Best shelling beaches in Florida! So many seashells! 🐚 Best shelling in the US! 🐚 Where to find shells in Florida 🐚 Gulf Coast Florida travel blog

Hi there!

If shelling is your goal, then you must go to the Gulf Coast of Florida!

And more specifically, Southwest Florida can make for a perfect Florida shelling trip where you can go beach hopping along the coast from Tampa to Naples to different beaches in search of shells… and beautiful views!

I did a Florida road trip and went to a bunch of beaches and found shells, and these are the shelling beaches you need to know about!

While most of the shelling beaches I went to are on the Gulf Coast, I also went to some Atlantic coast beaches and found shells too. I have listed those beaches at the very bottom.

To get you started, the list below will take you through some of the best beaches in Florida for shelling.

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1. Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is known as one of the best spots for shelling in Florida.

And even more than that, Sanibel Island beaches are known for being the best beaches for shelling in all of the United States!

You can go to any of the beaches on Sanibel Island and you will find shells.

Along the shoreline, you can find tons of small shells, and the more you look, the greater your chances are for finding different types of shells!

There are several public beaches on Sanibel Island and you can find shells at all Sanibel Island beaches.

To get you started, you likely will not be disappointed if you make Bowmans Beach your one and only Sanibel Island shelling beach to visit!

A lot of the Sanibel Island beach parking lots are small, and Bowmans Beach has one of the bigger parking lots so it’ll be easier to go to as well.

There is a toll for driving the bridge to Sanibel Island. See current fees under Sanibel toll plaza. If you have a Florida SunPass you can drive straight through and you will automatically be charged.

The Sanibel Island beach parking fee is hourly. See current fees.

See more about planning your Florida shelling trip and beyond:

• Best Sanibel Island shelling
• What to pack for shelling in Florida
• Driving from Sanibel Island to Miami
• Driving from Sanibel Island to Key West

Camping near a shelling beach in Florida:

• Koreshan State Park campground (30-40 minutes from Sanibel Island, 20-30 minutes to Bonita Beach and Fort Myers Beach)
• How to make reservations for Koreshan State Park

2. Captiva Island

And there is also Captiva Island for beaches and shelling!

This is an island right next to Sanibel Island.

You will drive through Sanibel Island to get to Captiva Island.

There’s a small bridge that you can drive across… or walk across… or bike across! (Lots of people rent bikes on Sanibel Island.)

There are 2 public beaches on Captiva Island, and once again, you can find shells at all Captiva Island beaches.

Captiva Island beach parking can be difficult, as the parking lots are small.

But on the flip side, if you are patient and wait for an open parking spot, it means that you’ll go to a beach that will never be all that crowded! (Limited parking means limited people on the beach!)

Turner Beach is often considered one of the best shelling beaches on Captiva Island.

This is the Captiva Island beach that’s just across from bridge from Sanibel Island.

See more about planning your Florida shelling trip:

• Best Captiva Island beaches
• How to get to Alison Hagerup Beach

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3. Marco Island

Marco Island is another popular beach destination in Florida.

You can look for shells along any Marco Island beach.

But Tigertail Beach is known as the best shelling beach on Marco Island.

And then the other main beach of Marco Island is South Beach.

You can look for shells at this beach too.

I also met someone who found a baby starfish around here. (Remember to only LOOK if you find something that’s alive!)

So you might want to have a look in the shallow water too to see if you can find something. (This can be at any Marco Island beach, not just South Beach!)

This can also be a reason to bring snorkeling gear when you go shelling! (You might find Marco Island water temperature in the winter to be cold though! January is the coldest it gets, and the water temperature might be in the high 60s… still reasonable to go swimming for some people but maybe not all!)

See more about planning your Florida shelling trip:

• Marco Island shelling
• How to get to Tigertail Beach
• How to get to South Beach
• How to get to Winterberry Beach

Camping near a Florida shelling beach:

• Collier-Seminole State Park campground (20 minutes from Marco Island)
• How to make reservations for Collier-Seminole State Park

4. Cayo Costa State Park

Cayo Costa State Park is also an island in Florida.

It’s one of the best state parks in Southwest Florida.

You can look for shells along any Cayo Costa beach.

And one of the things that makes Cayo Costa State Park special is that you need to go by boat to get there!

You can make it a day trip for shelling at Cayo Costa State Park, or if you’ve got some time to spare, you can make it a night (or more!) on the island of Cayo Costa!

There is the Cayo Costa State Park campground, so you can go tent camping.

You can also stay at a rustic cabin in Cayo Costa State Park.

Whether you go tent camping or cabin camping, it is basically bring your own everything!

👆 You can make it an overnight Florida shelling trip at Cayo Costa State Park! There is a tram that can take you from the ferry dock to the campground and cabins.

👆 You can make it a multi-day Florida shelling trip by tent camping at Cayo Costa State Park! You will be just a few minutes walk away from a shelling beach!

