Best Florida Keys Beaches
Pictures Guide

The Florida Keys, USA
© Szgergely, Dreamstime.com

America's Florida Keys are a 120 mile long chain of tropical islands curving around the base of the Florida peninsula, connected to the mainland by a vastly long and much-filmed bridge. The main islands run from Key Largo, Islamadora, Marathon, Lower Keys and finally to Key West, the most distant and most famous island.

Florida Keys best beaches

A Key West resort hotel beach, Florida Keys, USA

Not so good for beach holidays generally due to the small size of the strands and amount of flotsam and jetsam [marine garbage] littering the shore, tourists who want fine, manicured sand may prefer to stay in a resort with a man-made beach. Public sand, such as Cannon beach, can be be trash-strewn and uninviting.

Bahia Honda public beach, on the Caribbean side, Florida Keys
© Gikis, Dreamstime.com

The best beaches in this group are found in Bahia Honda Key [30 miles north of Key West], Bahia Honda State Recreation Area. On the Atlantic Ocean side is Sandspur Beach, family-friendly with generally calm waters and a gentle slope, while on the Caribbean side, Caloosa Beach [near the Bahia Honda Bridge] offers the traditional Caribbean qualities of clear water, white coral sand and a palm backdrop.
Both beaches offer facilities such as boat and equipment rentals, camping, restrooms, showers, shops and cafés.

Key West, Smathers Beach activities

Smathers Beach is Key West’s largest beach, a busy 2 mile length of sand located just south of Roosevelt Boulevard with plenty of parking and many activities on offer - water sports rentals, parasailing, windsurfing, volleyball, bike paths, snack vendors, restrooms, eating and drinking spots and more...

The Florida Keys are excellent for fishing, kayaking, snorkelling and diving and are home to the North America's best living coral reefs, where colourful fish large and small are a great attraction, as are the wreck dives onto accidental as well as deliberately sunk shipping. The Florida Keys Shipwreck Heritage Trail is a line of nine wreck sites [20-130 ft deep] that stretches from Key Largo to Key West.

Key West condos on an average beach, Florida Keys.
© Blueice69, Dreamstime.com

Florida Keys Climate:
The official hurricane season begins June 1 and ends on November 30 but storms/rain are most likely mid-August to mid-October. In summertime average high air temperature is 32C [89F], water temperature 30C [85F], in winter air lows reach 18C [65F].
Get to the Keys from the mainland via U.S. 1, the Overseas Highway.
Visitors to the Upper Keys can fly into Miami International Airport or Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. From there get a shuttle bus or rental car and arrive in the Upper Keys in about an hour from Miami or 100 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale. Travelling to Key West from the mainland will take about 3.5 hours.
Tourists can fly to Marathon, the small city at the mid-point of the island chain, aboard small airlines such as Florida Coastal Airlines and SeaCoast Airlines. Shuttle buses and rental cars are available in Marathon.
Visitors can also fly to Key West International Airport from many Florida cities. Shuttle buses and rental cars are available.

See bugbog's America's best beaches page as well as dedicated California and Hawaii pages.

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