With stunning coastlines and year-round great weather, Florida is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world. With over 1,000 kilometres of sparkling white sandy beaches, emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, endless sunshine, and an abundance of fish and marine life, this peninsula is rightfully considered a paradise for water sports enthusiasts. Real estate in Florida has become in high demand amid the emergence of a large number of remote workers: people are moving to this state for the opportunity to combine business activity with a resort lifestyle, and office hours with fishing, surfing, or yachting.
Water sports are an integral part of life in Florida. Many beaches welcome swimmers, surfers, and scuba divers. Read on for the list of some of the peninsula’s top beaches for water sports, from snorkelling to surfing. Buy or rent an apartment or villa in Florida near one of these locations, and your days will look like the best shots of beach holiday video ads you’ve ever seen.
Content:
- Best beaches for kayaking
- Best beaches for surfing
- Best beaches for snorkelling
- Best beaches for scuba diving
- Best beaches for paddle boarding
Best beaches for kayaking
Turtle Beach, located in the south of the island of Siesta Key in Sarasota, is best-known for the huge number of sea turtles nesting here. Canoers and kayakers also love Turtle Beach, partly for the marine life but also for the cosy waterways.
A half-hour drive up the coast from Turtle Beach takes you to South Lido County Park, where you will find even more kayaking adventures. Sail through leafy mangrove tunnels and you might even see a bottlenose dolphin. On the dazzling white sand at the edge of the shore, you are sure to spot large grey herons, closely watching the fish scurrying in the water.
Nighttime kayaking is particularly popular on the state’s Space Coast, a 100 km stretch of beaches and rocket launch sites along the peninsula’s eastern, Atlantic coast. Kayaking at night here gives you the opportunity to witness a unique natural phenomenon. Under the cover of darkness, tiny glowing organisms illuminate the waters of the ocean with fluorescent light. This is a truly magical sight.
By the way, apartments in Florida on the Space Coast are currently offered at relatively low prices for the state. This region, however, has great potential: in recent years, multimillionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and others have been actively investing in it, aiming to turn this area into a new high-tech hub.
Best beaches for surfing
Experience pristine Pensacola Beach for crystal clear waters, white sand, and the best surfing in Florida, especially during the winter months when the waves are at their strongest. The water here may be chilly, but has it ever stopped real surfers?
Another of Florida’s most popular surfing spots is in St. Augustine, which claims to be America’s oldest. Blowhole and Middles are two favourite local beaches for those catching the wave. If you’re just starting out as a surfer, rent a board, sign up for lessons at one of the many local surf schools, and head out into the water to join the local surfers who never tire of praising St. Augustine’s beaches for their huge variety of waves.
Best beaches for snorkelling
Vero Beach, located about a two-hour drive from Orlando, boasts some of the clearest waters in Florida. Here tourists will be offered to snorkel off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to see lobsters, rays, loggerhead sea turtles, manatees, and about 250 species of fish swim by.
On the opposite side of the peninsula, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, there is Navarre Beach with artificial reefs ideal for snorkelling and diving. If you are looking for a beach community, where you can soak up the sun on pristine beaches free of crowds of tourists, have a picnic, and stroll along a massive pier while watching the dolphins, there’s no place better than Navarre. Known as one of the quietest beach destinations in the Florida Panhandle, Navarre Beach also offers incredible views of the Gulf of Mexico, especially at sunset. It is a great place to visit all year round. The ideal time to visit depends on your priorities. The temperature and humidity are most comfortable for outdoor activities from mid-February to the end of May. The beach is busiest in June, but May and July are also popular with tourists. Since the high season is also the most expensive, it is better to plan a trip in early spring, autumn, or winter. Throughout the year, Navarre Beach and its surroundings host a variety of events and festivals, so you’re sure to find something to your liking, no matter which season you choose.
Best beaches for scuba diving
Florida, whose shores are washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, is a mecca for scuba divers. The best dive spots here are in the north near Panama City and in the south near Miami and the Florida Keys. What you discover on the ocean floor off the coast of Panama City is absolutely spectacular. There is the wreckage of hovercrafts, tanks, towers, bridges, and a powerful British steam tanker from World War II.
No conversation about scuba diving in Florida would be complete without a mention of Fort Lauderdale. There are dozens of shipwrecks off its coast and even a series of old oil platforms called Tenneco Towers for you to explore. These old platforms are now covered in coral and are home to a variety of fish and other forms of marine life.
Near the Florida Keys, a statue of Christ was deliberately dropped in the water, which is now a dive destination. Moreover, here you can also find spots for diving to shipwrecks and underwater reefs.
Best beaches for paddle boarding
Paddle boarding is very relaxing and beginner-friendly. There are many beaches in the Sunshine State where you can try your hand at it.
For example, south of Daytona Beach is New Smyrna Beach. Today, there are a number of new development projects in Florida in this city, and water sports enthusiasts often buy apartments or villas here as a second home. In addition to paddle boarding, surfing is also popular here, and the city has a large community of surfers.
Naples Beach in Naples, Florida is an upscale resort community where you can paddle board along the shore line or waterways among the mysterious mangroves, coming across playful dolphins and various species of birds and fish.
We have listed far from all the water sports available in Florida. There is also beach volleyball, jet skis, water skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, kite surfing, etc. Let’s not forget about yachting and deep-sea fishing, which are offered on the islands—fishers are taken far into the ocean, and a good catch is guaranteed. Life in Florida is always full of sun and sea.
