Foghorn Outdoors: Florida Beaches 2 Ed: The Best Places to Swim, Play, Eat, and Stay

Rating:
Summary: GREAT REFERENCE BOOK!
Review: If this book had more pictures in it, I would have given it 5 stars. However, overall it is a very through book. We used it to create our new "The Best Florida Beaches / Waves Virtual Vacations" DVD here on Amazon. So, if you want to really see and hear what these beaches feel like, check out our DVD after reading this book.

Florida has a huge variety of beaches overall from the Keys to the panhandle and back down the Atlantic to Miami. You will see the beaches change radically in color (white, sand, orange, grey) and texture (clay, shell, and sand). Having shot the best beaches from the Caribbean, California, Hawaii, I'd say Florida has some of the best and unusual orange / yellow sunsets, I've ever seen and despite being very flat, has some very diverse and spectacular beaches. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Indispensable guide for the beach lover
Review: The authors rate the beaches using a scale from 1 through 5. A beach rating of 1 indicates an "abysmal [beach]; keep driving;" a five indicates an "extraordinary [beach]; beach heaven."The criteria for the ratings aren't clearly spelled out, but become apparent upon reading the reviews.Areas with with plentiful beach access points, free parking, uncluttered views, amenities (such as showers, bathrooms, volleyball nets, etc.) are likely to rate highly on these authors' scale. The information here is well-researched and plentiful. The authors do make the point to bring up which beaches are good for those who want different types of beach experiences: surfers, families with young children, college crowds during Spring Break, adults looking for a quiet beach vacation, etc.Naturally, there are comments about sand and wave conditions and other notable conditions at the beach in question. An example: a note about the rocks which hide under the surf in Satellite Beach which can cause one to lose their footing, and for which there is no posted warning. Now that is useful information for the beach-lover who enjoys the surf, and as far as I know, is unavailable elsewhere.There's plenty of other good information here: where to stay, eat, drink, shop, rent bicycles and skates and other exercise gear, and attempts to provide an overall feel for the beach town (i.e. upscale, trashy-but-fun, snobby, havens for Brits on holidays, and more.)The book is unabashadly skewed by the authors' perspective that beach access should be plentiful and free for all residents and vistors of the state, who don't have the financial wherewithal to afford a beachside retreat or lodgings. There's even a sidebar about riparian rights. Fascinating stuff. But I digress.Do expect to read harsh words about those beach towns which provide little in the way of public beach access, such as Longboat Key. Overall, highy recommended, whether you plan to visit or already reside here. I'm a lifelong Floridian and found this to be an entertaining and informative guide for my last beach vacation.A quibble: this edition is the most recent available, but the information on hotels and some restaurants is dated. Use this book in concert with another planning guide for an extended stay (recent versions of Fodors, Frommers, etc.) I plan to buy the 3rd edition when it's published.