8 Beach Towns In Florida That Are Great Alternatives To Fort Lauderdale

Abstract

• Skip crowded metropolis seashores – Deerfield Seashore and Port St. Lucie provide pristine waters and free entry.
• Delray Seashore has artwork and nature – go to gardens, museums, and seashores for the complete Florida expertise.
• Historic Cape Coral and refreshing Cocoa Seashore carry historic appeal and a number of water actions to discover.

The Sunshine State of Florida is one of the US’s premier spots for perfect beaches. Well-known for its white sandy dunes, colourful structure, plentiful palm bushes, and nice mountaineering trails, Florida’s seashores stand aside from all others on the East Coast.

Vacationers touring to Florida could have no scarcity of locations to remain for the right seashore expertise, with many selecting to remain at well-known locations like Miami and Fort Lauderdale. While big cities like Fort Lauderdale are famous for their fun and iconic experiences, they are often overwhelming, costly, and overcrowded. Fortunately, Florida is filled with lovable seashore cities that carry each magnificence and a peaceable environment. So, whether or not vacationers are on the lookout for a extra unknown place to journey to, a quaint and quiet city to retire in, or a extra family-friendly cease for youths, these Florida seashore cities will definitely present an escape from the massive metropolis.

8 Deerfield Seashore

This city north of Fort Lauderdale is a superb various for vacationers touring with children and for these concerned about fishing

Top-of-the-line alternate options to Fort Lauderdale is the close by city of Deerfield Beach. This charming city north of Fort Lauderdale has loads of parks for households, water sports activities for the adventurous, a pier for many who love fishing, and a stupendous seashore to observe the dawn on. Vacationers touring with children could have a blast right here at Quiet Waters Park (which has a enjoyable splash park) and on the close by Butterfly World.

The principle attraction of this city is its magnificent seashore, which has an international fishing pier that is 976 feet in length.

7 Port St. Lucie

This metropolis, 90 miles from Fort Lauderdale, attracts vacationers in with its free seashores and botanical gardens

Simply an hour and a half north of Fort Lauderdale is the charming coastal metropolis of Port St. Lucie. This metropolis is legendary for its many parks, golf golf equipment, and simply accessible seashores.

Top-of-the-line issues about Port St. Lucie is its 21 miles of pristine seashores. Better of all, and utterly distinct from Fort Lauderdale, is that all the beaches here are free and open to the public. Even parking is free right here! Vacationers and retirees can discover nice seashores like Porpoise Seashore, Jetty Park, Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, South Causeway Seashore, and extra.

Vacationers who’re concerned about lovely parks ought to head to Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, which has pavilions, fountains, ponds, historical palms, walkways, roses, and extra. Different points of interest embrace Oak Hammock Park, Spruce Bluff Protect, and Oxbow Eco-Heart.

Close by this metropolis is the St. Lucie County Aquarium, the place vacationers can go to study concerning the Caribbean marine life and the native Floridian ecosystem.

The seashores in Port St. Lucie are free and open to the general public!

6 Delray Seashore

This hub of worldwide tradition is the right Florida city to probe for artwork, gardens, and beachside parks

Delray Beach is without doubt one of the finest seashore cities north of Fort Lauderdale. This space is rife with points of interest galore, from the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens to the Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands and Mounts Botanical Garden. This space even has its personal artwork museum, the Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square. These parks and cultural facilities make life in Delray Seashore actually wealthy and add a layer of worldwide appeal to this area that massive cities like Fort Lauderdale lack.

Delray Seashore, as its title suggests, is legendary for its seashores. The titular Delray Municipal Seashore is an apparent alternative, however different seashores, resembling Atlantic Dunes Park, Spanish River Park, and Gulfstream Park, additionally provide beautiful coastal views and leisure alternatives. An ideal oceanside attraction is Sandoway Discovery Center, which gives vacationers the possibility to study Florida’s native marine life.

5 Cape Coral

Fort Lauderdale would be the Venice of America, however Cape Coral has that European metropolis’s well-known canals

Though Fort Lauderdale is commonly referred to as the Venice of America, the city of Cape Coral matches that title significantly better as a result of its many canals. Located on a grid so good it is nearly like a piece of architectural artwork, this canaled metropolis is attractive each from the bottom and from above.

A number of the finest public seashores on this space are Yacht Membership Public Seashore, 4 Freedoms Seashore, and Yacht Membership Neighborhood Park. Prime points of interest on this space embrace Florida’s most well-known craft distillery, Wicked Dolphin Distillery, which is understood for its coconut rum, Sirenia Vista Park, and 4 Mile Cove Ecological Protect.

