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Siesta Key is a popular barrier island on Florida’s southwest coast, renowned for its beautiful beaches, relaxing atmosphere, and Old Florida charm. It’s also home to some popular cultural sights and fascinating museums that you won’t want to miss.
This travel guide highlights 11 of Siesta Key’s most popular attractions to help you see the best of sunny Sarasota County.
1. St. Armands Circle
- Website: starmandscircleassoc.com
- Address: 300 Madison Dr, Sarasota, FL
- Opening hours: 8 am – 12 am daily
St. Armands Circle is an outdoor marketplace with a lush green circular park at its center. The boutiques and specialty stores that line the Circle offer a variety of products, including clothing, footwear, jewelry, accessories, homewares, gifts, and souvenirs.
There’s also a great mix of eateries, including ice cream outlets, relaxed coffee shops, and upscale restaurants. Other businesses are dotted amongst the retailers, including spas and salons offering a variety of indulgent treatments.
Street performers are often in action in St. Armands Circle, and the marketplace regularly hosts special events like craft festivals, car shows, and holiday-themed fairs. Be sure to check if there’s something special going on when you visit.
2. Siesta Key Beaches
Some of the best beaches in the USA can be found in Siesta Key, so be sure to drop by these beautiful stretches of white sand during your getaway.
Siesta Key Public Beach
Siesta Key Beach is the largest of the island’s beaches and is incredibly popular. It has a lively atmosphere and a great mix of visitors, including families spending a day under the sun, young people playing volleyball, and adrenaline junkies trying their hand at watersports.
Lifeguards are active all year round, so you can feel safe when you take a dip. Plus, there are plenty of beach chairs, umbrellas, and watersport equipment rentals in the area, so you don’t have to bring your own kit.
Parasailing is a popular activity on Siesta Key Beach, as is stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking. You can also take fishing charters and boat tours from this area when you want to head out into the water.
Crescent Beach
Crescent Beach lies south of Siesta Key Beach, and it’s a little quieter and less crowded. It has just two beach access points, one on Midnight Pass Road and the other on Point of Rocks Road. This limited access helps the beach to maintain its secluded, peaceful atmosphere.
Point of Rocks at the southernmost point of Crescent Beach, is a popular snorkeling spot. The waters here have pretty coral formations that are rich with marine life. If you’d rather relax and sunbathe than get active, Crescent Beach is a great place to do it. It was once rated as having the “World’s finest, whitest sand” at the Great International Sand Challenge.
Turtle Beach
Turtle Beach lies even further south, towards the end of Midnight Pass Road. It’s considered Siesta Key’s sporty beach because it’s a popular spot to play volleyball, go fishing, and comb the beach for shells and sharks’ teeth. The sand at Turtle Beach is much darker and coarser than the white sand beaches of Siesta Key and Crescent, but it’s great for walking on or sitting to watch the sunset.
Turtle Beach has some great facilities, including picnic areas, a playground, a horseshoe pit, and a volleyball court. You’ll also find a few good restaurants and stores nearby. Blind Pass Lagoon lies behind the beach, and this is a popular fishing spot. It’s also a great place to take a kayak tour, where you might be lucky enough to spot manatees and dolphins.
3. Siesta Key Drum Circle
- Website: siestakeychamber.com/drum-circle
- Address: 948 Beach Rd, Siesta Key, FL
- Opening hours: Sundays, around one hour before sunset
Sunsets in Siesta Key are phenomenal, and you can’t visit the area without experiencing the popular tradition of the Siesta Key Drum Circle. Drummers and dancers gather an hour before sunset to create a celebratory atmosphere as the sun falls below the horizon.
You’re welcome to join in with the dancing, or you can simply find somewhere to sit and enjoy the ambiance. You might even be lucky enough to see people performing with swords or fire.
The Drum Circle takes place every Sunday just south of the Siesta Beach Pavilion. It’s family-friendly and free to attend; just bring a towel or beach chair to sit on.
4. Siesta Key Village
- Website: siestakeychamber.com/explore-the-key/our-villages/siesta-key-village
- Address: 5145 Ocean Blvd., Sarasota, FL
- Opening hours: 8 am – 8 pm daily
Siesta Key Village is a compact area of Sarasota that’s renowned for its nightlife and festivals. Stores, cafes, bars, and eateries are packed into a few blocks, creating a fun, friendly atmosphere that’s perfect for socializing and making new friends.
