Things to do in Sarasota
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Sarasota
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Peak season: highs in the 70s, full cultural season, best experience at the highest hotel prices.
Best beach weather; March is crowded, while late April to mid-May is the best value window.
Hot, humid and stormy with deep discounts; swim and sightsee in the morning, rest at midday.
September carries peak hurricane and red tide risk; late October and November recover beautifully.
What's on
- Forks & Corks late January
Food and wine festival worth timing a winter trip around.
- Baltimore Orioles spring training February-March
Spring training baseball at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
- Sarasota County Fair March
County fair during the spring peak.
- Sarasota Film Festival April
Ten days and 200-plus films, a headline spring event.
- Venice Sharks Tooth Festival April
Themed weekend for shark tooth hunting in Venice.
- Sarasota Music Festival June
Classical music festival that anchors the summer cultural calendar.
- Florida Studio Theatre Improv Fest July
Improv festival at Florida Studio Theatre downtown.
- Siesta Key Crystal Classic November
Sand sculpting competition on Siesta Key.
- Sarasota Chalk Festival fall, historically November
Chalk art festival historically held in November.
- Lights in Bloom December
Evening holiday lights at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
Best things to do in Sarasota
Siesta Beach
Wide quartz sand beach that stays cool underfoot, with shallow gentle water and room to spread out.
The Ringling
Sarasota's defining estate visit: art museum, circus museum, Ca' d'Zan mansion and bayfront gardens.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Downtown Sarasota Campus
Bayfront garden specialising in orchids and epiphytes, with banyans, a koi pond and mangrove boardwalk.
Mote SEA
New science-first aquarium with a huge Gulf habitat, manatees, penguins and visible research labs.
Sarasota Opera House
Restored 1926 opera house famous for its Verdi Festival, the peak of the winter cultural season.
Sarasota Orchestra
Resident orchestra anchoring a cultural calendar that runs almost nightly in season.
Asolo Repertory Theatre
Major regional repertory theatre and one of the serious stages behind the Cultural Coast name.
Sarasota Ballet
Resident ballet company performing in season, with prime seats priced at the luxury tier.
Where to stay in Sarasota
Downtown Sarasota and Rosemary District
first trip, culture and dining base
Performances, markets and the best restaurants on foot, with the beach a short drive away.
Siesta Key
beach-first trips, families and groups
The famous quartz sand on foot, village dining and a free trolley linking the key.
Lido Key and St. Armands
couples and quieter beach stays
Downtown's beach, 10 to 15 minutes over the causeway, with Circle dining at dusk.
Longboat Key
splurge and resort-only stays
Secluded manicured island for golf, tennis, spa and early quiet nights on property.
Lakewood Ranch and University Town Center
families, golf and longer stays
Larger suites and free parking near Mote SEA and Benderson Park, but car-dependent.
Think twice about
- North Trail corridor, North Tamiami Trail north of Fruitville Road
Ageing budget motel strip with crime complaints, fast traffic and no walkable dining or beach access.
- Budget motels around Fruitville Road and Central Avenue shelter blocks
Visible street homelessness and people in crisis in a few blocks, making a poor noisy first base.
- US-301 Washington Boulevard and remote I-75 interchange lodging
Isolating and car-locked beside high-speed roads, fine for a road stop but wrong for a holiday base.
Best restaurants in Sarasota
Selva Grill
Peruvian-Latin celebration dinner famous for ceviches and lomo saltado, open late downtown.
Michael's On East
Grand Art Deco institution with piano lounge, sea bass, tomahawk and tableside desserts.
Kojo
Sleek modern Asian fine dining with sushi, scallop nori tacos and a strong sake programme.
Maison Blanche
White-tablecloth French restaurant on Longboat, the quiet luxury splurge for a special night.
Owen's Fish Camp
Old Florida seafood bungalow doing naked daily fish right, with a queue worth joining.
Walt's Fish Market Restaurant
Family fish market restaurant since the 1940s for grouper, snapper and stone crab in season.
Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar
Come-by-boat creek deck for oyster buckets, stone crab and fish tacos at sunset.
