Siesta Key Beach

Florida has so many beaches and many awesome things to do. However thereʼs nothing like the beach voted #1 best beach in America for many years in a row, Siesta Key. Iʼm talking powder white sand that never gets hot because itʼs composed mostly of quartz. They call it sugar sand. The water warm is like a crystal clear bath. There are never many waves because itʼs on the Gulf side of Florida. Most beach accesses have showers to rinse off before hopping back in the van. Oh, and guess what? They have an awesome playground which is key when you have little ones.

Driving through the quaint little village you can see all of the cute shops, the many beach like restaurants and of course a glimpse at island life for whoever is lucky enough to live there. This 8-mile-long by 2-mile-wide paradise sits off the sun coast as a part of a barrier island chain which includes Casey Key, Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island. There is one RV park located on the south end of the island called the Turtle Beach Campground. Itʼs pretty basic, but it is just a few steps away from the beach! The perfectly white sand is the best consistency for making sandcastles. The island actually hosts a giant Sandcastle Festival every November called the Crystal Classics. Artists from all over come and create giant, stunning, and hand crafted sand castles and art.

We visited during the summertime which is a “slow time” for them since most of the snow birds are back up North. It was actually kind of nice to have the beach to ourselves some days. The sunsets on this beach are absolutely spectacular and on Sunday evenings at sunset time there is a large gathering on the beach for a drum circle.

Our visit to Siesta Key and the other barrier islands was truly heaven. The fact that this slice of heaven is right here in our country is almost hard to believe.