Despite the tourism squabbles between casinos and family theme parks, Florida is virtually unbeatable in one category of travelers' favorites: beaches.
According to the annual TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards, Florida beaches landed six of the top 10 beaches in the United States.
Clearwater Beach is 2016's No. 1. Best beach in the country.
In fact, reviews for Clearwater Beach were both numerous and gushy, regaling its 2.5-mile stretch of beach and tranquility and what TripAdvisor calls "powder sand and calm, shallow water."
Overall, Florida beaches along the Gulf Coast fared better than their counterparts along the Atlantic.
Besides Clearwater Beach, other Florida beaches in top 10 included 2015's big winner, Siesta Beach, which ranked No. 3, then St. Petersburg Beach at No. 4, Pensacola Beach at No. 7, St. Augustine Beach at No. 9 and Panama City Beach at No. 10.
Four more Sunshine State beaches made the top 25: Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, at No. 11; Fort Myers Beach at No. 18; Las Olas Beach, Fort Lauderdale, at No. 20; and Navarre Beach in the Panhandle at No. 23.
"I've traveled all over the world, my husband and I are swimmers and beach people," one visitor said, "and I can tell you almost any beach in Florida is better than the best I've seen almost anywhere else. They really are absolutely incomparable."
No state had more beaches in the 2016 rankings than Florida. Not California. Not even Hawaii.
TripAdvisor bases its ranking solely on reader reviews. That makes it difficult for lesser traveled beaches -- some of the most idyllic and pristine -- to make the site's top 25. The awards, however, come up with a top 25 not only in the U.S. but in the world.
Not only ranked No. 1 in the U.S., Clearwater Beach's reviews placed it in the top 25 in the world, coming in at No. 20. The top beach in the world was Grace Bay in the Turks and Caicos south of the Bahamas.
TripAdvisor.com, incidentally, is the world's largest and busiest online travel site.
Here are both lists:
Top 25 in the U.S.:
1. Clearwater Beach – Clearwater, Florida
2. Lanikai Beach – Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii
3. Siesta Beach – Siesta Key, Florida
4. St. Pete Beach – St. Pete Beach, Florida
5. Wai'anapanapa State Park – Hana, Maui, Hawaii
6. Ka'anapali Beach – Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
7. Pensacola Beach – Pensacola Beach, Florida
8. La Jolla Shores – La Jolla, California
9. St. Augustine Beach – St. Augustine Beach, Florida
10. Panama City Beach – Panama City Beach, Florida
11. Henderson Beach State Park – Destin, Florida
12. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve – Honolulu, Hawaii
13. Poipu Beach Park – Poipu, Hawaii
14. Manini'owali Beach (Kua Bay) - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
15. Ogunquit Beach – Ogunquit, Maine
16. Newport Beach – Newport Beach, California
17. Coronado Municipal Beach – Coronado, California
18. Fort Myers Beach - Fort Myers Beach, Florida
19. Race Point Beach - Provincetown, Massachusetts
20. Las Olas Beach - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
21. Carlsbad State Beach - Carlsbad, California
22. Crystal Cove State Park - Laguna Beach, California
23. Navarre Beach - Navarre, Florida
24. Hanalei Beach - Hanalei, Hawaii
25. Ocean City Beach - Ocean City, Maryland
Top 25 in the world:
1. Grace Bay – Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
2. Baia do Sancho – Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
3. Playa Paraiso – Cayo Largo, Cuba
4. Anse Lazio – Praslin Island, Seychelles
5. Cayo de Agua – Los Roques National Park, Venezuela
6. Flamenco Beach – Culebra, Puerto Rico
7. Playa de Ses Illetes – Formentera, Spain
8. Ngapali Beach – Ngapali, Myanmar
9. West Bay Beach – Bay Islands, Honduras
10. Nacpan Beach – El Nido, Philippines
11. Maho Beach - Cruz Bay, St. John
12. Whitehaven Beach - Whitsunday Island, Whitsunday Islands
13. Sharm El Luli - Marsa Alam, Egypt
14. Elafonissi Beach - Elafonissi, Greece
15. Playa Manuel Antonio - Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
16. The Baths - Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
17. Camp's Bay Beach - Camps Bay, South Africa
18. Praia da Marinha - Carvoeiro, Portugal
19. Kata Noi Beach - Karon, Thailand
20. Clearwater Beach - Clearwater, Florida
21. Playa Paraiso - Tulum, Mexico
22. Agonda Beach - Agonda, India
23. Horseshoe Bay Beach - Southampton Parish, Bermuda
24. Tumon Beach - Tumon, Mariana Islands
25. Praia de Santa Maria - Santa Maria, Cape Verde
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
