From Islands
Need an easy weekend getaway or family vacation? These Florida islands
are unique hidden gems and close to home — but still deliver a true
tropical experience. Take a look at these unexpected coastlines,
private-island resorts and secret beaches in Florida and see if you can find a spot for your towel — just try not to let the word get out too much.
Amelia Island
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Amelia Island
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Grove Isle
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Coconut Grove
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Past the towers
of downtown Miami and the café-lined streets of Coconut Grove sits a
tiny bridge leading to the lush 20- acre privat island resort of Grove Isle Hotel & Spa. Oversize palms, canopied beds, adults- only beaches and the Bali-inspired spa
will make you forget city life. But here you can still marvel at the
urban views of twinkling lights over Biscayne Bay — while you dine at
the Gibraltar on brandy-infused lobster bisque.
Alligator Point
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Alligator Point
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This rural beach
community in the Big Bend is shaped like an alligator, hence the name.
Not exactly an island, but Alligator Point's skinny peninsula does
measure about 1,000 feet wide at one point. Its unpopulated shoreline,
low- rise beach houses (many rentals) and over a 100 part-time residents
make this island the perfect place to escape. Now you can too!
Fisher Island
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Fisher Island
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Follow I-395
till you reach Terminal Isle — your destination is the auto-ferry headed
for the historic island set on Biscayne Bay off a busy Miami Beach
causeway. Just seven minutes from the mainland, this enclave is where
big rollers reside and vacay. At the Fisher Island Club & Resort, stay at luxe circa-1925 cottages of the Vanderbilt estate and tee off at a seaside golf course.
Gasparilla Island
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| Shutterstock |
Cross an unassuming toll bridge onto this charming Gulf coast barrier island — home to the classic 1913 Gasparilla Inn & Club.
This Boca Grande hideaway screams Old Florida, and the Inn’s adorable
cottages are ideal for families. Don't miss a visit to Banyan Street for
its namesake trees, and stop by funky Temptation for lunch. (Be sure
to traverse the island via golf cart — it's how the locals do it.)
Jupiter Island
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Debbie Snow
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Ginormous
private homes with names like “T. Woods” and “C. Dion” on their
mailboxes occupy the lion’s share of this private barrier island's 3.6
miles. However, there’s plenty here to entice mere mortals beyond the
gilded gates: miles of secluded white-sand beaches and the Hobe Sound
National Wildlife Refuge, a breeding site for the Atlantic loggerhead
sea turtle.
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Marco Island
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Larry Nighswander
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On Marco Island,
you're on the edge of the Everglades, but with a vibe this tropical,
you'd never know it. The six-mile island boasts canal-lined streets and a
usually-empty crescent-shaped sandy beach that faces the Gulf of Mexico. Keep the islands theme going, and head into the Ten Thousand Islands with tour guide Brian Scuderi, who leads a small caravan of WaveRunners through the Everglades’ mangrove maze.
Merritt Island
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Merritt Island
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Come here to feel the ground rumble during a shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center on the north end of this barrier island. On the other end of the spectrum, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
is home to some of the most impressive wildlife in Florida — featuring
the state’s best birding sights and appearances by elusive Florida
panthers.
Palm Island
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iStock
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A three-minute
ferryboat ride across the Intracoastal Waterway drops you and your car
on Palm Island. (It’s the only access to this very narrow,
seven-mile-long isle nestled in the Charlotte Harbor area of Southwest
Florida.) The Palm Island Resort’s villas are just steps from the Gulf of Mexico. You'll find plenty of sea- shells and birds of all sorts — like terns, pelicans, egrets and more — to watch.
St. Vincent Island
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Corbis / Alamy
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Undeveloped St. Vincent Island on the northwest Gulf of Mexico
invites you to its sand ridges, tidal marshes and pine forests, where
native white-tailed deer and endangered red wolves enjoy a life
unfettered. It’s offshore from the mouth of the Apalachicola River,
famous for Florida oysters. Stay at the Gibson Inn in Apalach, as the
locals call it, for a weekend outdoors.
Sunset Key
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Sunset Key
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Just 500 yards off Key West, this man-made island is home to Sunset Key’s 40 guest cottages. Ferry over for a sunset dinner on the sands at Latitudes
for Florida lobster and locally caught yellowtail snapper or gp ahead
and rent a cottage for the experience of living on a private island.
Boats to and from Key West run 24 hours a day for late mainland fun.
Big Talbot Island
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Shutterstock
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Big Talbot
Island will wow you with its dramatic 20-foot bluffs that define its
jagged Atlantic shoreline. Paired with a sandy stretch nicknamed
Boneyard Beach for the skeletons of cedar and oak trees, this state park
is a nature photographer’s dream. You can stop at neighboring Little
Talbot Island State Park, where salt marshes abound.
Cedar Key
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Alamy
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Nestled in the less developed Big Bend area of the state, this rustic Gulf of Mexico fishing village and artists’ colony delivers peace and quiet. Bird-watch from a kayak,
fish from the town’s pier, eat fresh clam chowder made from farm-raised
local clams and just kick back at one of the many cozy vacation rentals
(you won’t find any high-rises here).
Pine Island
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Jon Whittle
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Drive across a
bridge with a grand name — the “World’s Most Fishingest” — into
Matlacha, a colorful art-gallery community that leads to Pine Island. A
few miles more and you’re at the island’s only four-way stop, where
mangroves, charming cottages, fruit-tree nurseries and the occasional
eatery like Red’s Fresh Seafood House & Tavern dot the streets. Stay at the Bokeelia Tarpon Inn for a knockout view of Charlotte Harbor and a 300-foot-long fishing pier just steps away.
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Little Palm Island
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Amy Mikler
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Step onto the boat, turn off your cell phone and prepare to meet true paradise. Little Palm Island is 2½ miles off Overseas Highway in Little Torch Key, near Key West,
but it feels like a secluded, self- contained universe. On the boat
trip over to Little Palm Island, the resort’s staffers help the outside
world fade from your mind by encouraging you to drink their
complimentary signature cocktail, the Gumby Slumber (refreshing rum and
fruit juices topped with coconut shavings).
