Florida Beach Bar | Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida extends from Anna Maria Island on the south side of Tampa Bay down to Marco Island in the southern end of the state. The northern stretch of the west coast of Florida is protected by barrier islands and it is on those islands or keys that you will find the beaches and most of the beach bars. Keys and beaches in between include; Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key, Lido Key, Siesta Key and Casey Key. Each key has a different personality and, therefore, different kinds of Florida beach bars. Although this is a long stretch of coastline, bars are far and few between.

Keys refer to small barrier islands that border the shoreline of Florida. It is not the same as the Florida Keys at the southernmost tip of the state. Just because a person lives on Casey Key, for example, does not mean that they live in the Keys (southernmost island chain). It is a common mistake made by those not familiar with Florida.

South of Casey Key is the Fort Myers area extending from Punta Gorda in the north to Marco Island in the south. This long stretch of Gulf coast line includes; Englewood, Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Bonita Beach, and Marco Island. There are a wide variety of beach bars in the Fort Myers area, but the highest concentration of Florida beach bars is on Fort Myers Beach.

Bradenton Beach is the northern most key and includes both Anna Maria to the north and Bradenton Beach. On Anna Maria Island, you can walk out on the pier overlooking Tampa Bay, have a cold beer, and enjoy the view of the beaches and Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The bridge spans Tampa Bay connecting Tampa/St. Pete with cities to the south. It was completed on April 20, 1987 and replaced an older bridge that was partly destroyed when a ship collided with the bridge in 1980. Its sunny yellow steel cables make it glitter like gold. The Travel Channel ranks this bridge as Number 3 in top ten bridges in the world.

Anna Maria Island is home to the very popular Sandbar Restaurant located right on the beach. Although it is a restaurant, it has a bar and weekend music. It is considered by more than just a few to be a beach bar. The restaurant dates back to1913, and ever since people have been coming to the Sandbar to enjoy the beaches, have great food, and enjoy the entertainment all right on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. Back then they could only get to Anna Maria Island by boat. Today boats are out and cars are in.

When talked with people at the Sandbar they said that they were not a beach bar but a restaurant. Sometimes this can be a subtle distinction. Most Florida beach bars are a little bit of both. So if you are looking for restaurants by the water, don't count out beach bars. Almost all have pretty good food. The opposite is also true. Most beachside restaurants also have a bar. In the case of the Sandbar, there are many people who have suggested that the Sandbar be included on the best beach bar list. So it is.

Further down Gulf Dive and you will pass by Holmes Beach on to Bradenton Beach and find the Beach House Restaurant. This restaurant/beach bar is owned by the same people that own the Sandbar. Like its sister beach bar, it is right on the beach and may be more of a restaurant than a beach bar.

The gulf side stretch of Longboat Key is primarily condos and resorts and ends up at St. Armand’s Circle, a shopping and restaurant district. Longboat Key is a great place but not the location to find a Florida beach bar.

Lido Key is a small barrier island with a great beach and two beach bars. One is at the Lido Key Resort, a poolside bar right next to the beach. The other, is the Lido Key Tiki Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Beach Club. But don't let the Ritz association fool you. This is a decades old Florida beach bar that the Ritz, at the insistence of the locals, has kept in its original state.

Lido Key Tiki Bar is a classic Florida beach bar formerly known as Azure Tides. It is Sarasota's only beachfront Tiki bar. In its earlier days this small bar served up drinks and music to guests of the accompanying hotel and anyone walking up from the beach. When the Ritz acquired the property to build its resort, locals fought to keep the Azure Tides intact and accessible to the public. Today the Lido Key Tiki Bar sits where it always did; right on the beach offering Ritz Carlton guests and visitors from the beach the drinks and music it did in the past. There is one difference; food ordered here now comes from the Ritz. You will love the bartenders, Peter and George, who make the best drinks and are friendly and personable.

Once you have reached Lido Key you have gone as far south as you can without returning to the mainland. Driving over the Ringling Bridge takes you to Sarasota Bay in downtown Sarasota.

Sarasota Bay is located on the west side of downtown Sarasota and lies between the Gulf of Mexico and the barrier islands. It is there you will find Marina Jack, a large marina that is home to Sarasota's largest charter boat fleet including fishing, diving, sailing, cruising, and boat rentals. It is the location of two Florida beach bars; Marina Jack's Portside Patio and O'Leary's Tiki Bar and Grill. No, it's not an Irish Tiki Bar. This area is also home port to LeBarge, a tiki bar party boat complete with palm trees, live music, and a full bar. The three are in walking distance of one another.

