Clearwater Beach and what’s missing from Florida’s beaches

For our day’s stage from St. Petersburg to Crystal River, we had planned a short detour via Clearwater Beach about 30 miles north of St. Petersburg. I had heard so much about this “great” seaside resort with the famous wide sandy beach in advance that I wanted to make up my own mind. The detour had its pitfalls due to the traffic and the construction sites (help!). So after about 30 miles I was already exhausted from the exertions and happy about the short beach break.

Clearwater Beach is one of the liveliest vacation centers in the Gulfbay region. At the pier (where, by the way, you have to pay money to walk on it) a wide promenade begins at the “welcome sign”, which invites you to stroll. The beach is actually quite white and wide and bathers are also numerous here. In contrast to many other beaches, which usually seem quite deserted, there are a few restaurants (for example Dunkin’ Donuts) and shops along the waterfront in Clearwater Beach. With a few exceptions, these restaurants are located on the street side and do not really offer secluded terraces.

However, there is something I don’t understand about Florida’s beaches… as nice as they may be, I miss the nice beach cafes and/or restaurants. Where you can drink a delicious latte macchiato in the morning with a sea view or eat a rib eye steak in the evening during the sunset and then enjoy dessert to the sound of the sea… You know what I mean? No beach, no matter how great, has offered me that. It always has impeccable sand, sea of the best quality and sunshine, but no culinary delights.

Maybe I’m greedy or just caught the wrong beaches. But in my opinion, that would be a real gap in the market :)…