Siesta Key

Save

At 8 miles long, Siesta Key is the area's most popular beach hangout, with a family-friendly village and a public beach of pure quartz sand so fine it's like confectioners' sugar. The enormous parking lot (at the corner of Beach Rd and Beach Way) has an information booth dispensing info on all types of activities and water sports (parasailing, Jet Ski rental, kayaks, bikes and more), plus nice facilities, a snack bar and covered eating areas.

For a quieter experience, head to Turtle Beach. The sun and teal waters are the same, but it's several miles south of the action and the narrow ash-gray sand beach isn't half as fine, so few prefer it. Not so the sea turtles, who nest here from May through October.

SCAT bus 11 serves Siesta Key from downtown Sarasota.

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Venice Beach

12.72 MILES

Where W Venice Ave dead-ends you'll find a covered beach pavilion with restrooms and a snack bar. Further south beyond the pier is Casperson Beach.
Ringling Museum Complex

8.03 MILES

The 66-acre winter estate of railroad, real-estate and circus baron John Ringling and his wife, Mable, is one of the Gulf Coast’s premier attractions and…
Fort DeSoto Park

26.54 MILES

With 1136 acres of unspoiled wilderness, Fort DeSoto is one of Florida’s premier beach parks. It includes 7 miles of beaches (including a dog beach), two…
Anna Maria Island

19.96 MILES

The perfect antidote to party-loving Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island appears beached in a 1950s time warp, with sun-faded clapboard houses, teenagers…
Myakka River State Park

15.87 MILES

Florida's oldest resident – the 200-million-year-old American alligator – is the star of this 39,000-acre wildlife preserve. Between 500 and 1000…
Egmont Key State Park

25.83 MILES

Union troops were stationed on uninhabited Egmont Key during the Civil War, and you can visit Egmont’s ruined Fort Dade by ferry from Fort DeSoto Park…
Island Park

4.55 MILES

Sarasota's marina is notable for Island Park, an attractive green space poking into the harbor: it has a great playground and play fountain, restrooms,…
Historic Spanish Point

5.76 MILES

Explore layers of history at this environmental and archaeological site, which covers a 30-acre peninsula jutting out into Little Sarasota Bay. Covered in…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Lido Key

3.58 MILES

Just a hop, skip and jump across from St Armands Circle, Lido Key is barely 15-minutes' drive from downtown Sarasota. Lido Beach is an excellent, wide…

2. St Armands Circle

3.99 MILES

Conceived by John Ringling in the 1920s, St Armands Circle is an upscale outdoor mall surrounded by posh residences on St Armands Key. More so even than…

3. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

4.38 MILES

If you visit just one botanical garden in Florida, choose Selby, which has the world's largest scientific collection of orchids and bromeliads – more than…

4. Island Park

4.55 MILES

Sarasota's marina is notable for Island Park, an attractive green space poking into the harbor: it has a great playground and play fountain, restrooms,…

5. Marina Jack

4.69 MILES

Sarasota's plush deep-water marina is within walking distance of downtown and is well served with alfresco and fine-dining restaurants, numerous…

6. Unconditional Surrender

4.81 MILES

A short stroll north along the Island Park waterfront is this towering statue of WWII's most famous kiss.

7. Mote Marine Laboratory

4.94 MILES

The Mote bills itself as a research facility and aquarium, and has a large department dedicated to the study of sharks. Exhibits include a preserved giant…

8. Art Center Sarasota

5.35 MILES

This community-oriented nonprofit gallery has four exhibition spaces that mix local and out-of-town artists. Hosts frequent events, including a lecture…

View more attractions