The best Florida beach towns are cozy and quaint, reflecting an Old Florida ambience. Here are seven of our favorites, all small enclaves worth discovering.
Best Florida Beaches
Best Beaches in Florida
Florida Rambler’s full catalog of stories about our favorite Florida beaches, many of them hidden treasures where you can find solace and sun, surf and sand, or excellent fishing. Family beaches to play and hidden gems you can only reach by kayak.
Browse our beach stories below…
Popular Panhandle beach now requires day visitors to have reservations
Henderson Beach State Park is consistently ranked as one of America’s best beaches.
7 favorite secluded beaches in South Florida
It’s easy to find a beach in Florida. It’s harder to find a hidden beach, a beach where you experience a sense of discovery and delicious isolation. Here, however, I share my favorites, discovered over many years.
Beach camping in Florida: Living the dream
What could be better than this? Camping within earshot of the surf, soft breezes and soaring seagulls. If you insist on camping in a Florida summer, then you might find the answer here…
Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, Key West gem with seaweed-free beach
As Florida’s Keys suffer their worst seaweed inundation in years, the beach at Fort Zach in Key West is refreshing clear and welcoming.
The best little beach town
Travel and Leisure magazine calls New Smyrna Beach “Florida’s most underrated seaside city”. We think it is “Florida’s best little beach town.”
Bahia Honda State Park has it all: Top campsites and cabins plus great snorkeling
With the best beach in the Florida Keys, Bahia Honda is everyone’s favorite. We also love the park for its historic bridge, great beachfront camping and cabins.
Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs: Wild, wonderful and off the beaten track
Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs occupies one of the last undeveloped barrier islands on Florida’s southwest coast.
Gulf Islands National Seashore: Beaches that wow, rare old forts in Panhandle
Florida Panhandle’s greatest treasure might be Gulf Islands National Seashore, with an unspoiled barrier island, sand as white as snow and a rare Civil War fort whose spooky spaces you can wander.
Canaveral National Seashore: Unspoiled beauty, solace for miles and miles
Canaveral National Seashore is longest undeveloped beach in Florida, 24 miles of pristine coastal sanctuary for people, birds and armadillos. Canaveral National Seashore is quiet and peaceful and you can always find your place in the sand.
Ultimate Road Trip: Driving on Florida’s coastal beaches
Driving your car on the beaches is a Florida tradition going back to horse-and-buggy days. Today, only a few beaches still allow the practice. We show you where and how on the Atlantic Coast.