Increasingly the stamping ground of European package tourists spilling south from the St Petersburg beaches, the white sands of the Sarasota beaches are gradually losing much of their scenic appeal to towering condos. For all that, they're worth a day of anybody's time, with the two islands on which they lie, Lido Key and Siesta Key, accessible from the mainland. There is, however, no direct link between them. The third island, Longboat Key, is primarily residential.

The Ringling Causeway crosses the yacht-filled Sarasota Bay from the foot of Main Street to Lido Key and flows into St Armand's Circle , a roundabout ringed by upmarket shops and restaurants dotted with some of Ringling's replica classical statuary. Continuing south along Benjamin Franklin Drive you come to the island's most reachable beaches, ending after two miles at the more attractive South Lido Park (daily 8am-dusk; free), a belt of dazzlingly bright sand beyond a large, grassy park.

The bulbous northerly section of tadpole-shaped Siesta Key , reached by Siesta Drive off US-41, about five miles south of downtown Sarasota, holds the bulk of the island's residents, with streets that twist around a network of canals. To escape the crowds at Siesta Key Beach , beside Ocean Beach Boulevard, continue south past Crescent Beach, and follow Midnight Pass Road for six miles to Turtle Beach , a small body of sand that has the island's only campground.

Sarasota's beaches

• Sarasota's beaches

Florida cities


All U.S. city guides