Marina Jack's Portside Patio is an upscale bar that sits on the docks of the marina. It's perfect for boat watching, people watching, dancing, and just having a drink in paradise. O'Leary's is on Sarasota Bay and has a large tiki bar and music daily in the afternoons.

LeBarge sets sails every night in search of the sunset. The cruise takes about two hours. At the front of the boat, bow as you boaters would say, are both the full bar and the live entertainment.

Siesta Key is the home of Siesta Beach, consistently ranked one of the top beaches in the country. In 2011 it was selected by Dr. Beach as the best beach in the U.S. It is said by many to have the whitest sand in the world.

Siesta Beach is 99% pure quartz. Most beaches are made up of crushed shells, rocks or lava. Siesta Key’s sand is beautifully white and so fine in texture it is like baby powder and it never gets too hot to walk on. No matter how hot it is outside you don’t have to walk, put down a towel, walk, put down a towel to move along the beach. So if you are looking for the whitest sand in Florida, here it is.

At the center of Siesta Key is Siesta Village, just steps from the beach and home to a half dozen Florida beach bars; all within walking distance of each other. There are no “on the beach” bars here but that doesn’t stop locals and visitors from partying. Siesta Key is one of the best places to bar hop. You can park once and party on.

The Siesta Key Oyster Bar and Grill (SKOB) is both a local favorite and destination of choice for many visitors. Like other bars in the village, the open air deck is right next to the sidewalk instead of the beach. So “people watching” is good here. SKOB has music every day of the week.

Located at Captain Curt's Village, just a bit further south on Siesta Key, is Captain Curt's Sniki Tiki. Again this is not directly on the beach, but a popular place nonetheless. It is part of, but separate from, the popular Captain Curt's Crab & Oyster Bar. This outside tiki bar has the feel of a corner bar and the look of a beach bar. There is some music at the Sniki Tiki and more at Captain Curt's Backroom which features some of the best entertainers in South Florida.

Casey Key is south of Siesta Key. This narrow barrier island is lined with multi-million dollar homes and manicured tropical yards. It is home to Stephen King. Just after you cross over the north bridge onto the island you will find Casey Key Fish House located on the Intracoastal. It’s not as lavish as the island but does sport a brand new tiki hut. The old tiki hut was hit by lightning and burned to the ground. When the County decided not to let them rebuild, locals banded together wearing lime green t-shirts at the hearing and helped the owners win their case. That’s beach bar love.

This great Florida beach bar has boat docking and live music Friday through Sunday. Its imported sand makes you feel as if you are on the beach. Casey Key Fish House is also dog friendly.

Just south of Casey Key is Venice Beach known for the best place to find shark’s teeth on the beach. In fact, it is commonly referred to as the "Shark's Tooth Capital of The World". Therefore, it is only appropriate that Venice’s one great true beach bar is called Sharky's On the Pier. This place is right on the beach with tiki huts surrounding the outside decks. Step off the deck and your toes are in the sand. A fishing pier extends from the back of the deck into the Gulf of Mexico. It is from this pier that every once in a while someone reels in a shark. So stay out of the water or, at least, be on the lookout.

In the mid 80s Sharky’s was nothing more than a dilapidated beach concession stand. It was around that time that Greg Novack and Mike Pachota, who had moved to Florida from Michigan and opened Patches, a Venice Restaurant. They won a bid to open a restaurant, located at the base of the original fishing pier. Sharky's opened in February of 1987 with only 78 seats. Since then Sharky’s has grown in size and popularity. It is a favorite of both locals and tourists.
North of Fort Myers and located on Charlotte Harbor, is Punta Gorda. Punta Gorda was nearly destroyed during Hurricane Charlie in 2004 which was a Category 4 hurricane. So, there is a lot of "new" and newly renovated places. It is a great place for boating enthusiasts and home to Fisherman's Village, a resort and marina with a collection of small shops and restaurants. At the very end of village facing Charlotte Harbor is Harpoon Harry's Lounge & Raw Bar.

Harpoon Harry’s is the perfect place for boaters who can easily tie up to the docks surrounding this bar and restaurant. They have music on the weekends and its rustic atmosphere that has an old Florida feel.

Matlacha is a little fishing village just east of the bridge to Pine Island. Matlacha is the “gateway to Pine Island” as it is just before the bridge to Pine Island. This bridge has been nicknamed “the world’s fishingest bridge”. If you are a person who loves to fish, you better head to Matlacha. There are cute and brightly painted shops there along with little motels and cottages. It is here that you will find Bert’s Bar and Grill. Bert’s is the “hot spot” in this very small town and draws locals and visitors from the surrounding area. Located on the waters of Matlacha Pass, Bert’s has boat docking and music Tuesday through Sunday. It is beer and wine only at Bert’s. But this is one of those unique beach bars that you have to experience.

