Located off the coast of Dunedin, Florida, Honeymoon Island is home to Honeymoon Island State Park. It attracts more than 700,000 visitors each year and is a welcome respite from the congestion of Pinellas County. The island has slightly more than 3.5 miles of white sandy beaches facing the Gulf of Mexico.
This undeveloped barrier island also has a pine forest with nature trails and plenty of mangrove-lined shore on the bay side of the island with extensive shallow grass flats that are off-limits to motor boats. Honeymoon Island is separated from Caladesi Island by Hurricane Pass, which was created by the great hurricane of 1921, the last truly devastating hurricane to hit this area of the state.
Unlike most beaches on the southwest coast of Florida, Honeymoon Island does offer a section of beach where you can take your dog, which must remain on a leash. However, getting to the dog beach requires an 850 foot hike on a sandy trail, and there is no real shade. It is also a considerable distance from the restrooms. Nevertheless, it is still very popular with dog owners.
Honeymoon Island is a perfect place to enjoy a kayak trip, especially since it is so close to Caladesi Island. Birding, shelling, fishing, hiking, biking, beaching, strolling: it's all here on Honeymoon Island.
Honeymoon Island beach with Caladesi Island and Clearwater Beach visible on the horizon.
There is an excellent nature center with an observation deck overlooking the tidal flats where birdwatching is excellent. The Honeymoon Cafe and the South Beach Pavilion both offer food and drink overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The wedding and reception facilities are excellent.
The South Beach Pavilion is located at Main Beach and offers restrooms, a snack bar and outdoor seating, bike and beach equipment rentals, and a boardwalk to the beach. Many weddings are held on the beach here with the reception held at the pavilion.
Shelling is excellent on Honeymoon Island, though not as good as on
Sanibel Island.
If you look on a map you'll see that Honeymoon Island
is shaped somewhat like Sanibel in that it curves out into the Gulf
and has quite a bit of beach facing the southwest. This seems to be a
good combination for bringing in the shells.
Honeymoon Island State Park has excellent facilities for beach weddings and receptions. I see weddings there frequently.
727-502-7269
Accommodations: There are no accommodations on Honeymoon Island, but you'll find a number of smaller hotels in nearby Dunedin, which has a small-scale quaint downtown. None of the Dunedin hotels are on a beach. You can also stay on Clearwater Beach which isn't far away and has plenty of hotels of all kinds.
Honeymoon Island beach.
This is the entrance to the sand spit beach. It's pretty rocky for a few hundred yards.
This limestone rubble is the first impression of sand spit beach, but you can walk past the rocks by going further up the beach where you'll find a smooth sand beach with some pretty nice shells.
The limestone rubble gives the water close to the beach a chalky appearance.
A sand trail above sand spit beach leads north. If the tide is high, sometimes its easier to use this trail than to walk on the beach.
Honeymoon has a virgin pine forest which is great for hiking and birding.
Dog beach doesn't have any shade, but the dogs don't seem to mind.
Sail Honeymoon rents kayaks on the Dunedin Causeway just outside Honeymoon Island State Park.
Here's BeachHunter in his Tarpon 14 rental kayak in Hurricane Pass, between Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island.
All kinds of bikes are available for rent at the South Beach Pavilion.
Honeymoon Island State Park has recently built these modern restroom facilities near sand spit beach.
Here is BeachHunter taking a walk on sand spit beach on a blistering hot summer afternoon. In the distance you can see a thunderstorm brewing over Anclote Key.