👆 You can make it a multi-day Florida shelling trip by staying in a rustic camping cabin at Cayo Costa State Park! You will be just a few minutes walk away from a shelling beach!

Stay overnight and you can search for shells along the Gulf Coast as you watch the sunset!

See more about planning your Florida shelling trip:

• Cayo Costa State Park shelling

Camping near a shelling beach in Florida:

• Cayo Costa State Park campground
• How to make reservations for Cayo Costa State Park

CHECK FOR UPDATES: Cayo Costa was among the first hit in the destructive hurricane of September 2022. As a result, Cayo Costa State Park has not resumed normal operations as of the beginning of 2024. Check for current updates on the Florida state parks website.

5. Honeymoon Island State Park

Honeymoon Island State Park is a Florida state park near Tampa.

You can look for shells along any Honeymoon Island beach.

It’s said that going to North Beach and then walking further up north along the beach away from everything and everyone is the best shelling on Honeymoon Island.

If you want to make it a beach shelling walk from North Beach to further north, the Friends of Honeymoon Island State Park say that the Honeymoon Island North Beach Trek is 5 miles round trip. The suggested time you give yourself is 2.5 hours.

To enjoy solitude and completely natural surroundings, try hiking the North Beach.

To maximize the experience, plan your trip to around low tide to avoid mangroves hugging the waterline.

It’s 2.5 miles one way to Honeymoon Island’s north tip, and 2.5 miles back.

Start your journey from the North Beach parking lot.

A few sections can be rocky, but don’t be discouraged!

Eventually the beach becomes smooth and wide.

Shelling is popular especially after winter storms.

So you might want to make it a Honeymoon Island shelling hike from North Beach!

That said, I found lots of shells at Oasis Beach without walking very far from the parking lot!

You may also be interested in shelling at Caladesi Island State Park.

Caladesi Island is also considered to have some of the best shelling in Florida.

You take a ferry from Honeymoon Island to get to Caladesi Island: Caladesi Island ferry.

See more about planning your Florida shelling trip:

• Honeymoon Island State Park shelling

What is the best beach for shelling in Florida?

Sanibel Island beaches are considered to be where to go for the absolute best shelling in Florida!

That said, Sanibel Island beaches are not the only beaches in Florida where you can have a happy shelling experience.

Which is good, because as of early 2023, Sanibel Island beaches are still closed from the historically destructive hurricane in September 2022. One of the best Florida state parks for shelling is also still closed.

There are many gulf coast beaches you can go to where if you look hard enough you will find at least a few shells!

Some beaches you might not have to look as hard!

Florida shell identification guide

You have a chance to find lots of different types of shells in Florida!

👆 This is a Florida shell identification guide that was provided near Sanibel Island shelling beaches. Stop by the Sanibel Island visitor center to get your own Florida shell identification guide that you can carry with you to the beach! It’s free. You may also be interested in stopping by the National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island.

👆 This is a Florida shell identification guide for Paradise Coast that was posted near Marco Island shelling beaches.

👆 This is a Florida shell identification guide for the Florida Gulf Coast that was posted near Honeymoon Island shelling beaches. You may also be interested in stopping by the Honeymoon Island Nature Center.

And that’s a bit about where to find seashells in Florida!

I found shells in Florida in April 2022. Your experience may vary!

More shelling in Florida

• Florida Panhandle shelling: Navarre Beach shells
• Florida A1A Atlantic coast shelling: South Ponte Vedra shells
• Florida Atlantic coast shelling: Amelia Island shells
• Florida Atlantic coast shelling: St Augustine shells

Quick list of where to find some of the best shelling beaches in Florida:

• Sanibel Island shelling
• Captiva Island beaches
• Marco Island shelling
• Cayo Costa State Park shelling
• Honeymoon Island State Park shelling

More for your Florida road trip:

• Tampa to Naples drive (go shelling beach hopping!)
• Best campgrounds in Southwest Florida
• Tampa to Key West drive

HAPPY SHELLING IN FLORIDA!

👆 Map of where the best shelling in Florida is located. Explore the map. Explore more things to do in Southwest Florida!

👆 Some of the best shelling beaches in the United States are in Florida! It doesn’t take much to go shelling in Florida, but you may want to pack extra things for your Florida shelling trip… like a shell scooper! It’s not unusual at the best shelling beaches in Florida to see people walking into the water with their shelling stick!

👆 It’s not unusual at the best Florida shelling beaches to see people sitting in shallow water in search of shells! This is a Sanibel Island beach.

👆 It’s not unusual at some Florida beaches to see people bending over in shallow water in search of shells! This is a Lido Key beach.

👆 It’s not unusual at some Florida beaches to see people snorkeling in shallow water in search of shells! You may want to bring swimming goggles or snorkeling gear for shelling!

👆 What to wear shelling in Florida: Wear water shoes when you’re shelling in Florida! People do look for shells barefoot, but you might not want to step on sharp shells barefoot!