Drab suburbs stretch west from St Petersburg, covering virtually all of the Pinellas peninsula, a bulky thumb of land poking between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Framing the Gulf side of the peninsula, a 35-mile chain of barrier islands forms the St Petersburg Beaches , one of Florida's busiest coastal strips. When the resorts of Miami Beach lost some of their allure during the 1970s, the St Petersburg beaches grew in popularity with Americans and have since evolved into an established destination for package-holidaying Europeans. The beaches themselves are beautiful, the sea is warm, and the sunsets are fabulous, yet this in no way is Florida at its best.

All buses ($1; tel 727/530-9911, ) to the beaches originate in St Petersburg at the Williams Park terminal , on First Avenue N and Third Street N; an information booth there has route details.

More about St Petersburg's beaches:

The southern beaches
The northern beaches

St Petersburg's beaches

• St Petersburg's beaches
• The southern beaches
• The northern beaches
• Beach practicalities

Florida cities


All U.S. city guides