Looking to get back to Florida after a hiatus in traveling. Formerly we had family down there in the Stuart area, but they’ve since moved so we’re on our own. Looking for a nice beach to visit, as close as possible to the cartoonish depiction of the beach with palm trees, white sand, and no drunk teenagers and jeeps, and near Orlando. My family suggested Clearwater or Siesta Key or Sannibel Island, but was wondering what people here thought.
I’m in Palm Beach county, so southeast FL. Not an expert on the west coast of FL. With that caveat. …
The upper & middle Keys proper (but not Key West) are the best place for pretty water and sand and not being surrounded by suburbia. But are bit far from Orlando.
Sanibel was badly trashed by a hurricane ~2 years ago and is still not back to 100%. In any case their beaches are very much sharp shells not sand plus murky water. I was there before the hurricane and it was a place to sit and drink, or pick up seashells, not a place to play in the water.
From Orlando the Melbourne / Cocoa Beach area is a short enough drive to be a plausible day trip & there’s plenty of touristy stuff there if that’s part of your goal. No vehicles on the beaches there. The sand & water is nothing special, but it is plentiful.
I’m not familiar with the whole FL west coast New Port Richey through Clearwater/ St. Pete area. Some of that looks pretty darn nice from the air, but I’d totally defer to the expertise of someone from around there.
The panhandle coast, say Fort Walton Beach, Destin, etc. is the prettiest sugar sand. It’s also called “The redneck Riviera” for a reason. Whole lotta confederate flags & tall pick-em-up trucks. Not driving on the sand that I know of though. It is real cost-effective there compared to snootier places down south near greater Miami.
Orlando is really your problem. It’s really not usefully closer to great beaches than is Atlanta.
Sanibel is wonderful.
I know you didn’t ask, but if the Keys, my favorite beach is Bahia Honda.
Can’t see driving hours from Orlando for a day at the beach, or you could stay local and visit Watari Beach it has a model of Krakatoa volcano with water slides.
Go to Jupiter. Not the planet, the beach town in Florida.
The Gulf Stream (a powerful ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean) runs closer to the shore of Jupiter, Florida than anywhere else in the US. It affects the climate and marine life of the regions it passes through. This makes the water temperature in Jupiter warmer and clearer than other places. The Gulf Stream is one of the reasons why Jupiter, Florida has beautiful blue beaches, but not the only one.
Have you been back there since Hurricane Ian in Sep 2022? I have not, but they got hit real hard and it appears things are still well short of pre-storm normal:
I’m not trying to talk Sanibel down. Just trying to avoid inadvertently steering the OP wrong.
Thanks! I haven’t been there since…let’s see…February 1979. 
And, we mostly hung out at Captiva.
Sorry to hear it isn’t the same.
(You’ll like this — my nine-year-old self was thrilled we took a National Airlines 727 from La Guardia to Fort Myers.)
Best Florida beaches are in the panhandle. That is where you will find the white sand sugar beaches. You can even go further west into the Alabama beaches more commonly referred to as the Redneck Riviera!
I’ve been asking my coworkers who have been doing inspections out on Sanibel and Captiva and they say that the beaches are still pretty eroded and there are very few businesses open yet on Sanibel. I myself went down to Fort Myers Beach and Lovers Key back in October and FMB still looks like Ian happened last week. Lovers Key still has the main foot access washed out so you have to go down to the south end of the island where the beach is mostly shelly and washed out. Madeira Beach and Longboat Key in the Tampa/St. Pete area are my recommendations.
It’s the wrong end of the state for this thread – the northeast corner – but Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach is a nice place. The northern tip has a short-ish boardwalk with a few boardwalk-like things to do, a couple restaurants and several beach access points (we got our SUV stuck on the beach, once). At the western end is the town of Fernandina Beach, which is not as touristy/schlockey as other beach towns. WARNING: avoid the Shrimp Festival (end of Spring) unless you like super-congestion and passing out from the heat.
Amelia also has the Concours De Elegance classic car show in early March. That entire stretch of A1A (to the St. John’s River ferry and even to the Dames Point Bridge) is gorgeous.
NE Florida is also home to many fine seafood restaurants with beautiful views. One that I particularly recommend is Caps on the Water, just off A1A between Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine. Delicious food and a great view of the Intracoastal Waterway.
If you’re heading south on A1A, stop into the Sandollar restaurant just east of the ferry and ask for Leona as your waitress. She’s the best.
Oh FB how I miss your beaches views and logging trucks🤣
Sliders is still serving up good food, the Salty Pelican is great, the Salt Life seafood shack is newer great patio with views. Cedar River seafood a local fave had excellent southern style menu. The Surf at main beach always good with a nice bar. But my all time favorite is Kitchen 251, fresh caught fish oysters eat in or outside. Also somewhere South of Talbot islands is a quaint roadside fish shack. Big servings of the fresh catch of the day.
Gotta get down there soon pay my respects at Bosque Bello Cemetary to M&D. 
Are you looking for a day trip or spending the night? For a day trip from Orlando the west coast beaches are still a couple hours away. I would recommend Pass-A-Grille. Just south of St.Pete beach the barrier island has a similar building code to Sanibel where no building can exceed 3 stories. They have a quaint mainstreet with some shops and restaurants where you can sit outside overlooking the gulf. Plenty of parking and beach access. They also have a person ferry where for a few bucks they’ll take you across the channel to Shell Key to do some shell hunting. Gorgeous sunsets.
Everything north of there to Clearwater is condo towers and traffic. Everything south of there on the other side of the bay is nice but difficult to get to and will add another hour+ to your drive(Siesta, Anna Maria).
Of course the closest to Orlando is the straight shot over to Cocoa Beach. Nothing great there but will be your typical Atlantic Coast beach. A nicer little beach town would be north of there in New Smyrna. A lot of little seafood bar type places.
Agree with others about Sanibel-Captiva. It’s still pretty trashed from the storm.
I’ll second that recommendation. Very much more laid-back than St. Pete Beach just up the road. I stayed at the Sabal Palms Inn–small, but cozy accommodations right across the street from the beach. One nice perk is they give you a parking permit for the which comes in handy if you want to park anywhere in the surrounding residential area. It’s not too far a walk up the beach to the Don CeSar, which is worth a visit just to soak up the ambiance. Great food, nice views and a funky vibe at The Wharf Restaurant.
Shazbot! How could I ignore Cedar River? Best lima beans in the known universe.
Beware: They have ten locations strategically placed to ensnare every seafood lover north of Orlando and east of Cedar Key. There’s no escape – you will submit! 
So close to the ocean too we ordered takeout and took it to the beach pavilion. Fried oysters, Limas corn fritters 
Love St. Augustine. Beautiful place, interesting history. Stay away from Fernandina Beach unless you prefer a redneck mentality. That’s a corrupt little town there.
Ever been to Anna Maria Island? Check it out. Gorgeous place with an upbeat vibe. St. Augustine runs a close second. You’ll never run out of things to do and Anastasia Island over the bridge is beautiful.