Southwest Florida’s Secret Escape! Experience Less Crowds And White Sand Beaches

Well…Google Maps and Apple Maps caved, so it appears like we’re right here to speak concerning the “Gulf of America”.

Politics apart, “the Gulf”, because it’s mostly recognized, has lengthy been an iffy go-to for vacationers who usually go for California’s Pacific blue paradises and Florida’s Atlantic turquoise every time they will, fairly than the same old brackish waters spreading from Texas to most of Alabama.

Near the Floribama line is the place we start to see situations extra paying homage to the Caribbean, a far cry from Galveston and Biloxi.

The specialists at World Atlas not too long ago revealed the ‘Most Underrated Towns In Gulf Coast’ for 2025 with one unheard-of white-sand hideaway we right here at Travel Off Path have been ooh-ing and ahh-ing over, questioning to ourselves how we have by no means managed to trip right here.

It’s time to place the Gulf’s fugly stereotypes within the rear-view. Florida’s Gulf facet is a white-sand marvel teeming with famend seashore cities, but under-hyped Redington Beach has someway slipped by means of the cracks.

So Long, Siesta Key! A New ‘Key’ Awaits

Located on the barrier island of Sand Key, Redington Beach is one in every of Southwest Florida’s final remaining hidden gems.

Last yr, we revealed Nokomis in the identical mild, however now it is Redington’s time to shine.

Say goodbye to combating for house, grabbing a barstool at a sandy tiki shack, and witnessing means too many retirees’ past-their-prime swimwear.

Unlike Siesta Key and Clearwater, Redington is the kind of place solely locals flock to flee, such locations that vacationers flock to yr after yr, and who can blame them?

Siesta Key and Clearwater discover themselves in an annual duel in a battle to be topped the most effective seashore, however you are not sacrificing all that a lot by flipping the script to Redington this summer season.

Southwest Florida’s White-Sand Hideaway

As somebody who has visited Siesta Key, I used to be blown away from the second my group scored a entrance row parking spot in what appeared like a shocking shoreline straight out of the Bahamas.

But when you lug a cooler from the car parking zone by means of smooth white sand and uncover you are going to be eavesdropping on the speak of the city on the retirement house, whether or not you prefer it or not, it had me questioning if Siesta Key (and Clearwater) are the one pristine seashores within the space.

Circling again to Nokomis, the reply is not any — however Siesta Key unquestionably deserves the accolades.

It additionally begs the query of why locations like Redington Beach will not be family names.

Hate to interrupt it to you, however I haven’t got a solution as a result of every thing I’m seeing is nothing however constructive:

How uncommon is it to seek out Florida shores the place you do not have to rise up means too early simply to attain a parking house and a entrance row seat overlooking vibrant emerald waters?

Redington Beach is only one sq. mile in dimension, however that is ample house to get pleasure from additional elbow room.

In specific, Archibald Beach Park holds a powerful 4.7 Google ranking in a world of whiners, so it needs to be prime notch!

Just 2 days in the past, a beachgoer raved concerning the park’s ‘powdery sand seashores!’, and said the seashore has ‘extra shells than you’ll know what to do with’.

Reaching Redington Beach

Despite being unknown to most, Redington is definitely very easy to achieve, deepening the thriller of why it is remained beneath the radar.

According to Travel Math, there are 4 airports inside 100 miles of Redington Beach:

• Saint Petersburg, FL (PIE / KPIE) – 16 miles away
• Tampa, FL (TPA / KTPA) – 27 miles away
• Sarasota, FL (SRQ / KSRQ) – 43 miles
• Punta Gorda, FL (PGD / KPGD) – 102 miles (Okay, I’ll have stretched the reality somewhat…)

Despite being probably the most related of the bunch, it is mentioned that Tampa is one in every of America’s most unreliable airports. The different 4 is likely to be your greatest guess.

Don’t imagine me?

Read our characteristic on Punta Gorda as Southwest Florida’s new journey hotspot.