Sarasota - Florida's Cultural City

Located roughly an hour south of Tampa, Sarasota is a booming small city on Florida's west coast. The city is well known for its top-rated beaches, its world-class resorts, its arts and theatre performances, as well as its connection to the famous Ringling family. In addition to the endless awards for its famous Siesta Key Beach, the city of Sarasota has received many awards and accoldaes for "Best Small City in America," "Best Small City to Retire In" and "Best Place to Buy Real Estate" by well-known publications including USA Today and WalletHub.

Founded in 1921, the city now has a year-round population 54,214 (Sarasota County population is 379,448) and this number increases greatly when in season (November thru April) when the many northerners, also known as "snowbirds" flock south to enjoy the warmer winter climate. Sarasota has long been a favorite Florida vacation destination for many. With its warm tropical waters and refreshing gulf breezes, Sarasota offers vacationers the perfect blend of warm Florida sunshine and endless outdoor activities.

When vacationing in Sarasota, there are many hotels, beachside resorts and vacation rentals to choose from. For your convenience, we have listed many of the area's top Sarasota hotels and Sarasota beach resorts. The Sarasota hotels are organized primarily in three main areas of town including the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), the downtown area and along the I-75 corridor at the exits of Lakewood Ranch, Fruitville, Bee Ridge and Clark Road. As for the beachside resorts, they are organized by Key including Siesta Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key all of which offer top-rated vacation accommodations and close proximity to shopping and dining.

John & Mable Ringling Estate (Ca' d'Zan)

When vacationing in Sarasota, there are many hotels, beachside resorts and vacation rentals to choose from. For your convenience, we have listed many of the area's top Sarasota hotels and Sarasota beach resorts on this site. The Sarasota hotels are organized primarily in three main areas of town including the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), the downtown area and along the I-75 corridor at the exits of Lakewood Ranch, Fruitville, Bee Ridge and Clark Road. As for the beachside resorts, they are organized by Key including Siesta Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key all of which offer top-rated vacation accommodations and close proximity to shopping and dining.

The Bay Sarasota Redevelopment Project

The Bay Sarasota Redevelopment Project is a transformation of a 53-acre, city-owned site into a more inclusive and welcoming community waterfront destination. The project was established to create a cultural and economic legacy for the region while ensuring open, public access to the Sarasota Bayfront.

The Bay Sarasota Redevelopment Project (photo credit: Sasaki)

Sarasota, FL - Come Visit Us!

View amazing aerial drone footage of Sarasota in this video produced by the DroneFanatic.

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Experience the sights and sounds of Sarasota and its award-winning beaches in this amazing HD quality video. See Sarasota and its beauty from a bird's eye view via aerial drone photography. Make sure your volume is on to experience the full effect! To view all videos of Sarasota and it's offerings, visit our videos page.

Places to Stay

Sarasota Hotels

Sarasota Vacation Rentals by Owner

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Where to Eat

Sarasota Coffee & Cafes

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Sarasota Restaurants & Bars

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Things To Do

Sarasota Beaches

Sarasota Outdoor Activities

On Water

On Land

In Air

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Sands of the Suncoast

When looking at the various beach sands of the Suncoast area, we can easily see that there is quite a variance in color, size and texture. The lightest sand is Siesta Key Beach which is almost pure quartz giving it a snow-like appearance and a cool temperature even on the hottest of Florida days. The nearby beaches of Turtle, Lido and Venice are darker in color and have a good mixture of sand and crushed shell which are a bit warmer to the touch on a sunny day.

Close up view comparing sand size and sand texture of the various Suncoast beaches including Venice Beach, Turtle Beach, Siesta Key Beach, Lido Key Beach and Longboat Key.