Looking for the best Bonita Springs beaches? Great! You have come to the right place!
Just near Naples Florida, you will find the town of Bonita Springs (initially called Survey). We found Naples and Bonita Springs to have a similar vibe, with Bonita Springs a smaller, more relaxed version of larger Naples.
Bonita Springs is less touristic than Naples and people often come here to find more isolated beaches and to have a greater degree of privacy. Most of the residents of Bonita Springs are retirees.
This is not to say Bonita Springs is a new town. There is actually evidence humans have been living in the area and enjoying the beautiful beaches for 8,000 years.
Both Bonita Springs and Naples have lovely beaches. Here you can compare the Bonita Springs Beaches to Naples Florida Beaches with our full guide. Bonita Springs beaches are definitely one of the best things to do in Bonita Springs.
Bonita Springs Beaches
Bonita Springs Beaches are in the prime position for sensation sunsets.
Each day at sundown the sky will turn a magnificent orange colour at Bonita Springs.
Residents and tourists alike flock to the beaches at 5.30pm, all scrambling for a park to watch birds soar through orange skies.
Here is a list of beaches in or near Bonita Springs:
- Little Hickory Beach Park
- Bonita Beach Park
- Dogs Beach
- Laudermilk Park
- Naples Beach
- Clam Pass Beach Park
- Vanderbilt Beach
- Delnor Wiggins State Park
- Bluebill Beach
- Marco Island Beaches
There are two main public beaches in Bonita Springs: Little Hickory Beach Park & Bonita Beach Park. We preferred Little Hickory Beach Park as it was easier to find a park and just as beautiful.
Bonita Springs is also just a 30 minute drive to Fort Myers & Sanibel Island Beaches.
Little Hickory Beach Park
Little Hickory Beach Park is rated the best beach in the Bonita Springs area on tripadvisor and we can understand why – the beach is absolutely beautiful.
It is a great place for couples and families alike.
Couples will love a pristine strip of coastline, perfect for romantic afternoon strolls.
Families will love the calm, shallow water and facilities available including beach showers, toilets and parking with good beach access.
We found this spot to be the best for sunset. We were unable to find a park at Bonita Beach Park.
Little Hickory Beach Park is also a great place for finding beautiful shells. It is a great shelling beach in Florida. There is an abundance of shells all over the beach. If you want to find a particularly nice one, we would recommend visiting the beach at sunrise.
We love that there is an abundance of animals at the beach. People have reported seeing dolphins at Little Hickory Beach Park. We were not so lucky but did see many birds at the beach.
After a day at the beach, we always get an ice cream at either Sweet Melissa’s Ice Cream Shoppe or Royal Scoop Homemade Ice Cream, two of the best places for ice cream in Bonita Springs.
Pro parking tip: There is a free parking space across the road from the beach but you need to be early as spots fill up fast! Otherwise, there is reasonably priced metered parking directly at the beach, $2 per hour.
Bonita Beach Park
Despite Little Hickory Beach Park’s position on tripadvisor, we found Bonita Beach Park to be the most popular beach in the Bonita Springs area.
This is clearly the “it” spot for sunset in the area – it was so popular we could not get a park. If you wish to come here for sunset, come early.
Bonita Beach Park is a lovely beach all day. We enjoyed the beach during the middle of the day and we were impressed with the beautiful, pristine water and white sand.
The beach is just down the road from Little Hickory Beach Park so it has very similar conditions and facilities.
It is best to bring whatever food and drink you would like to consume with you for the day as there are no shops within walking distance only Docs restaurant which also offers jet ski and kayak rentals.
Like Little Hickory, it is popular with families due to the calm, shallow water and facilities available including beach showers, toilets and parking.
Bonita Beach Park is free to enter but has metered parking – $2 per hour.
Dogs Beach
If you are bringing your furry friend on vacation with you then you simply have to make a stop at Dogs Beach – a beach in Bonita Springs which allow dogs to run leash free!
If you stop by Dogs Beach you will see many of the “happiest dog in the world”.
Dogs Beach even provides doggy baths at the exit to wash off your pup before he gets into the car.
We wouldn’t recommend Dogs Beach unless you have a dog or don’t mind getting dirty.
Dogs Beach is in a wetland type area. The entrance to Dogs Beach is a little on the muddy side.
Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park
Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park is the wildlife beach of the area.
Not only is it a pristine, unspoiled beach but it is possible to see a lot of wildlife at the beach including Gopher Tortoises.
Like all the other beaches in Bonita Springs the water is perfect for young children as it is very shallow and calm.
For adults or older children, there is kayaks available to rent where you can paddle through the mangroves.
Naples Beaches – Beaches near Bonita Springs
Even if you decide to stay in Bonita Springs you can still visit Naples Beaches as they are literally a hop, skip and a jump away.
The beaches in Naples Florida include:
- Laudermilk Park
- Naples Beach
- Clam Pass Beach Park
- Vanderbilt Beach
- Delnor Wiggins State Park
- Bluebill Beach
- Marco Island Beaches
Two of the more popular public beaches in the area are Laudermilk Park and Naples Beach.
Naples Beach is a great place to visit, especially if you are a walker. Not only is Naples a beautiful beach in its own right but it also home to the Naples Municipal Beach Pier.
Naples Municipal Beach Pier is one of the only places in Florida where you don’t require a license to fish.
There are also a lot of cool bars and restaurants in close proximity to Naples Beach.
Laudermilk Park was our favourite beach in the Naples area because we saw a group of dolphins swimming extremely close to the shore.
There are a man fishing about waist deep at Laudermilk Beach Park and the dolphins literally went over to him.
What to do in Bonita Springs?
When you are not enjoying the awesome beaches in Bonita Springs you might like to check out the other awesome activities the city has to offer including:
Farmer Mikes U Pick
If you would like to pick some of your own fresh produce, head to Farmer Mikes U Pick in Bonita Springs.
Locals rave about the quality of the locally grown produce at Farmer Mikes. Farmer Mikes specialty is heirloom tomatoes which are absolutely delicious.
One of the biggest drawcards of Farmer Mikes are the decent prices. For similar quality, the price is about half the cost of an upmarket supermarket.
Everglades Wonder Gardens
If you aren’t going to make it to the Everglades National Park this trip, you might like to check out the Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs.
Families visiting the area love it as it only costs a few dollars to enter and there is a wide variety of animals to see including alligators and pink flamingoes.
One very cool aspect is that you can feed the flamingoes out of your hand
Flamingo Island Flea Market
If you are a bargain hunter or would like to find a cool antique to bring back with you from vacation visit the Flamingo Island Flea Market in Bonita Springs.
If you would like to visit the market it is open Fri – Sun 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
It is famous for vendors selling unusual things. Usually, they are open to barter.
Note: Naples Fort Myers Greyhound Track, which was one of the most popular things to do in Bonita Springs is closing down due to a public vote. It is alleged that the dogs were mistreated.
Where to stay in Bonita Springs Florida?
There are plenty of accommodation options in Naples Florida.
We would recommend these Naples Beach Hotels for a great vacation:
- 3 star – La Quinta Bonita Springs
- 4 star – Hyatt Bonita Springs
- 5 star – Ritz Carlton
We found a hotel in Bonita Springs which we thought would be risky as it was low priced. It had high reviews so we thought we’d check it out. It turned out fabulous for an affordable option.
If you would like to see where we stayed in Bonita Springs click here!
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