Did your favorite beach in South Florida make this list? Take a look
A national luxury travel magazine once again says South Beach has one of the best beaches in the state.
Condé Nast Traveler, in its 2025 “21 Best Beaches in Florida” list, praised South Beach as the place for “beautiful people, flashy cars, skimpy bathing suits, Art Deco architecture” along a “two-mile white sand stretch that makes up Florida’s most famous beach.”
“It’s all here,” the magazine gushed.
The magazine gushed similarly about South Beach on Florida’s best beaches’ the 2023 list. The Miami Beach stretch also made it onto Condé Nast’s 2021 Best Beaches national list: ”The siren song of Miami’s South Beach is undeniable.”
No “siren song” reference in the 2025 listing — that sound may be the honking of cars trying to navigate into one of the parking spots along Ocean Drive. But the gay beach on 12th Street with its “sea of Speedo-clad, sculpted bods” gets a shout-out. The “quieter patches below Fifth Street” for locals looking to swim and sun away from tourists was also singled out.
The magazine recommends staying staying at either “the soothing, nature-inspired” 1 Hotel South Beach or the “art-forward, all-suite” W South Beach near each other on Collins Avenue.
Four other beaches in South Florida made Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 21 in the state in 2025, which also featured picturesque spots Main Beach on Amelia Island, Key Largo’s John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Marco Island Beach.
Here’s a look:
Other local beach favorites
These four South Florida beaches join South Beach among Florida’s fab beaches, according to Condé Nast Traveler:
▪ Haulover Naturist Beach, North Miami-Dade between Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach
“Attention: Beyond this point you may encounter nude bathers,” the sign reads at South Florida’s only officially recognized public nude beach. “As welcoming as it is well-loved,” Condé Nast notes for its mix of body types that frolic here.
Two Fort Lauderdale beaches made the magazine’s best of ‘25 list in Florida.
▪ Sebastian Street Beach Beach. You’ll find this gay-friendly beach on Sebastian Street and A1A across the street from the Casablanca Cafe in Fort Lauderdale.
Condé Nast calls Sebastian “a sun-soaked celebration of queer joy, where every color of the rainbow is not just welcomed but wonderfully visible.” The vibe is casual with locals, visitors and couples making up the clientele. Come as you are but wear a bathing suit. “Towel-to-towel diversity.”
▪ Fort Lauderdale Beach, the tried-and-true A1A landmark where Florida Panthers hockey fans celebrated back-to-back Stanley Cup wins and even took the Stanley Cup trophy for a dip last year. This year, revelers gave a replica cup a dunk when officials said “no” to ruining the original with salt water.
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Fort Lauderdale Beach is also where spring break originated thanks to the hit 1960 movie filmed here and starring Connie Francis and its famous featured song, “Where the Boys Are.” You kids know Francis from her current TikTok-trending hit, “Pretty Little Baby.”
City officials have since refocused the vibe away from spring break but the “uncluttered stretches of sand, sparkling blue waters” still thrive along A1A, the magazine writes.
And finally, Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade snags a spot on Florida’s 21 Best Beach’s list for 2025.
▪ Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is just a mile-long beach on the southern tip of Key Biscayne but it has that historic lighthouse, leaf-lined walking trails for walking and biking and nearby restaurants. This one may no longer merit world-best status, the travel magazine says, but it’s “indeed nice.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 5:43 AM.