Drift Kitchen & Bar
Gulf-view seafood dinner at Lido Beach Resort, timed for sunset, with a strong raw bar.
Outdoor things to do in Sarasota
Bobby Jones Golf Club
Restored municipal Donald Ross course praised as a bargain, with a standout practice facility.
TPC Prestancia
Private TPC club with two tour-pedigree courses, playable only as a guest or reciprocal.
The Concession Golf Club
Nicklaus and Jacklin course ranked among Florida's best and hardest, private and guest only.
University Park Country Club
Bookable 27-hole semi-private course amid lakes and preserves, an accessible prestige middle.
Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club
Rotation of well-kept community courses for groups basing east in Lakewood Ranch.
Ted Sperling Park at South Lido Beach
Launch point for guided paddles through shaded mangrove tunnels where manatees surface.
Myakka River State Park
Huge old Florida park with a canopy walkway, river paddling and alligators, 25 minutes inland.
Legacy Trail
Flat 18.2-mile paved rail trail riding car-free from Sarasota to Venice, free apart from bike hire.
Best hotels in Sarasota
The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
Bayfront luxury standard with spa and shuttle access to its private Lido Key Beach Club.
Art Ovation Hotel, Autograph Collection
Art-themed downtown hotel with rooftop pool, walkable to the opera and Main Street.
The Sarasota Modern, Tribute Portfolio
Boutique Rosemary hotel with plunge pools and design-led rooms, valet parking extra.
voco Sarasota
Colourful pet-friendly Rosemary hotel with a pool and beach shuttle, often the best value finish.
Aloft Sarasota
Modern downtown mid option with a live music bar and pool, compact rooms.
Tropical Breeze Resort
Village inn with pools and free parking, a short walk to dining and the public beach.
Tropical Beach Resorts
Calmer south key motel resort with a heated pool, trading Village walkability for price.
Cirque St. Armands Beachside
Newer circus-themed Lido resort with Art Deco design and a three-ring pool.
Is Sarasota expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $115 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $280 a person |
| Splurge | $600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- The Ringling: weeks ahead
- Mote SEA: a few days ahead
- Sarasota Opera House: weeks ahead
- Sarasota Orchestra: weeks ahead
- Asolo Repertory Theatre: weeks ahead
- Sarasota Ballet: weeks ahead
- Florida Studio Theatre: a few days ahead
- Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall: weeks ahead
- Book hotels 2 to 4 months ahead for December to April, with March the tightest month.
- Reserve Selva, Michael's, Kojo and Maison Blanche 1 to 3 weeks ahead in season.
- Book opera, Asolo, Ca' d'Zan tours and Mote SEA timed entry with your hotels.
- Keep June to November bookings refundable, especially September and October, for hurricane flexibility.
Is Sarasota safe?
- Be defensive as a pedestrian: wide arterials like US-41 and Fruitville are designed for cars.
- Check Mote Visit Beaches and FWC red tide reports for your specific beach before every beach day.
- Leave the water at first thunder and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder.
- Do the stingray shuffle in warm months and watch for rip currents at Gulf passes.
Sarasota travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- St. Armands Circle is lovely to stroll but mediocre to shop, with resort chain pricing.
- Avoid Siesta Key at midday in March: go at 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m., or use Venice instead.
- Skip generic waterfront restaurants with a view and no local following; the premium often buys frozen seafood.
- Do not squeeze The Ringling into an hour: give it half a day or choose Selby instead.
- Decline timeshare pitches dressed as discounted tours or restaurant vouchers.
Getting around Sarasota: public transport and more
- Rent a car for most trips: the keys, Myakka, golf and Venice are spread across causeways.
- Use the free Route 77 Siesta Islander trolley on Siesta Key instead of circling for parking.
- Fly into Sarasota-Bradenton SRQ if you can, 10 to 15 minutes from downtown; Tampa is 60 to 75 minutes.
- Downtown garages on Palm Avenue and State Street beat circling Main Street for parking.
Who Sarasota suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Sarasota your trip
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