Guide to Having a Sunny Vacation on Lido key beach

Named by John Ringling as LIDO after the word ‘beach’ in Italian, this island was home for Calusa and Paleo Indians. In the 1920s, when Ringling bought the properties, he shifted and manipulated the geography of the islands by moving the sand to reshape. The beach was first opened in 1926 for the automobile traffic. Today Lido Key Beach is home to sandy beaches, stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico, woodland trails, luxury hotels, beach fronts, and waterfront restaurants. Eco-tourism plays a wide role in alluring visitors worldwide.

Quieter than some of its bustling neighboring beaches, Lido Key Beach is treasured by its residents as a laid-back weekend getaway. This beach has become a venue for destination weddings, private events, vacations, and a romantic destination from all over the world. Unlike a lot of other beaches, Lido Key Beach is a combination of 3 beaches, namely The North Beach, the Public Beach commonly known as mid-key, and the South Beach and the Park. They are generally less crowded, and these 3 beaches have gorgeous white sands that offer sheer beauty.

A private beach, North Lido Beach is located off of Ringling Boulevard and a quarter-mile west of St. Armand’s Circle. This beach is equipped with a parking area in the north of the beach. The beach features a dune system and is home for many nesting shorebirds. Be careful as there is a minimum to null amenities at this beach.

The Public beach falls on Ben Franklin Drive. It is very popular and attracts visitors from all over the world. Public Beach has amenities like motels, hotels, private condos for rent, restaurants, and concessions. Few other amenities are restrooms, gift shops, meeting rooms, playground equipment, rental chairs, beach umbrellas, concessions, and outdoor showers. The beach has a heated swimming pool that opens at 10:00 am- 4:45 PM. It has a nominal fee of 4$ for adults and 2$ for children. The Public Beach or Lido Beach or the Mid-key is within the city limits of the city of Sarasota.

The beach is located at the southern tip of Lido Key Beach. The park is situated among 4 water bodies, namely the Gulf of Mexico, Big Pass, Sarasota Bay, and Brushy Bayou. This part of the beach features a picnic area shaded with Australian pines. Visitors can enjoy a natural trial which includes boardwalks and scenic overlooks, at the north end of the park.

Apart from the amenities available at the Public Beach, South Lido Beach has extra facilities like cooking grills, volleyball court, canoe trail, and some picnic tables. You can see the skyline of the downtown Sarasota and the Gulf from the southern beach portion of the park. To enjoy and explore the natural beauty of the South Lido mangrove tunnel, Kayaking is the best option.

With a plethora of beautiful water, you can immerse yourself in paddleboarding or surfing. The calm waters of the gulf are perfect for a newbie. With the help of the local authorities and lifeguards, you can even surf on the long tunnel tides. Enjoy the long walks on the sand to the edge of South Lido Beach. Pole fishing is quite famous in the Lido key beaches. Grab some bait and a pole and go fishing in the shallow waters of the beach.

Explore the unique ecosystem of the lido beaches by wandering into the labyrinth of the mangrove tunnels by renting a kayak or a stand-up board. Groove along the luscious mangroves and enjoy a bit of fishing too. Lido Key Beach hosts the annual Sarasota offshore powerboat race every year starting very late in June through July 4^th. Apart from the boat race, there are small events and meets that are organized and conducted by the residents. Back in the mid-1900s, The Lido Casino attracted the residents for nearly 3 decades for its glass block, concrete sea horse figures, and murals with the tropical scenarios. Designed by Ralph Twitchell, the casino was the venue for various meets and events and beauty pageants. It was torn down in 1969 and now has a small building there. For a lot of residents as well as people who desire destination weddings, Lido Key Beach becomes the Venue for their dream weddings. It has scenic backgrounds of the sunset and the water that ends in the infinity. The dramatic white dunes that slowly blend into the Aquamarine hues of the Gulf of Mexico is a perfect backdrop to make memories and photos. The white quartz sand of the Lido Key beach, the Gulf Coast waters and the Big pass are the reasons itself to go on vacation here.

Though the weather at Lido Key beach is temperate, the best season to visit this place is between February and June. With Clear and sunny skies, the Lido Key Beach looks like a gateway to paradise. The Weather here is sunny all through the year except in the rainy season. Between June and November, Lido Key Beach witnesses several hurricanes. The water and the air become very aggressive at this time of the year. Winter in the Lido Beach area is warm. This pleasant weather attracts a lot of tourists.

