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

Effectively…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 identified, has lengthy been an iffy go-to for vacationers who sometimes go for California’s Pacific blue paradises and Florida’s Atlantic turquoise at any time when they will, somewhat than the standard brackish waters spreading from Texas to most of Alabama.

Close to 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 consultants at World Atlas lately revealed the ‘Most Underrated Cities In Gulf Coast’ for 2025 with one unheard-of white-sand hideaway we right here at Travel Off Path had been ooh-ing and ahh-ing over, questioning to ourselves how we have by no means managed to trip right here.

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

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

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

Final 12 months, we revealed Nokomis in the identical gentle, however now it is Redington’s time to shine.

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

Not like Siesta Key and Clearwater, Redington is the kind of place solely locals flock to flee, such locations that vacationers flock to 12 months after 12 months, and who can blame them?

Siesta Key and Clearwater discover themselves in an annual duel in a battle to be topped the perfect 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 seemed like a shocking shoreline straight out of the Bahamas.

However when you lug a cooler from the parking zone by comfortable white sand and uncover you are going to be eavesdropping on the discuss 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 no doubt deserves the accolades.

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

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

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

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

Particularly, Archibald Seaside Park holds a formidable 4.7 Google ranking in a world of whiners, so it must be prime notch!

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

Reaching Redington Seaside

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

In accordance with Travel Math, there are 4 airports inside 100 miles of Redington Seaside:

• 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 just a little…)

Regardless of being essentially the most linked of the bunch, it is stated that Tampa is one in every of America’s most unreliable airports. The opposite 4 is perhaps your greatest wager.

Do not imagine me?

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

Sam Sears

Sam, our Lead Author & Journalist primarily based in San Diego has visited 36 international locations and written over 1000 articles with a concentrate on sharing his personal journey experiences and shining a light-weight on lesser-known gems.