:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/2585501_30AAT_307_0-4187997a94924f73afc0570864ffbc69.jpg "The Ultimate Guide To Florida’s 14 Unique Coasts")
Florida may look like one big sandbar, but its coastlines couldn’t be more distinct. With the second-most miles of coastline of any state in the nation, after Alaska, there are over 8,400 miles to explore. Each stretch of seaside tells a unique story, from the Panhandle’s creamy white sand and old Florida towns, to the Atlantic’s surfing hot spots and rocket-launching watch points. As a native Floridian, I continue to be surprised when I discover unique pockets of Florida that defy stereotypes and often fly under the typical Florida radar.
I’m often asked which Florida coast is best. The truth is, it depends on your interests and aesthetic. This guide to the Sunshine State’s coastal shores breaks it all down, including what makes each of the 14 coasts so special and what’s new there now.
First Coast (or Historic Coast)
- Giant driftwood beaches, horseback rides on the beach, and historic forts
ROBBIE CAPONETTO
Where Is The First Coast?
The First Coast (also called the Historic Coast) is where we begin. Starting at the border of Georgia and Florida on the Atlantic Ocean, this 80-mile stretch of coastline is home to Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach, Ponte Vedra, and Neptune Beach. Before Florida was Florida, the First Coast was home to the Timucua indigenous peoples. Later, St. Augustine became the first (where the coast gets its name) European-established settlement in the U.S., predating Jamestown and Plymouth.
Fun Fact
Amelia Island is home to the Pippi Longstocking House, the set for filming the 1980s movie.
What To Do
Tour Castillo de San Marcos (a national monument built by the Spanish), or see Gilded Age art at the Lightner Museum. Ride horses on the beach in Amelia Island. Marvel at driftwood giants at Boneyard Beach. Sip local beer at Jacksonville’s craft breweries on the Jax Ale Trail, which takes you through its creative neighborhoods. Need something stronger? St. Augustine Distillery offers free tours through their bourbon facility, housed in a historic ice plant.
If you’re visiting on a weekend, wander through the Riverside Avondale historic district in downtown Jax at their weekly Riverside Arts Market. The First Coast is a good place to come and learn how to surf, too, so book a lesson with Saltwater Cowgirls.
Where To Stay
Hotel Palms is a renovated retro Florida beach motel, just two blocks from the ocean, offering complimentary bikes, an on-site espresso bar, art gallery, and free movie nights.
Fun Coast
- Drive-on beaches and racing history
Credit: © Daytona Beach CVB
Where Is The Fun Coast?
There’s no better way to explore the Fun Coast (sometimes called the Surf Coast) than cruising down the A1A—the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.” The scenic byway runs from the northern tip of Florida to Key West, but the chill drive down this stretch of coast is full of lively beach towns including Daytona Beach, Ponce Inlet, and Ormond Beach.
Fun Fact
Daytona Beach is home to the Smithsonian-affiliated Museum of Arts & Sciences, a 100,000-square-foot facility on a nature preserve with collections of American art, Sub-Saharan African artifacts, Chinese art, Florida art, and Cuban art.
What To Do
Daytona International Speedway, home to the Daytona 500, gives the region its adrenaline-fueled reputation. Here you can take daily tours that look behind the scenes of the “World Center of Racing” and visit the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
If you don’t need speed, beach towns like Ormond Beach balance out the Fun Coast’s energy. Spend the day on hard-packed sand beaches (good for beach cycling) and some of Florida’s few drive-on beaches (sometimes it’s nice not to lug your beach gear from a parking lot). The Ais and Timucua peoples once inhabited this stretch of coast, and here you can visit the Ormond Indian Burial Mound in Ormond Beach.
Where To Stay
The Daytona, Autograph Collection by Marriott, is centrally located with interiors that nod to motorsport history.
Space Coast
- A blend of aerospace nostalgia and all-natural coastline
Where Is The Space Coast?
