Beautiful white sand is what you get at Honeymoon Island.
Written: May 05 '07
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Pros: Not as crowded as Clearwater or St. Pete's.
Cons: You have to pay to go on the beach. Other local beaches are free.
The Bottom Line: A lovely beach, shelling, fishing, walking trail, and much more at Honeymoon Island. Nice restrooms too.
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| Susie-34668's Full Review: Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area |
A girlfriend of mine mentioned that she had been to Honeymoon Island with her mother. Len and I both looked at each other and said that we hadn't been there in ages. So this past Tuesday we ventured there.
Honeymoon Island is a state park and is located at the end of Dunedin causeway. We live in the county north of it and take U.S.19 south to Curlew Road. We just stayed on Curlew Road and in turned into the causeway. It is also known as S.R. 586 just to confuse us all. We passed parked cars and people sunbathing on the sides of the causeway. There is a little sand there but nothing compared to the beaches. However, this area is free so many of the locals use it.
Upon entering the state park there was a toll booth. We just did the day pass which was $5 including tax for a car and up to 8 people.
To our left was a road that takes you to the dock where you can get on a ferry to Caladesi Island state park. There is an additional fee to take the ferry over to the island. They also give you a ferry time to return. This is guaranteed however; you can return on any ferry that you chose. You have to be aware that if you miss the last ferry you could spend the night on Caladesi. I don't know if that has every happened. We have been to Caladesi in the past and enjoyed it.
We continued on and took the next turning. Here we passed the shop/cafe and bathrooms and parked a little further down the parking lot. We were halfway between this building and the other restrooms/changing rooms building. There are a lot of parking spaces and plenty of boardwalks to get to the beach area, which is only a short distance to walk.
We took our own beach chairs, umbrella, and bottled water. If you are a tourist you can rent the chairs and umbrellas.
The beach was fairly quiet and had the wonderful white sand that we love so much. There was some dried seaweed on the beach but it didn't spoil my walking. The water had small waves but if you want to surf then you need to head to the east coast.
I covered myself in sunscreen and walked the beach along the waters edge just covering my feet. The sand was perfect in the middle of the island but to the left was rocks and to the right broken shells, which hurt my feet. The shells didn't stop me because I ended up walking 4 miles in the couple of hours we were there. I also stood in the water and let the small waves come up to my ankles and occasionally to my knees.
The boardwalk can be a little rough on bare feet. Just watch out for splinters. I used the restrooms in the second building, which were fully supplied with soap, paper towels, and toilet tissue. I also checked out the small tourist shop and the cafe. Prices were high but that's how they get to make money on the tourists.
Len sat on the beach and just enjoyed the view. He stayed under the umbrella as he has had melanoma skin cancer in the past.
I watched the birds and saw people kayaking. It was so perfect. There was a really nice breeze as the temperature at the beginning of May was almost 90 degrees. We made sure of leaving early afternoon before the sun was at it's hottest.
A little more information:
People go to Honeymoon Island to bird watch, fish, or go shelling.
Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island were one up until a hurricane split it in 1921.
It became a state park in 1974.
There is a small walking trail but I haven't walked it recently.
Part of the beach is a pet beach but I didn't see any on my last visit.
Honeymoon Island is one of the barrier islands that start north of it at Anclote Key (close to where I live) and continue down to Cape Romano. These help to protect us from thunderstorms and hurricanes.
The Division of Recreation and Parks have an annual pass program. You can purchase the entrance permit as follows:
Individual $40 tax = $42.80.
Family $80 tax = $85.60.
This allows day use into all Florida State Parks except Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park and the Skyway Fishing Pier, which give a 33% discount.
Honeymoon Island is north of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, and northwest of Tampa. It is about 40 minutes drive from my home.
We plan on going back often. We haven't decided if we will just pay the $5 each time or purchase a yearly pass.
Thanks for checking out one of our beautiful beaches and if you want more information on it you can check out the website at http://www.floridastateparks.org/honeymoonisland/default.cfm
Susie.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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