Fort Myers Beach has long been a favorite of locals, snowbirds and vacationers. The moment you cross over the north Matanzas Pass Bridge (aka San Carlos Blvd.) onto the island you are in Times Square, the heart of Fort Myers Beach. There are over a dozen Florida beach bars within walking distance of this town center. Many are right on the beach. You can easily spend a whole day bar hopping, walking from bar to bar. So park the car and flip flop your way from bar to bar.

If you arrive at the beach bars by boat via the Gulf, you'll have to anchor off shore and wade or swim to your favorite Florida beach bar. But if you are looking for a place to tie up, you can find a spot on the inland waterway on the north side of the island. For larger boats, cruise on into Salty Sam's Marina. They can accommodate almost any size boat. You'll also be at Parrot Key, one of our favorite Florida restaurant bars. It's from here that the Key West Express shuttles passengers on a 3 plus hour boat trip to Key West.

Times Square offers a combination of both newly renovated and old Florida beach bars. Those located on the beach are literally right on the beach. Some have beach tables and chairs, volleyball nets and corn hole. There is plenty of activity all day long. There are a couple of pretty sweet "off the beach" Florida beach bars located on Old San Carlos Blvd. and across the street from the beach. All are worth visiting.

One of the most well known bars on Ft. Myers Beach is the Lani Kai which is part of the Lani Kai Beachfront Resort. It is located right on the sand of Ft. Myers Beach. It has both a beach bar and a roof top bar giving you the choice of watching all the action from above or being part of the action on the beach below. There is music daily from noon until 2:00 AM. It is one of the favorite places to party on Ft. Myers Beach.

Right next door is The Cottage Bar & Grill voted a Top 10 2011 Florida Beach Bar by FloridaBeachBar.com. It is right on the beach and has live music 7 nights a week until 1:00 AM. It even has a walk up window on the beach making it easy to order a cool one without ever taking your toes out of the sand. So you start to see a pattern here. Fort Myers Beach is near the top of beach bar locations and knows how to party.

Not all beach bars are on the beach. The Yucatan Beach Stand, once a Pizza Hut, is located on the street in Times Square. It is a beautifully decorated two story building with thatched roof. There’s music daily and the word is that the local Parrot Head club meets here on Sunday.

Near the south end of the island is the Outrigger Tiki Bar, part of the Outrigger Beach Resort. This rustic tiki bar is a local favorite and is located right on the beach. There is music Wednesday through Sunday and plenty of places to relax and drink. The crowd is a mixture of hotel guests, locals, and people walking up from the beach.

If Fort Myers Beach has one drawback, it is traffic. During season you can plan on spending some time listening to the not-so-live beach music in your car. The good news is that once you make it to the beaches or Times Square you can walk to most of the beach bars. It is one of the true great beach bar locations in all of Florida.

Naples is just south of Fort Myers Beach and more of an upscale community that isn’t exactly a beach bar town. South of Naples is Marco Island, the largest of Florida's ten thousand Islands. Its beaches are lined with condos, hotels and a few good Florida beach bars. The most famous of them is the world famous Snook Inn Restaurant and Chickee Bar! Anyone who has visited Marco Island has more than likely been to the Snook Inn.

Originally named the "Snook Hole," the Snook Inn is named for the abundance of Snook right off its dock. It is located on an inlet not on the beach. The Snook Inn has been a landmark on Marco Island for over 30 years. Its thatched roof Chickee offers a full service bar with music 7 days a week. And if you are lucky, you may see dolphins playing just off the dock. Don’t worry, none have been seen on the dance floor.

There are on the beach bars at both the Marriott Hotel and The Marriott Vacation Club. Quinn's is at the Marriott Hotel and right on the beach with music on Fridays and Saturdays. Stilts Bar and Grill sits on stilts, overlooks the beach and is part of the Marriott Vacation Club. Both are open to the public and are more upscale beach bars.

Just south of Marco Island is a town called Goodland and a very unique Florida beach bar called Stan's Idle Hour. Goodland is everything Marco Island is not. But at least once in your life you must go to Stan's in Goodland. The best way to describe it is, well, there is no best way to describe it. Stan’s Idle Hour is the creation of Stan Gober who is not only the owner, but he also provides the live entertainment. It is a collection of shops, several bars and one large stage. At first glance you might be inclined to drive right by. But there is something about Stan’s that draws you in. It’s on the large stage that Stan tells his sometimes off color jokes and sings. His performances require at least some audience participation. It’s a hoot. Go to Stan’s and you will have something to talk about for a long time.