Being a native Floridian I’ve been to many beaches in my lifetime. Here are some of my favorites.

Favorite “local” beach. I use this label lightly.

But my favorite day trip beach is Fort DeSoto North Beach. It offers the same beauty as the popular Clearwater and St. Pete beaches without quite as many crowds. Now don’t misunderstand, Fort DeSoto gets busy but parking is usually easier and it is not as commercial as other beaches located nearby. Fort DeSoto is a State Park so you have to pay to get in and there are a couple of tolls to pay along the way. But The park offers a fishing pier, fort to explore, and a ferry.

My sentimental favorite beach is Daytona Beach. We took many family vacations to Daytona. The iconic drive on the sand beach offers cooler waters and bigger waves. There are plenty of places to stay and great places to eat all near by. With long stretches of beach you can usually find a patch of sand to set up on even when the beach is busy. High tides can making driving onto the beach a problem be sure to double tide times before you go. Daytona beach is the perfect beach vacation destination for the whole family.

My new favorite beach is Vero beach. Think quiet Daytona. Vero is farther south than Daytona but on the same coast so you’ll enjoy the cooler waters of the Atlantic. You’ll also enjoy the crashing waves in Vero. You will not see cars driving on the beach and no where near the number of hotels and restaurants. There are some nice small independent hotels located on the water and some nice shopping and dining areas but you will not have the same variety you find in Daytona. Which is fine by me!