This 72-mile shoreline includes Titusville, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Melbourne Beach, and Palm Bay. The Kennedy Space Center will forever be the coast’s big draw. Visit now to see its newest attraction—a full-scale model of a rocket engine, The Gantry at LC-39.
What To Do
If you’re not into space there’s still plenty to do, particularly for animal lovers. Visit the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, one of the top Loggerhead sea turtle nesting grounds. Or plan a trip to the Brevard Zoo—the only zoo in the US where you can kayak through animal enclosures.
Kelly Slater learned to carve waves here, and this coast is where you’ll find the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop, good waves for learning to surf, the East Coast Museum of Surfing.
For a quiet beach away from crowds, head to Canaveral National Seashore to Playalinda Beach. If you’re road-tripping with your pet, head towards Canova Beach in Melbourne, a dog-friendly beach.
Window shop and gallery hop on Canal Street in New Smyrna, Cocoa Village, or Eau Gallie Arts District, which are packed with local shops and coastal eateries. New Smyrna Beach has a surprisingly robust arts community, which includes the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and The Hub on Canal—a gallery full of Floridian fine artists.
Where To Stay
Victoria 1883, a historic Queen Anne style home turned B&B, and New Smyrna Beach’s oldest standing structure.
Treasure Coast
- Natural, casual, and peaceful
Credit:
Jessica Sample
Where Is The Treasure Coast?
The region gets its name from the fleet of Spanish ships wrecked off the coast in the 1700s, leaving gold and silver coins strewn across the ocean floor. If you’re lucky, you can find one washing up on beaches like Wabasso Beach Park. The Treasure Coast is considered a lesser-known gem of Florida, so much so that a podcast celebrating the region is cheekily called “Don’t Come Here.”
Treasure Coast beaches have golden sand and run alongside towns like Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Port Salerno, and Indiantown.
Fun Fact
You can snorkel above 19th-century shipwrecks.
What To Do
Treasure Coast has 54 named beaches (most with free parking) and 15 oceanfront resorts. Some beaches are clothing optional (Blind Creek Beach), dog friendly (Walton Rocks Beach), award-winning (Stuart Beach), and have impossibly calm waters (Bathtub Beach). Pepper Park Beach is home to the only National Navy SEAL Museum in the country.
But one Treasure Coast beach is not like the rest. Blowing Rocks Preserve is one of Florida’s few “rocky” beaches due to a visible limestone shoreline—the largest of its kind on the Atlantic coast. At high tide, the sea crashes into the rocks, creating high plumes of water, hence the name.
The coast also has over 220,000 acres of parks, preserves, and conservation lands to explore, including the nation’s first designated National Wildlife Refuge—Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Where To Stay
Disney’s only beach resort in Florida, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort.
Gold Coast
- Ritzy and stylish with big-name entertainment, festivals, shopping, and sports
Robbie Caponetto
Where Is The Gold Coast?
Stretching down southeast Florida, from Palm Beach to Miami, this section of Florida coast is home to glamorous celebrities and golden real estate. Indulgent and luxurious, the Gold Coast is where you’ll find the elegant and serene beaches of Palm Beach, and the lively and social beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.
Palm Beach is known for its midcentury modern architecture by Addison Mizner, while Miami is home to pastel Art Deco hotels, Art Basel, and the Design District. Delray Beach and Boca Raton are also a part of the Gold Coast.
Fun Fact
Miami’s Vizcaya Gardens is an Italianate palace and gardens perched on the sea that transports you across the ocean to the Mediterranean.
What To Do
Gold Coast beaches are broad, well-kept, and often bordered by palm-lined promenades. As an enclave for wealthy snowbirds, you’ll find a lot of arts attractions here. Palm Beach was once America’s “Gilded playground,” and it’s where you’ll find railroad tycoon Henry Flagler’s winter home turned museum. Fort Lauderdale is often referred to as “Mini Monaco” or “the Venice of America” for its extensive network of canals and yachting community. Ogle the yachts by staying at Pier-Sixty-Six, a new resort on 32 acres of marina.
