Best beach in between Largo and Carrollwood? (St. Petersburg, Clearwater: spring break, rentals)

[Davachka]

My parents are flying in and I want to take them to the beach for the day then meet my hubby for dinner that night. He will be working in Largo and I thought we could meet and eat in Clearwater that night.

Where is the best beach in that area? I looked at a map and there are SO many....Madeira, St Pete, Sand Key, BelleAir, etc. I've only been to Clearwater and would like to go somewhere different, but still in the area! Somewhere with shops/cafes would be nice as well in case we want to walk around.

Thanks in advance!

[lavender]

then try Clearwater Beach, it's busy, has a pier, lots of shops and places to eat - try Frenchys for a traditional beach meal. Or the beach cafe place at the Sand Pearl is nice and very fancy and the cafe prices are reasonable. It's not so far a drive from Largo. Most of the beaches are not fronted with shops and cafes. Dunedin is nice but no beach, pretty little harbour and lots of little antique shops and things.

[hhighnote]

John's Pass on St Pete Beach is also nice......they renovated it and it could be a fun little place to go. I believe you can look at that up on the net for the addy

[Mike1306]

Salt Rock Grill on Indian Rocks Beach great food, good times.

[lavender]

Oh I agree Mike and Guppys too on IRB (SRG is Indian Shores)

[Davachka]

Thanks everyone who has responded. I am not looking for a restaurant, we already found one for that evening.
I am picking my parents from the airport at 8:30 am. I'll take them home to put there things away and then we have 8 hours to kill! We are meeting my husband for dinner at 6:30 pm that night in Clearwater.

I am trying to figure out where to spend the day...what beach besides Clearwater Beach, Madeira, Sand Key, St. Pete Beach, BelleAir, Largo, etc.....is there one which is the best? Or are they all nice and it does not matter? They want to go look around St. Petersburg, so I thought we could do that first for a few hours then go to the beach.

I know St Pete Beach has alot of shops around so that might be an option if we get tired of laying out (though they are from the Black Sea, they dont get tired of the ocean)
Thanks!

[lavender]

Ah, well any beach is good for them IMO
Going to the Treasure Island area, and have Johns Pass nearby would probably work well. But if you are living in the Clearwater area and eating out there you might want to gravitate in that direction, and if you want a really nice beach try Caladesi Island, very unspoilt accessible by boat, or Honeymoon Island just north of Dunedin.

[CamilleB]

Clearwater Beach is really busy, difficult to drive around and too built up. There arent shops, but if you want the best beach in the area, Sand Key is THE place to go. I've been going to Sand Key for over 20 years. Soft sand, quiet. clean-it's the only place to go, unless you're a kid or spring breaker. My grandparents, my mother and I think its the best! If you want convience within this big built up area, but still want to feel like you are getting out of the craziness to a beautiful park, Sand Key is the place to go!

[lavender]

Or you can do Fort De Soto - which is the most beautiful park/beach - a small drive from St Pete downtown, where there is much to see and do - museums/marina/pier/parks/shops/restaurants and so on. Miles of sand and walks/bike/kayak rentals/picnic shelters - very beautiful too.

[BernadetteOC]

Fort De Soto is beautiful, we went there loads of times withsome real friends..
You can drive up real close to the sands .
I would suggest taking a large umbrella for some shade