St Petersburg's beaches: The southern beaches

In twenty-odd miles of heavily touristed coast, only PASS-A-GRILLE , at the very southern tip of the barrier island chain, has the look and feel of a genuine community - two miles of tidy houses, cared-for lawns, small shops and a cluster of bars and restaurants. At weekends, informed locals come to enjoy one of the area's liveliest set of sands. A mile and a half north of Pass-a-Grille, the painfully luxurious Don Cesar Hotel , 3400 Gulf Blvd (tel 727/360-1881, ; $160-200), is a grandiose pink castle, filling seven beachside acres. Opened in 1928, and briefly busy with the likes of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, it enjoyed a short-lived glamour: during the Depression part of the hotel was used as a warehouse, and later as the spring training base of the New York Yankees baseball team.

Continuing north on Gulf Boulevard brings you into the main section of St Pete Beach , a string of uninspiring hotels, motels and eating places. Further north, Treasure Island is even less varied tourist territory. An arching drawbridge leads to Madeira Beach , essentially more of the same - although, if you can't make it to Pass-a-Grille, the beach here justifies a weekend fling.

St Petersburg's beaches

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

Florida cities


All U.S. city guides