Where To Stay
Palm House, a new luxury hotel in Palm Beach with white-tuxedoed bartenders and a color palette of PB’s notorious pink and green pastels.
Paradise Coast
- Sophisticated, but balanced with a natural, untamed side
Where Is The Paradise Coast?
Paradise Coast spans from Naples to Marco Island and into the western Everglades.
Fun Fact
You can now step into the shoes (or behind the lens) of famed Everglades photographer Clyde Butcher by staying in a cottage behind his Big Cypress Gallery. Take a guided swamp walk to understand how the artist captures his photographs.
What To Do
For a luxurious stay on the Paradise Coast, it’s Naples you’re after. Stroll the boutique-lined Third Street South, wander the tropical Naples Botanical Garden, or get to golfing—Naples lays claim to the title of “Golf Capital of the World,” with over 90 courses. Cultural and historical attractions are here as well, like the Baker Museum. Hotels like the Ritz-Carlton Naples, the JW Marriott Marco Island, and the forthcoming Four Seasons Naples Beach Club guarantee a comfortable stay. The beaches here are soft as sugar and have very calm waves.
For a bit of old soul Florida, head to Everglades City, a proud frontier town in subtropical swamp wilderness. Stay at Rod & Gun Club, a 100-year-old hotel built on an original frontier structure. As the stone crab capital of the world, you won’t want to miss stone crab season (October through May), where you can enjoy experiences like the blessing of the fleet and savor the fresh catch at Everglades Seafood Festival.
This region is the land of the Calusa indigenous peoples. You can get a better understanding of what life was like before European settlement by exploring the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, or take a kayak, airboat, seaplane, or swamp buggy into the Big Cypress Basin. Learn more about the region’s Calusa heritage at the Marco Island Historical Museum.
Where To Stay
The Perry Hotel Naples opened in January 2025 on the Cocohatchee River. The boutique hotel has a rooftop bar and an eight-slip marina.
Emerald Coast
- Luxurious but laid-back
Where Is The Emerald Coast?
The Emerald Coast—including the popular 30A area—blends Southern elegance with unfussy coastal style. Often dubbed “The Hamptons of the South,” this region includes places like Pensacola, Destin, Seaside, Alys Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, and Panama City.
Fun Fact
Fort Walton and Destin beach are hotspots for divers and snorkelers with over 400 artificial reefs.
What To Do
This coast of Florida is best explored on a slow, unhurried drive along its scenic byway, 30A, stopping at each small town along the way. The Emerald Coast beaches have fine quartz crystal sand and brilliant green waters, which give the coastline its eponymous name. Travelers interested in military history will want to put the Air Force Armament Museum and the Women Veterans Memorial on their list.
Where To Stay
Kaiya, new serene beachfront rentals on Inlet Beach, designed in a Mediterranean style with outdoor courtyards and private pools.
Forgotten Coast
- Soulful, slow, and untouched
Meinzahn/Getty Images
Where Is The Forgotten Coast?
The Forgotten Coast is a destination for those who crave quiet coastlines and small-town charm. This is Florida as it was decades ago. No high-rises, no chain restaurants; just oyster shacks, white sand, and salty air. It includes the panhandle towns of Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, Alligator Point, Carrabelle, and St. George Island.
Fun Fact
More than 80 percent of Franklin County is publicly owned and preserved as wilderness area, which leaves creeks, intercoastal waterways, and remote coastlines untouched and ready to be explored.
What To Do
Explore the protected dunes and undeveloped shoreline of St. George Island State Park, paddle the protected shores, or learn about the area’s history at Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and Art.
Where To Stay
Hotel Saint Joseph, a boutique hotel in Port St. Joe renovated from an old bank building.
