Elevate Your Family Beach Escape: Clearwater Beach Is the Perfect Coastal Home Base

For small town, family-friendly living by one of the best beaches in the country, no place fits the bill as neatly as Clearwater Beach.

The picturesque community on Florida’s Gulf Coast, located less than 30 minutes from Tampa International Airport (and only 15 minutes from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport), puts the state’s enviable coastal beauty right at your doorstep in an environment with all the amenities of an upscale resort community.

For a glimpse at all the wellness, water sports, cultural and culinary events Clearwater Beach offers not only to vacationers, but also to those who call its powdery shores home, read on.

As always, check for travel guidelines and restrictions before planning your trip.

Kid-Friendly Beaches

Celebrating the sunset shouldn’t be an activity relegated just to vacation. When you live in Clearwater Beach, heading down to the long stretch of sugary white beach around Pier 60 to enjoy Florida’s natural Gulf Coast beauty is something you can do every day. And it’s great any time of the day — wait until you see the sunrise in these parts!

Families with young kids appreciate the wide, soft sand beaches lapped by clear and warm waters that stay as calm as a lake for most of the year. And the area’s fine state parks offer even more options for escaping to uncrowded sands. Try spots like Caladesi Island State Park, accessed by boat only (the Caladesi Island Ferrymakes daily trips), and Honeymoon Island State Park, where four miles of pristine, undeveloped beachfront await.

Water Activities

If your happy place is any place on the water, then Clearwater Beach has you covered. The town makes it easy to live the salt life with activities like fishing chartersinto the Gulf of Mexico; Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise, complete with cannon fire; and dolphin tours with Little Toot, where sightings are guaranteed or your next trip is free.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home to the late Winter the Dolphin, is the place to bring the family to teach them to protect what they love, with rescued sea turtles, otters and dolphins among the native-Florida residents.

Festivals and Sports

A community that comes together to celebrate the good things in life — and plays as hard as it works — is one that’s bound to inspire you to do the same. And between the spectacular weather and abundant parks and beachfront, it’s natural to live an active lifestyle in Clearwater Beach.

Kids may choose to join one of the area’s youth sports leagues, and the whole family can enjoy things like Flowrider Indoor Surfing, golf lessons, kiteboarding and wakeboarding courses, and more.

Every evening at the beach takes on a festival feel as artisans and street performers at Pier 60 draw crowds for the nightly sunset celebrations that are the liveliest on the Gulf Coast.

Mark your calendar for other fun festivals throughout the year, too, including the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival every April, which draws master sand sculptors to create temporary masterpieces on the beach. Or check out the Suncoast Jazz Festival, held every November, for blues, zydeco, New Orleans traditional and more!

Dining and Shopping

Made for strolling, snacking and window-shopping, downtown Clearwater Beach and Clearwater proper, across the causeway, keep you busy out of the water, too. Beach lifestyle and gift shops dot the streets, and you can head inland to Countryside Mall for more entertainment at more than 100 stores and restaurants and a movie theater.

Seafood lovers fill their plates in Clearwater Beach and at every price point and style, too. Options are plentiful, whether you’re looking to feast on a famous grouper sandwich overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill or prefer something entirely more elevated, a la imaginative French-New American fare at local mainstay, The Black Pearl, in nearby Dunedin.

Wellness

Beautiful weather all year long along a beach that has been repeatedly named number one in the United States makes the Clearwater Beach area a natural fit for anyone looking to weave more opportunities for wellness into their lives. After all, nearly every day is a good one to get outside here and inhale the salty sea breezes atop a paddleboard or pedal along the Pinellas Trail through scenic downtown Dunedin, just north.

From strolling on the beach and joining the YMCA of the Suncoast for some exercising camaraderie to taking a yoga class or indulging in a massage at The Clearwater Wellness Center, this town makes it easy and approachable to live out your best life — no matter how you define it.

Inspired by the principles of mindfulness, the JW Marriott Residences, Clearwater Beach are a haven designed to let you focus on feeling whole — present in mind, nourished in body and revitalized in spirit. The Residences are synonymous with a singular style and inspired surroundings. Now, the latest evolution of that lifestyle is making its debut on the glistening shoreline of Clearwater Beach. Featuring luxurious floorplans offering panoramic water views, this 15-story tower sits a premier waterfront site along Florida’s Gulf Coast.