I’d like to vacation this winter in Florida. I know nothing about it. I’m a moss-covered northwesterner thats been to Mexico and Hawaii. Now its time to check out the other coast (its also alot cheaper to fly there).
Where are the best beaches without huge crowds? Where is it best to body surf or snorkel?
Are there any good beaches on the Keys?
I’ll be with my family, so I’d like to avoid and Spring-break places, huge cities, or other super touristy places.
I prefer Northern Florida, but winter can be too cold for the beach. I like the area from Pensacola down through Panama City to St. George Island. Spring can be nice there. Summer will be crowded. Early fall is nice.
I spent a week each winter as a child on Captiva, a slender island next to Sanibel on the Gulf Coast near Fort Myers. The beaches are gorgeous, and famous for their shells, but it’s not the blue-green water you’d see in the Bahamas, say.
I once drove out the Florida Keys with the goal of stopping at the first beach that looked nice. That turned out to be “Bahia Honda Key”, about halfway down the chain. It feels like the Mexican Carribean coast south of Cancun – warm, blue-green water.
In general, the beaches on the Atlantic side are much nicer than the beaches on the Gulf side. My favorite beach is Crescent/St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville. It’s where a lot of the North Florida locals go and is a mellow beach (smallish waves, bad for surfing but good for body surfing) with relaxed little beach community. But it will be too cold in the winter.
Your best bet will probably be something south of Orlando, north of that and it’ll be cold. The keys are a good choice, warm year round and they’ve got clear water (most Florida beaches don’t have that clear, blue water you see in Caribbean ads). I know there’s good diving and snorkling in Key Largo (the first, largest key). I haven’t spent much time on the other ones tho’.
IMHO, the best beaches in Florida are St Augustine and Indian Rocks/Coquina. St Augustine might be a bit chilly in winter though.