Nature Coast
- Small town charm, crystal-clear springs, and fresh Florida produce
Brown W. Cannon III
Where Is The Nature Coast?
Florida’s Nature Coast is in the upper Gulf Coast region, including Citrus, Hernando, and Levy counties. Notable towns include Crystal River, Homosassa, Floral City, and Inverness.
Fun Fact
This is the only place in the U.S. where you can legally swim with manatees in the wild at Crystal River Springs.
What To Do
Visitors flock to the “Manatee Capital of the World” to see these gentle giants, and also swim alongside them. This region is rich in clear-watered spring heads like Crystal River Springs State Park, Three Sisters Springs, Chassahowitzka Springs, and Rainbow Springs.
Quintessential sleepy Old Florida, towns here are oak-shaded and feature locally mom-and-pop diners and restaurants. The Withlacoochee State Cycling Trail, the Floral City Strawberry Festival, and Ferris Groves fresh citrus are also big draws.
Where To Stay
Cabot Citrus Farms, a new luxury resort with two 18-hole golf courses, clay shooting course, archery, and bass fishing.
Sun Coast
- Big city amenities with energetic, youthful, and creative coastal neighborhoods
Courtesy of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater
Where Is The Sun Coast?
The area around Tampa Bay is colloquially known as the Sun Coast and includes a wide region with cities like Tampa, St. Petersburg, and one of the top-rated beaches in the U.S.—Clearwater Beach.
Fun Fact
This Florida coast is an emerging fine dining destination. The Michelin Guide now visits Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater.
What To Do
Visitors can stroll the pedestrian-friendly Bayshore Park Trail or Tampa Riverwalk, explore massive murals and The Dalí Museum in St. Pete, or feast on Tampa’s growing fine food scene. St. Pete is loved for its walkable feel and community gathering place—the St. Pete pier. This coast also includes the town of Tarpon Springs, one of the biggest Greek communities in the US.
Where To Stay
The Don CeSar—a pink palace of art deco glamour in St. Pete, or Hotel Hoya, a boutique hotel in historic Ybor City.
Cultural Coast
- Elegant, Old World, and circus-chic
Credit:
Robbie Caponetto
Where Is The Cultural Coast?
The Culture Coast includes Sarasota, Englewood, Venice, Lido Key, and Longboat Key, to name a few. It gets its name from the rich community of arts and culture groups (Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the West Coast Black Theatre Troupe) that have put this West Coast stretch on the global map for exceptional performing arts.
Fun Fact
Sarasota is the “Circus Capital of the World,” thanks to the Ringling Brothers, who chose this coast as their circus’s winter home in the early 1900s. There’s still a strong circus presence here, and you can even try out the circus arts yourself by taking a recreational class at the Circus Arts Conservatory.
What To Do
The Culture Coast is rich in performing and visual arts, and home to Florida’s state art museum, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Here you’ll find the Ringling’s immense collection of Baroque and Renaissance European art housed in a soft pink Italianate museum and gardens. Also on the Ringling grounds is their ornate former home (some might say palace), Ca’ d ‘Zan, a Venetian-style home that sits at the lapping shores of Sarasota Bay. The Ringling College of Art & Design and the Sarasota Art Museum add even more richness to the community of art-lovers here.
Don’t leave without visiting the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens—named a TIME World’s Greatest Place for its pioneering energy-positive design (the only of its kind in the world). This “living museum” rotates art exhibitions and installations regularly, so you’ll never see the same gardens twice.
Where To Stay
The Cirque St. Armands Beachside, overlooking Lido Beach, draws upon Sarasota’s history to inform its interiors, showcasing archival Ringling photography.
Sports Coast
- Athletic, playful, and packed with recreational entertainment
Courtesy Mike Winkles for Florida’s Sports Coast
Where Is The Sports Coast?
