thousand Islands—a dazzling archipelago of mangrove islets.

Marco Island’s six miles of beach is a Florida-family favorite for molten Gulf-Coast sunsets and sand as soft and blindingly white as it gets. If you’re looking to add a jolt of adrenaline to your getaway here, book a guided jet ski excursion through (from $245 per person, for two hours) into the Ten Thousand Islands and Rookery Bay. En route, you’ll be escorted into a jungle of mangroves and unique South Florida habitats that regular boats can’t access. You’ll navigate through pristine red mangrove forests and over grassy flats, and naturalist guides will point out manatees, dolphins on the hunt, and roseate spoonbills, among more of the region’s prolific wildlife.

🔍 Don’t Miss: For quieter explorations with birdwatching, shelling, and tidal pools in the mix, drive all the way south to Tigertail Beach, cross five boardwalks (about ten minutes walking), then hike along the lagoon’s edge until you reach wide-open white sands.

Best Florida Panhandle Beaches for Diving, Scalloping, and Paddling

Panama City Beach

📍 Location: About 112 miles west of Tallahassee in Northwest Florida

🏖️ Why We Love It: It’s second only to the Florida Keys for the best wreck diving in Florida.

Serious and beginner scuba divers can look forward to epic and unexpected diving in Florida’s Panhandle, thanks to its artificial reefs in the form of intentionally-sunk shipwrecks offshore from Panama City Beach. Divers with an advanced certification come from around the world to explore the 465-foot Empire Mica, a British tanker torpedoed offshore during World War II—the longest war wreck in the Gulf of Mexico. Trips out with (from $300) to dive the wreck, 60 miles from Panama City, resting in 110 feet of water, take all day but are worth the effort. Closer to shore and shallower, the wreck of the Red Sea is covered with urchins and sponges and is home to goliath groupers that tip the scales over 300 pounds. , sunken bridge parts that once connected Panama City and Panama City Beach, is another stellar and super-fishy dive site clouded with bait balls.

🔍 Don’t Miss: Every spring (dates vary), the local festival takes over St. Andrews Marina and includes a procession of water vessels and blessings for those bound for the sea. Winter socks are tossed into a fire to burn as a symbol of walking into spring, and it’s a fun and free-to-witness vibe.

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Port St. Joe

📍 Location: 66 miles southeast of Panama City Beach

🏖️ Why We Love It: You can scallop from the shore and cook up your feast in a gorgeous state park.

17 miles of white-sand beaches in the Panhandle’s Cape San Blas stretch along the Apalachicola Peninsula all the way to another spectacular Florida state park that’s a popular scalloping ground from late summer into early fall. From around mid-August into September (dates vary per year), you can wade waste-deep into grassy areas in the bay, just offshore from the beach, to search for the bivalves (they’re much smaller than their northern Atlantic cousins, but their sweet flesh is delicious sautéed with butter and garlic.)

It’s also worth heading to the ranger station to get a wilderness permit (first come, first served) to hike into the park’s northernmost reaches along the six-mile . The reward is remote campsites (first come, first served, $5 per night) where you can sleep under a canopy of starlight.

✅ Know Before You Go: If you’re going scalloping, bring an inner-tube to float and a bucket to collect your haul. Water shoes are a good bet, too, since the area where the sandy bottom meets the seagrass is a common spot for lurking stingrays.

Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach

📍 Location: About 24 miles east of Destin in Northwest Florida

🏖️ Why We Love It: It’s one of very few places in the world where coastal dune lakes exist—and you can paddle around in them.

Along with New Zealand, Madagascar, and a few other places on the planet, is unique for its coastal dune lakes. These rare freshwater lakes lie in dune systems near beaches—the result of wind and wave action. Western Lake at Grayton Beach State park is one such example, and paddling a kayak into the 100 acres of glassy waters surrounded by towering longleaf pines gives you an otherworldly, geological thrill. (Rent kayaks from the park for $20 per hour between March 1 and October 31, otherwise plan to bring your own.)

Nearby, the state park’s gorgeous beach itself has a mile of sugar-fine sand that draws anglers for surf fishing and families for beach volleyball. Florida black bear, white-tailed deer, and endangered species like loggerhead sea turtles or the ​​Choctawhatchee beach mouse are among the park’s extremely diverse coastal fauna.

🔍 Don’t Miss: The park has tent sites (from $30) and cabins (from $130) for staying overnight. A few miles west, nature lovers can opt to stay at the newcomer (from $130 per night) with hiking trails into accessible just out your front door.

Florida-based travel writer lives in Tampa and writes about scuba diving, and outdoor, family, and cultural travel for ���ϳԹ���, among other publications. She’s lived all over the Sunshine State since graduating from college and has visited the bulk of Florida’s beaches, too, for everything from scuba diving, snorkeling, and kayaking, to paddleboarding, surfing, and camping. (She also loves searching for shells and shark teeth with her kids.) She can’t wait to stay on a houseboat this winter in Everglades National Park, go scuba diving in Biscayne National Park, and hit Homosassa to snorkel with the manatees.