4 Cocoa Seashore

Browsing, native companies, and the John F. Kennedy House Heart make Cocoa Seashore the right small-town various to Fort Lauderdale

Regardless that Cocoa Seashore is far additional north than Fort Lauderdale, this quaint city has a lot appeal to supply vacationers.

Well-known for its lengthy historical past of surfers, the beach at Cocoa Beach is a superb place to go to for these concerned about watersports like browsing, snorkeling, and swimming. The city’s seashore additionally has a superb pier, too! Better of all, seashore guests will have the ability to see rockets being fired up into the environment from the John F. Kennedy House Heart.

This city close to Orlando not solely has glorious seashore entry but additionally has nice native companies from which to buy. Some of the best attractions in sunny Cocoa Beach embrace Lori Wilson Park, the Florida Surf Museum, and the John F. Kennedy House Heart.

3 Hollywood

Gives vacationers entry to a seashore boardwalk, an undeveloped coastal seashore, and a tremendous arboretum and wildlife sanctuary

This metropolis, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, has the city appeal of each cities in a smaller, extra simply accessible space. This metropolis is legendary for its Beach Boardwalk, which has bars, small retailers, and a stupendous beachfront lined with palms. For these concerned about a extra rustic seashore, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park is the right seashore to see white sands and undeveloped shoreline.

This space is understood not just for its beautiful beachfront but additionally for its wealthy tradition. Top-of-the-line locations to go right here is Flamingo Gardens. This botanical backyard and wildlife sanctuary lets vacationers discover their arboretum crammed with native bushes, its flower gardens, its aviaries, and its titular flamingo pond. It even has a parrot aviary!

One other nice attraction is Oleta River State Park. At Florida’s largest city park, vacationers will have the ability to paddle, bike, snorkel, swim, and fish.

2 Clearwater

Gives vacationers one thing Fort Lauderdale doesn’t have: an unbelievable aquarium

On Florida’s West Coast lies the town of Clearwater. This metropolis simply exterior Tampa gives vacationers and retirees Florida’s iconic white sand seashores, nice state parks, and waterfront piers.

A few of Clearwater’s finest seashores embrace Sand Key Park and Clearwater Seashore. At Clearwater Seashore is the town’s well-known pier, Pier 60, which is a superb location for nightlife.

For vacationers with children and retirees with grandchildren, there isn’t any higher place to go in Clearwater than the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. This aquarium has interactive experiences that children and adults of all ages will love, together with assembly rescue dolphins, tortoise feeding, and exploring the numerous aquatic displays filled with rescued marine creatures.

An ideal park on this space is Moccasin Lake Nature Park. Right here, vacationers will have the ability to stroll by means of peaceable paths, see birds of prey, and see the park’s beautiful oak forest.

1 St. Petersburg

Gives vacationers high-class cultural actions that are not present in Fort Lauderdale, just like the Salvador Dalí Museum and the Mahaffey Theater

The town of St. Petersburg is heralded as Florida’s “Sunshine Metropolis” and is understood for its tremendous arts, fishing, and golf golf equipment. Positioned on Florida’s Gulf Coast, St. Petersburg gives vacationers the tremendous tradition that Fort Lauderdale shouldn’t be typically related to.

A few of St. Petersburg’s most well-known points of interest embrace the Salvador Dalí Museum, the Museum of Superb Arts, and the Mahaffey Theater.

Vacationers who’re within the pure world ought to go to Fort De Soto Park. This beachfront park has trails, a historic museum, and fishing piers. A number of the finest seashores in St. Petersburg embrace Cross-A-Grille Seashore and St. Pete Seashore.

One other nice exercise for vacationers right here is to go to St. Petersburg’s Sunken Gardens. Right here, vacationers will see waterfalls, tropical birds, and tropical crops which might be a long time outdated.

Whereas Fort Lauderdale can certainly be a metropolis with lots of enjoyable actions, vacationers mustn’t neglect the remainder of Florida. From culturally various and eclectic cities like St. Petersburg and Delray Seashore to extra quaint cities like Cocoa Seashore, Florida has a lot for vacationers and retirees alike to discover. Every of those seashore cities gives vacationers one thing distinctive to see that may’t be replicated. Nonetheless, irrespective of which of those cities and cities a vacationer chooses to go to, they’re assured to seek out a tremendous Floridian seashore with white sand, palm bushes, and turquoise water.