Florida’s Sports Coast is just north of Tampa, and it’s where you come to train and play. It includes communities like Dade City, New Port Richey, Wesley Chapel, and Land O’ Lakes. Home to a variety of sports facilities, the region is a hotbed for those looking to stay active.
Fun Fact
You can feed giraffes here at Giraffe Ranch, a Florida wildlife park.
What To Do
Cycle the interconnecting bike trail network, like the 42-mile paved Suncoast Trail. Or get out on the water with a fishing charter for some Florida angling and scallop diving. Other fun ways to stay moving are The Lift Adventure Park, a giant inflatable jungle gym where you can learn to wakeboard. If you want to slow things down, hop in a hot air balloon ride with Black Diamond Hot Air Balloon Rides.
Where To Stay
Historic Hacienda Hotel, a Florida pink hotel in the Spanish-Colonial style. Or Saddlebrook Resort, a luxury property with a golf course designed by Rees Jones, one of the world’s leading golf course architects.
Adventure Coast
- Mermaids, manatees, and plenty of vintage Florida
Credit:
Courtesy Florida’s Adventure Coast Visitors Bureau
Where Is The Adventure Coast?
Florida’s Adventure Coast covers Brooksville, Weeki Wachee, and Hernando Beach. The coast gets its name from the wide variety of activities you can do on the water (fishing, boating, diving, scalloping, paddlewheel cruising) and land (cycling, ATVing, horseback riding, blueberry picking).
What To Do
Weeki Wachee Springs put this coastline on the map for the underwater mermaid performances. Follow the Mermaid Tale Trail, a public art scavenger hunt, to find more than 30 mermaid statues painted by Florida artists. Families can pick up a passport, discover the statues, and earn prizes.
The coast’s only public beach is Pine Island Park, a 3-acre park on white sand shores equipped with picnic shelters, barbecue grills, a playground, volleyball courts, and an observation deck overlooking the Gulf. Best of all, parking is only $5. Wind down with local wine at the Sparacia Witherell Winery in the rolling hills of Brooksville, or sip the Adventure Coast’s Kegs, Casks, & Corks trail.
This stretch of coastline is the land of Seminole indigenous peoples. You can learn more about this regions history and the Second Seminole War at the Chinsegut Hill Historic Site.
Where To Stay
Mary’s Fish Camp, one of the oldest fish camps in Florida, with rustic cabins and campgrounds on the banks of spring-fed rivers, famous for fresh running mullet.
Fort Myers Coast
Cedric Angeles; Styling: Celine Russell/Zenobia; Dress: Boho Me; Hat: Mar Y Sol
Where Is The Fort Myers Coast?
Anchored by Fort Myers, this coast also includes Sanibel and Captiva islands. These Gulf beaches are known for exceptional shelling, gentle waves, and artsy local communities. Inventor Thomas Edison and automobile entrepreneur Henry Ford both fell for Florida’s warm weather and tarpon fishing, and purchased property in Fort Myers (then a frontier town) at the turn of the 19th century. Today, you can tour the winter estates and gardens, one of the most visited historic homes in the United States.
Fun Fact
You’ve heard of hiking trails, but have you heard of paddle trails? The Calusa Blueway is a 200-mile marked canoe and kayak trail that weaves through the coastal waters and inland tributaries. It’s suitable for a variety of paddle skill levels, and full of marine animals and shore birds.
What To Do
Visitors can go full-moon kayaking, explore a 2000-year-old ancient Calusa shell mound, or cruise to secluded islands like Cabbage Key for Gulf shrimp and slow, old-Florida life. In downtown Fort Myers, tropical-influenced art is always in bloom at Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens. Take a painting class at the newly opened Azaleas On The Corner, a family-owned art and garden shop offering specialty classes, garden workshops, wine tastings, and live painting sessions.
Where To Stay
The Luminary Hotel & Co. in downtown Fort Myers blends modern amenities with local heritage, featuring rooms inspired by the city’s most notable figures.
