florida beaches

[jax86]

what are the nicest beaches to visit in florida?

[murphy1]

I grew up in St. Petersburg, so I have to say St. Pete Bch, Treasure Island, Clearwater and Sarasota. I really love Passagrille a lot, mostly locals and Europeans go there and there is the Hurricane restaurant that has awesome grouper sandwiches and Rum runner drinks.

Shari

[1EeyoreFan]

Being a Pensacola native, I have to vote for the panhandle. Can't beat the "sugar sand". Destin is a popular place but we prefer the solace of Cape San Blas for a get away. Great during scallop season!

[ibrowse17]

Having grown up in Destin, I vote for the Emerald Coast. Check out Seaside

[MsMin]

I'm going to say for beaches the panhandle of Florida. You can't beat the white sands of Destin or Gulf Shore/Orange Beach Ala if you are watching the budget a little closer. Panama City is a little over crowded/college gang for me. The more westerly or Pensacola area is just not as bright as Destin especially near the bay.
I love Cape San Blas but it's a little privative for someone looking for a little more of a "vacation" spot. It's hard to find a decent restaurant much less a couple if you are staying for an extended time.
For shells and great food I would pick the west coast beaches. St Pete is nice/Clearwater though always crowded when I've gone. I love Sanibel/Captiva but that is a little more travel and money by more tropical and lots more shells.

[grumpypima]

I grew up in Fort Walton Beach, so I will place another vote for the panhandle. Destin & Fort Walton Beach are absolutely beautiful! White sand, crystal clear water. Great restaurants, too!!

We took a trip to Orange Beach last summer and loved it. It reminded me of Destin about 10 years ago. Yes, there are a lot of condos but still a hometown feeling. Loved the outdoor concerts at The Wharf!

[poeticeclipse]

I've been to Cocoa Beach and New Smyrna Beach. I definitely vote for the latter. The area is so much more "easy going beach city." I love walking up and down Flagler Ave. and checking out all of the small little shops and eateries. Cocoa Beach was kind of dirty and not very family friendly. Not my cup of tea at all.

[hoop de do]

I like Bay Lake.

[RAIDER]

Destin ( st marys i think its called )
and Sanibel ....

[WelshieLover]

My family likes the east coast beaches best, while the west coast beaches are beautiful there are few waves. So for us we love the beaces in the Saint Augustine area even though my in laws live in Bradenton.

[TinkiTime1989]

Guana park in Ponte Vedra is gorgeous. It's all natural crushed shell sand, none of that hauled in man-made fake stuff! It's usually not very crowded either.

[ftwildernesskid]

Treasure Island for the gulf side and Ormand Beach for the West coast. Another vote for Cocoa Beach for the worst, though.

[Ed]

...and Ormand Beach for the West coast.

Hmmmm... Ormond Beach was definitely on the East Coast this afternoon; did those rascally move it again?

[For those not familiar with Ormond Beach, it is about 5 miles north of Daytona Beach, and it definitely is a very nice beach.]

[Tyson The Lab]

I like Daytona Beach. When I was young, we went to Madeira Beach which is on the gulf side. Both times they had red tide so we couldn't swim in the ocean. Both times we just had to drive somewhere to say we swam in the ocean and not just a pool. If you don't know what red tide is, use your favourite search engine and find out. Basically, from what I remember, most of the marine life including fish wash up on shore dead. I didn't know until I did a search, that it then becomes an airborne 'thing' that can really mess humans up.

[MsMin]

Hmmmm... Ormond Beach was definitely on the East Coast this afternoon; did those rascally move it again?

[For those not familiar with Ormond Beach, it is about 5 miles north of Daytona Beach, and it definitely is a very nice beach.]

They were just looking at it from the north When you look down everything on the map turns out backwards.

[DisneyDog]

If you want to go a little further south(west), Vanderbilt Beach is very nice, as is Tigertail Beach on Marco Island. They are both in Collier County.

[biodtl]

Growing up, I always loved Clearwater. It's been a loooong time, since I have been there, though, so it might not be the same.