The best way to experience Siesta Village is to simply wander through and see which shops or establishments catch your eye. Highlights include Siesta Key Oyster Bar for incredible fresh seafood and live music and the Daiquiri Deck for tasty cocktails, DJs, and dancing.
5. Venice
Venice is one of Florida’s most popular city break destinations. It lies just 30 minutes away from Siesta Key, which makes it ideal for a day trip. Venice has an excellent range of attractions on offer, including museums, art galleries, historic sights, and pretty outdoor spaces. Plus, the city is simply a uniquely beautiful place to wander around, thanks to its network of canals.
The Venetian Waterway Park is a lovely scenic trail along the Intracoastal Waterway, where you can spot wildlife. Downtown Venice is packed with boutique stores and high-quality restaurants serving local and international cuisine. Caspersen Beach is a lovely secluded stretch of sand that’s ideal for sunbathing.
6. Anna Maria Island
Anna Maria Island is another beautiful barrier island that lies north of Siesta Key at the southern edge of Tampa Bay. You can reach it in under an hour by car and the drive along Longboat Key and Bradenton Beach to reach it is incredibly beautiful.
Unlike so many other Gulf Coast barrier islands, you won’t find high-rise resort buildings on Anna Maria Island. The properties here have an Old Florida feel, and the beach areas are minimally developed to ensure that wildlife is abundant. This is a great area for fishing and there are three fishing piers to choose from, all of which make great spots to watch the waters for dolphins and manatees.
7. The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature
- Website: bishopscience.org
- Address: 201 10th St W, Bradenton, FL
- Opening hours: 10 am – 5 pm Monday & Wednesday to Saturday / 12 pm – 5 pm Sunday / Tuesday closed
The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature is a fantastic way to learn about the natural history of this region of Florida. Highlights include epic skeletons of Mastodons, Megalodons, and other ancient creatures, as well as a state-of-the-art planetarium where you can learn about the solar system and galaxies far beyond the Milky Way.
The Bishop Museum is also home to Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat. A 60,000-gallon glass tank allows you to watch rescued manatees prepare to be returned safely to the wild. This is one of the best ways to get a close view of these elusive animals.
8. The Ringling Museum of Art
- Website: www.ringling.org/museum-art
- Address: 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL
- Opening hours: 10 am – 5 pm daily
The Ringling boasts one of the United States’ leading art collections, and it does so across a beautiful 66-acre estate. It’s divided up into multiple buildings, and with so much to see, you can easily spend the best part of a day here.
The Museum of Art showcases fine art from all over the world, including a set of classical sculptures in its stunning courtyard. The Circus Museum exhibits fascinating artworks and antiquities related to America’s circus history, including a fully restored circus railcar.
The Chao Center for Asian Art displays artworks, sculptures, and artifacts that represent more than 3,000 years of Asian history and culture. There’s also a historic theatre, a Venetian Gothic mansion, and extensive gardens and courtyards to explore.
9. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
- Website: mote.org
- Address: 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL
- Opening hours: 9 am – 5 pm daily
The Mote Marine Aquarium is home to more than 100 species of marine animals, including manatees, sharks, and sea turtles. It’s one of the best places in Florida to see and learn about the creatures that are native to the Gulf Coast Waters. You can expect to see working labs, high-tech interactive exhibits, and touch pools.
Admission to the aquarium includes access to the Ann and Alfred Goldstein Marine Mammal Research and Rehabilitation Center. This is where you can see marine animals that have been rescued and nursed carefully back to health so that they can be released back into the wild.
10. Ted Sperling Nature Park Mangroves
There are mangroves all over the Siesta Key area, but Ted Sperling Nature Park is one of the most beautiful places to kayak through them. The waters in this part of Little Sarasota Bay are home to the likes of herons, waterfowl, ospreys, stingrays, manatees, and dolphins. A great way to witness some of this wildlife without disturbing it is by traveling through the magical mangrove tunnels which serve as a haven for birds, fish, and other marine creatures.
11. Captain Curt’s Village
- Website: captaincurts.com
- Address: 1200 Old Stickney Point Rd, Sarasota, FL
- Opening hours: 11 am – 10 pm daily
Captain Curt’s Village is a family-friendly area that features eateries, bars, coffee shops, and entertainment venues. Bike rentals are available for you to get around with ease or explore the wider area, or you can while away a few hours dining on delicious seafood and ice cream before enjoying live music or karaoke at a tiki bar.
Plan Your Siesta Key Vacation
There’s lots to see and do on the beautiful island of Siesta Key and on the mainland nearby. Which of these fun attractions will you visit on your next trip to this sunny part of Florida?
