Find your beach town in Florida
Every one of the 167 towns, scored the same way. Search by name, or by what you want, like quiet, boating or walkable.
Perdido Key
A skinny barrier island on the Alabama line, with Gulf front condos, protected dunes on both ends and the Flora-Bama in the middle of it all.
Pensacola
Florida's westernmost city, with more than 450 years of history, a lively downtown and white sand beaches across the bay.
Gulf Breeze
A leafy peninsula between downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, where families come for the schools and the water is at the end of every street.
Pensacola Beach
A barrier island town on Santa Rosa Island, with sugar white sand and miles of protected national seashore on both sides.
Navarre Beach
The quiet stretch of the Emerald Coast, with a long Gulf pier, a sea turtle center and miles of open dunes between Pensacola Beach and Destin.
Navarre
The mainland side of Navarre, a growing stretch of neighborhoods along Santa Rosa Sound with Navarre Beach a short causeway drive away.
CompareMary Esther
A small, settled city on Santa Rosa Sound between Fort Walton Beach and Hurlburt Field, with sound front streets and some of the most approachable prices in the area.
Fort Walton Beach
An unpretentious waterfront city on Santa Rosa Sound with a walkable old downtown, a calendar full of local events and Okaloosa Island's beaches just over the bridge.
Okaloosa Island
A short barrier island strip across the bridge from Fort Walton Beach, with a Gulf pier, a beachfront boardwalk, the Gulfarium and undeveloped land running east toward Destin.
CompareShalimar
A tiny, leafy town on Choctawhatchee Bay and its bayous, just north of Fort Walton Beach, with shady streets, docks and a waterfront golf course.
Destin
A harbor town built around fishing charters and emerald water.
Niceville
A bayside town on Choctawhatchee Bay where boats tie up on the bayous and the Gulf beaches are a short drive away.
CompareValparaiso
A small, older bayou town tucked between Eglin Air Force Base and Boggy Bayou, right next door to Niceville.
Miramar Beach
The stretch of Gulf front between Destin and 30A, with sugar white beaches, Sandestin's shops and a lot going on all year.
30A (Santa Rosa Beach)
Sugar white sand, rare coastal dune lakes and small beach towns strung along Scenic Highway 30A.
CompareFreeport
A fast growing inland town on the bay side of Walton County, where newer neighborhoods sit a short drive from the 30A beaches.
Panama City Beach
Big beaches, big energy and a lot going on after dark.
Panama City
A bayfront city on St. Andrews Bay with a reviving downtown and the Gulf beaches a bridge away.
Mexico Beach
A small, quiet Gulf town on the Forgotten Coast that was nearly wiped out by Hurricane Michael and has steadily rebuilt around its wide, uncrowded beach.
Port St. Joe
A small town on St. Joseph Bay, known for calm clear water, bay sunsets and the beaches of Cape San Blas.
Apalachicola
An oyster town with brick storefronts, shrimp boats and no hurry at all.
St. George Island
A barrier island with no high rises, a lighthouse at its center and nine miles of state park beach at the east end.
Carrabelle
A small fishing town on the Forgotten Coast with a working harbor and a slow, friendly pace.
St. Teresa
A quiet line of beach houses on US 98 east of Carrabelle, beside the FSU Coastal and Marine Lab. There are no stores here, and that is the point.
24 of 167
15 stretches of coast
Each area has its own feel. Pick one on the map or below to see its towns side by side.
Pensacola and the Emerald Coast
The western Panhandle runs from historic Pensacola east to Panama City Beach. In between are Destin's harbor and the small beach towns of 30A, all on sugar white sand and clear green water.
View areaThe Forgotten Coast
East of Panama City the high rises stop. Port St. Joe, Apalachicola and Carrabelle are small working waterfront towns on quiet bays, St. George Island has the long empty beaches, and the coast runs on east past St. Teresa to the river town of St. Marks, half an hour from Tallahassee.
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The Nature Coast and Big Bend
Where the Panhandle bends into the peninsula, the coast turns to marsh and there is very little development. Life here is springs, rivers, scalloping and fishing, in towns like Cedar Key, Crystal River and Steinhatchee.
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St. Pete and the Clearwater Beaches
A narrow peninsula between the Gulf and Tampa Bay that packs in a walkable waterfront city, a string of barrier island beach towns and a few small bayside downtowns. Tampa's airport is close to all of it.
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Tampa and the South Shore
The east side of Tampa Bay is the big city and the canal communities south of it. You trade Gulf beaches for jobs, pro sports, a major airport and boating on the bay.
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Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice
From the Manatee River down to Englewood, this stretch pairs an arts minded city with some of the Gulf's best known sand on Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and Siesta Key. Venice adds a walkable island downtown.
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Fort Myers, Sanibel and Charlotte Harbor
Charlotte Harbor, the Caloosahatchee River and the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva make this boating and shelling country. Much of it was hit hard by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and has been rebuilding since.
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Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades
The polished southwest corner of the state, with calm Gulf beaches, golf and a walkable downtown in Naples. Past Marco Island the road ends at Everglades City and Chokoloskee, on the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades National Park.
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Miami and Fort Lauderdale
The most urban stretch of the Florida coast, from the Art Deco blocks of South Beach north through Hollywood to the canals of Fort Lauderdale. Two major airports, late nights and beaches with a city right behind them.
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The Palm Beaches
From Boca Raton up to Jupiter, this stretch mixes lively downtowns in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach with quiet oceanfront towns, golf communities and clear water at the inlets.
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The Treasure Coast
Named for the Spanish treasure fleet that wrecked here in 1715. It is a lower key run of river towns and uncrowded barrier island beaches from Stuart to Sebastian, with no high rise skyline.
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The Space Coast
The coast around Cape Canaveral, where rocket launches are part of the view. Surf towns line the barrier island, and the mainland cities have some of the lowest prices near the Atlantic.
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Daytona, New Smyrna and Flagler
Wide, hard packed beaches run from New Smyrna Beach up through Daytona to Flagler Beach. Surf towns, race week crowds and some of the most affordable oceanfront in Florida share this stretch.
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The First Coast
Northeast Florida, from the brick streets of St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Expect wide beaches, real seasons and the Jacksonville beach towns in between.
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