Popular travel website TripAdvisor just released its annual rankings of the best patches of wet sand in both the United States and the world, and two Tampa Bay area beaches made the cut.
According to the site's "World's Best Beaches" rankings, Clearwater Beach came in at No. 12 in the U.S., while nearby Siesta Key Beach was ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 9 in the world rankings.
The Sunshine State as a whole usually ranks pretty high in TripAvisor's annual list, but this year Hollywood Beach was the only other Florida beach to make either ranking, coming at No. 4 in the U.S.
The top beach in the nation went to Ka'anapali Beach in Hawaii, while the world's best went to Praia da Falésia in Portugal.
Like every year, the rankings are compiled by looking at overall quantity and quality of reviews over the last 12 months, says TripAdvisor.
It's worth noting that Siesta Key's glowing ranking on these lists marks a big comeback for the beach. Over the last few years the area has battled significant algae blooms and most notably major damage from Hurricane Ian.
Last spring, Tampa Bay's Caladesi Island State Park was ranked No. 4 in the nation by Dr. Beach, which many consider the gold standard of beach rankings. However, the local favorite was not mentioned on either TripAdvisor list.
You can see the full ranking via Tripadvisor.
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Two Tampa Bay area beaches ranked among Tripadvisor's 'Best Beaches' of 2024
The Sunshine State as a whole usually ranks pretty high in this annual list.
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About The Author
Colin Wolf
Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent company, Chava Communications.
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