Things to keep in mind

Signs are posted all over the three parts of the beach to alert the visitors about the weather conditions and currents. Except for North Beach, which is secluded and private, all the other Lido Key Beaches are equipped with highly efficient lifeguards. The lifeguard on duty has all the information regarding the water conditions, their currents, and the temperatures of the water. Be very vigilant and pay attention to the flags flying and their color. Just like traffic signals, there are three different colors of flags. One red flag means the currents are dangerous and a high surf, or sometimes it might be both.

When the conditions are too dangerous, and the tide is high, they will alert the public by flying 2 red flags with a swimmer symbol and a white line across it. In these conditions, even the strongest swimmers are not allowed. A yellow flag means the tides or the surf is high but not dangerous. You should be cautious about the distance and place you are swimming. A green flag means it’s all good and clear for swimming or surfing. There are marked areas in the waters of the Lido Key Beach for swimming and make sure you are not swimming beyond the swimming boy. Operating a motorboat or a watercraft is unsafe and also illegal. On Lido Beach, you can see lifeguards on duty during the weekends and from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Though the beach is open round the clock, because of the strong currents at night, it is not advisable to go after the night falls.

The Seabreeze Concession or the Lido Beach restaurant at the Lido Key Beach is known to serve good food. Enjoy a Lido lobster roll and some sweet potato fries at Lido Beach Restaurant. With reasonable prices, this place serves sandwiches (both hot and cold), burgers, fries, salads, hot dogs, etc. The concession also serves beer and wine, and the prices are considerably lower than expected. You can get your food delivered directly to the beach chair or walk to the restaurant and enjoy your food along with the beach breeze. You can explore other food options if you visit the St. Armand’s Circle, off of the Ringling Blvd. This place is loaded with restaurants, chic boutiques, snack bars, and fast food joints. After a long day in sun and shopping, enjoy the outdoor feast of 1904 Salad and sangria at Columbia Restaurant.

The most important thing when you plan for a vacation is accommodation at the destination. Lido Key Beach is loaded with resorts, hotels, motels on the beach, and homestays. Lido key beach itself hosts few hotels facing the beach like Sandcastle Resort, Gulf beach Resort, Lido Beach Resort, Holiday Inn Lido Beach, Coquina on the beach, Turtle beach resort, The Palm Beach Club, for all types of budgets. Some of these stays have a spa facility for you to relax and enjoy the sea breeze.

You can choose from plenty of hotels, resorts, vacation rentals or small old Florida motel and cottages the Lido Bay offers on its beaches. There is a place for everyone, no matter what your taste and budget is.

The St. Armand’s Circle is very near to the Lido Key Beach. It is just walkable distance from the north beach and offers a wide variety of shopping. A part of that beach has small shops that sell shells. For more nature-loving enthusiasts, you can fill your empty plastic bottles with the beautiful sand from the dune. At the small shops on the beach, they sell Christmas ornaments which are flat and unbreakable.

Souvenirs like candy, mugs, glasses, stickers, magnets, photo frames, shells, etc. are sold on the beach stores. You can buy and ask them to ship to your location. For the candid pictures taken by the professionals or by your camera, you can make your souvenirs by printing the picture either on a plain t-shirt or a mug or even on a seashell.

With more than 130 stores around the circle, it has a distinct continental touch with courtyards and patios scattered among lush tropical growth and antique statues. For hungry and thirsty visitors, St.Armands circle offers plenty of choices to satisfy all the needs, from roadside food to candlelight gourmet dinners, or cuddling up in cozy diners.

Unless you are a nature lover and enjoy long beach walks, you can stay and complete all the important points within 3 days and 2 nights.

The entry fee for the beach is $10 per car for residents, and the fee for non-residents is $25 per car. You can reach to Lido Key from Sarasota by using John Ringling Boulevard and from the north by traveling south from Longboat Key.

The Lido Key Beach and Sarasota host several tours for the outsiders who are not comfortable cruising around by themselves. These tours cover almost all the key destinations and vantage points in the given time with food and necessary breaks. There are Airboat Tours, Swamp Buggy tour rides, and leisure boat rides. For the adventure seekers, the swamp rides and the airboat tours are ideal. As you can maneuver yourself into the mangroves as well as the waters. The Lido Key Vacation and Travel Guide are designed in such a way, that it helps you plan your trip perfectly without any hindrances.

Lido Key Beachis a perfect getaway for weekends and vacations and well known for its laid-back vibe. The serene beaches will transport you to fairyland. What you need to do is enjoying your day in paradise along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.