Siesta Key

The beach is the reason Siesta Key exists as a destination. Siesta Beach is a broad sweep of almost pure quartz sand, white and so fine it stays cool underfoot even at midday, sloping gently into calm, shallow Gulf water that suits weak swimmers and children. To the south, Crescent Beach is quieter, with the rocky outcrops of Point of Rocks for snorkelling, and Turtle Beach at the far end has coarser, darker sand where people hunt for shells and fossilised shark teeth.

The sea is warmest from June to October, often near 30°C, and pleasant through spring. In midwinter it drops to around 18-20°C, when the beach is better for walking and sunsets than for long swims. Occasional red tide and summer afternoon thunderstorms are part of the coast's character.

Eating on the island is casual and seaside: grouper sandwiches, fish tacos, shrimp baskets and stone crab claws in winter, served in open-air places around Siesta Village and along the beach roads, many with a deck and a drink in hand. It is pleasant rather than memorable, and much of it is aimed squarely at beachgoers.

For a more serious meal, visitors cross to Sarasota, about twenty minutes away, where downtown and the streets around St Armands Circle hold a wider choice of modern American, seafood and international restaurants, plus a well-loved Saturday farmers' market. There is no local cuisine to speak of beyond Gulf seafood and a touch of Cuban influence.

Siesta Key itself is a beach island of condos, cottages and a small village, with nothing in the way of museums or historic landmarks. The culture lies across the bridge in Sarasota. Its centrepiece is the Ringling, the estate of the circus magnate John Ringling: a large art museum strong in Baroque painting, including major Rubens canvases, the Venetian Gothic mansion Ca' d'Zan on the bay, and a circus museum with a vast miniature big top.

Beyond that, Sarasota offers the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and scattered houses of the Sarasota School of mid-century modern architecture. It is enough for a rewarding day or two, not a reason to come.

Going out on Siesta Key means Siesta Village, a few blocks of open-air bars and restaurants with cover bands, frozen cocktails and a sunburnt, easy-going crowd. It is liveliest in March and April, when college students arrive for spring break, and on winter weekends. Otherwise the evening tends to centre on watching the sunset from the sand and a couple of drinks afterwards, and most places are quiet well before the small hours. Downtown Sarasota has a handful of cocktail bars and rooftops for a slightly more grown-up night, but this is not a place anyone chooses for its nightlife.

The landscape is flat Gulf coast: barrier islands, mangrove-lined bays, tidal inlets and, inland, subtropical prairie and swamp. Its appeal is wildlife and water rather than scenery. Dolphins are often seen from the shore, manatees drift into the bays in the cooler months, and sea turtles nest on the beaches from May to October. Kayaking and paddleboarding through the mangrove tunnels on nearby Lido Key and around Siesta's own canals and lagoons are the classic outings.

About forty minutes inland, Myakka River State Park has alligators, wading birds, a canopy walkway and miles of trails and wetlands. Fishing, sailing and cycling the flat roads round it out. There are no hills of any kind, and summer heat pushes outdoor activity into the early morning.

With a car, the Gulf coast opens up in both directions. St Petersburg, about an hour north across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is the best day out, with the Dalí Museum, a lively waterfront and good galleries. Tampa, a little further, adds the historic Cuban cigar district of Ybor City, and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs are within reach for a long day.

Closer to hand, Anna Maria Island has an old-Florida village feel, Venice to the south is a planned 1920s Mediterranean-revival town known for shark teeth on its beaches, and Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island is a quiet, old-money island village. Pleasant variety, though nothing of first rank.

For a beach vacation with young children this is an easy place. Siesta Beach slopes so gradually that toddlers can paddle far out, the soft sand is made for castles, and the main beach has lifeguards, a playground, showers and a large car park. Most visitors rent a condo or beach cottage with a kitchen and a pool, which makes long stays simple.

Off the sand, the choice is limited. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium on Lido Key, with manatees, sea turtles and sharks, is the main outing, and there are small animal parks and boat trips to spot dolphins. Busch Gardens in Tampa is a long day, and the Orlando theme parks are further still. Summer brings heat and daily storms.

On the island itself life is simple. Siesta Key is only about 13km long, the village is walkable, many people cycle, and a free open-air trolley runs up and down the main road between the north end and Turtle Beach. If you only want the beach, you can manage without a car.

For anything else, a car is the norm. Sarasota's buses are sparse for visitors, and the two bridges to the mainland jam up in the winter high season, when beach parking also fills early. Tampa and Sarasota-Bradenton airports are both within easy driving distance.

Siesta Village sells what a beach island needs: swimwear, sandals, T-shirts, shell trinkets and a few surf and gift shops. For something more polished, St Armands Circle on Lido Key, about twenty minutes away, is a ring of upscale boutiques, jewellers and resort-wear shops around a landscaped roundabout, and downtown Sarasota adds galleries, bookshops and independent stores along Main Street. Large malls are on the mainland. It is pleasant browsing on a rainy afternoon, not a shopping destination.

Siesta Key is an expensive place to stay in its main season, from about January to April, when northern visitors fill the beachfront condos and rentals are often booked for a week or more at a time. Eating out carries American resort prices plus tips, and there is little in the way of cheap local food. The beach itself is free, as is the island trolley, and self-catering in a rented condo makes the cost easier to control. Summer is noticeably cheaper, though hot and stormy.

Siesta Key's own contribution is informal: live bands in the village bars and a long-running Sunday sunset drum circle on the beach. The real offer is in Sarasota, a short drive away, which has a much richer arts life than its size suggests. There is a resident opera company in a restored 1920s opera house, the Asolo Repertory Theatre on the grounds of the Ringling, a well-regarded ballet company, a symphony orchestra, and the lavender-coloured Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on the bay for touring shows and musicals.

The main season runs from autumn to spring, when the winter residents are in town. In summer the programme thins considerably.

The name suits the place: days on Siesta Key run at an unhurried pace of morning walks, long beach afternoons and sunset-watching, and the south end around Crescent and Turtle beaches is especially quiet. There is no bathing tradition, though. Wellness means a handful of day spas and massage studios on the island and in Sarasota, beach yoga classes and the pools of rented condos. It is a good place to slow down, but not one to come to for spa culture.