This Top-Rated US Beach Made Me Feel Like I Was in the Caribbean

I am no stranger to beautiful beach destinations. My hometown, La Guaira, Venezuela, spoiled me with turquoise waters and soft sand.

Weekend getaways throughout my childhood would often involve taking a short 50-minute flight to some of Venezuela’s islands, like Margarita, where I was baptized, and Coche, which I have long used as my golden standard when it comes to beach destinations thanks to its clear waters and white sand.

So when it comes to beaches, I have pretty high standards.

Sixty miles south of downtown Tampa, on a barrier island near southern Sarasota, the small beach community of Siesta Key is home to white-sand, clear-water beaches that resemble those I grew up enjoying. During a trip across Florida in July, I visited the beach to see what it was like.

Sarasota County, home to Siesta Key, welcomes over 6.5 million visitors to its beaches each year, according to the county’s website.

And the area isn’t exactly secret: Starting in 2017, the small town was the backdrop to the MTV reality show “Siesta Key,” which lasted for five seasons until 2023.

Unlike other public beaches, where you just walk onto the shore, Siesta Key Beach has a formal pavilion welcoming visitors.

The sand-colored building contains amenities for beachgoers, including a concessions stand, restrooms, covered picnic tables, a staffed information stand, and drink and food vendors.

Vendors sell beach classics like daiquiris and piña coladas alongside more daring options, like an $18 loaded Bloody Mary topped with chicken tenders, bacon, and shrimp. An extensive food menu features breakfast items like avocado toast and seafood lunches like fish and chips and a fried grouper wrap.

At the information desk, visitors can learn about nearby attractions in Siesta Key Village, transportation options, and facts about the beach and its wildlife.

Locals have been fighting the possibility of high-rise hotels for decades, hoping to keep the barrier island’s small beach-town feel.

Local groups like the Siesta Key Association have advocated against the construction of large hotels, citing concerns over the increase in car and pedestrian traffic, as well as beach congestion. “How much can one little island absorb?” the association asks on its website.

Today, only one full-size hotel — the 52-room Siesta Key Beach Resort and Suites — stands on the key, local news channel WWSB reported. An assortment of smaller cottages and vacation condo rentals make up the rest of the lodging options within Siesta Key.

This made the beach feel less like the hectic Miami Beach I’d grown used to while living in Florida, where luxury hotels block the view of the shore and deter public entry in some areas, and more like the low-key beach destinations you’d find while roadtripping across the state’s less-crowded coasts.

For travelers looking for a more upscale or hotel-chain stay in Siesta Key, they may have to travel 8 miles north to downtown Sarasota.

Parking is free at Siesta Key Beach and there are over 900 spots available by the main entrance to the beach, according to Rent Siesta Key. However, they often fill up by mid-morning, which I noticed when I was leaving.

Made up almost entirely of pure quartz, the white powdery sand on Siesta Key’s shores traveled down from the Appalachian Mountains, getting eroded into tiny sand particles, according to Siesta Sand.

The sand’s unique composition keeps it cool to the touch even under the scorching Florida sun, one of the main reasons the beach is ranked at the top of the national rankings.

But feeling this unique sand was an experience of its own.

Unlike the strenuous beach days of my childhood, where you’d have to sprint from the car to the water to keep the hot sand from burning your feet, walking on Siesta Key’s quartz sand was relaxing, even while standing under the bright Florida sun.

The Siesta Key Crystal Classic International Sand Sculpting Festival, a four-day event hosted on the barrier island’s shores, brings national and international competitors and visitors to the small beach town.

Each year, 24 “master sand sculptors,” as described by the festival’s website, compete for prizes up to $4,000 for the top duo competitors and $2,000 for solo winners.

Other than impressive sand sculptures, the festival also features live music, outdoor art galleries, over 90 shopping, food and beverage vendors, and amateur sand sculpting events like a three-day “Quick Sand” competition and open sand sculpting lessons.

Walking past the white quartz sand into the shore, Siesta Key Beach offers visitors stunning turquoise waters that are peaceful and perfect for relaxing or enjoying with kids.

Unlike the rowdy, surf-worthy waves of Florida’s Atlantic coast, the Siesta Key waters are shallow and calm. According to locals, the shallow water helps keep sharks, along with other fish, away from the shores, which combined with inoffensive wave tides, provides parents and visitors with peace of mind when relaxing on the coast.

I instantly fell in love with the beach, which felt very different from other Florida beaches I had visited.

When I visited, I not only saw tons of people reading while tanning, older couples walking along the shore, and families with young kids watching their toddlers step on the cool sand, but I also got to witness a class taking morning surf lessons on the beach.

This reminded me of my summers spent at beach camps in Venezuela growing up, where kids my age and I would also find ways to entertain ourselves in the sea, although our waves weren’t as inoffensive as Siesta Key’s.

Watching how quiet and wholesome weekday mornings are in Siesta Key, even during the summertime, made me understand locals’ efforts to keep their gem low-key.

Visitors to Siesta Key can enjoy free transportation between the beach and Siesta Key Village, where most bars and restaurants are located.

The services work on both a schedule and an on-demand basis, with passengers being able to both wait at a stop until the next shuttle comes or call a phone number to request an on-demand ride.

After visiting Siesta Key Beach, I can see why the destination has captured the attention of national and foreign visitors.

Being raised on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, I am no stranger to beautiful beaches, and I can say that Siesta Key transported me to the Caribbean shores I grew up in with its white sand and clear water.

This little beach town might just be Florida’s best hidden secret, and it should be a non-negotiable part of your travel itinerary if you’re visiting Florida’s Gulf Coast.