Summer travel PSA: If you come to Florida looking for great beaches, stay away from the Keys

The state of Florida is known for many things, but near the top of that list are a handful of some of the best beaches in the world.

Growing up in the Sunshine State and having lived here almost my entire life, I can vouch for that claim; just along the southeastern coast of the state alone are many of the most magnificent stretches of sand known to mankind.

Being a native Floridian, I can also be counted among the millions who have frequented the Florida Keys as a childhood vacation spot.

My point is, I know a thing or two about the region, so when I saw more than a few posts this past holiday weekend on Facebook travel pages from northern tourists lamenting the lack of sugar-white shores in Key West, my mind immediately reverted to an old Florida standby:

"You don't go to the Keys looking for great beaches."

I don't say that as someone who doesn't like the Keys, by the way.

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Several of my fondest memories from both my childhood and adolescence stem from spending lobster mini season at our own little slice of heaven, a resort called Lime Tree Bay on Long Key.

It's my favorite place in the world, and if I had the choice, I would take my last breaths on Earth in one of their hammocks overlooking the Gulf as the evening storms rolled in off the horizon.

I'll never have a bad thing to say about the Florida Keys, but I have to warn anyone making their first trip down to the southernmost portion of the continental United States, because the beaches down there are few and far between and leave much to be desired.

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I can't even count how many times I've seen angry travelers from the Midwest harping on the fact that Key Largo doesn't look like Clearwater Beach.

That is through no fault of their own, mind you. It just has to do with a lack of understanding regarding what makes the Keys so special.

There may not be a load of beaches adorning Florida's most famous archipelago, but there are a ton of great things to do while you're down there.

For starters, the Florida Keys are best enjoyed by boat, so if you don't have one of those, either rent one or find someone who does have one.

The fishing that can be done off of both shores is some of the best any experienced fisherman has ever experienced, and I have to make special mention to the Gulf side of that equation.

If you get seasick easily or deepwater fishing in general just isn't your thing, Gulf fishing will be your bag.

I wouldn't consider myself an avid fisherman, but having been born and raised in Florida I would say I know my way around a bait and tackle box, and I have never had more fun than when our group of friends would go "flats fishing" just off the Gulf shore side of the resort.

Mangrove snapper, sea trout, and Spanish mackerel all make for phenomenal eats and are found in droves in the Gulf, while it also isn't uncommon to hook your fair share of grouper, nurse sharks, and barracuda while there as well.

If you can't get a boat, I would argue a kayak offers an even more intimate view of the best parts of the Keys, so make sure you have access to one of those while you're down there.

Kayaking through the mangroves of Key Largo and Islamorada will show you a side of the state you've likely never seen before up close and personally, and if you pick the right time of year, you could come face-to-face with one of Florida's hidden treasures: the manatee.

Also, if you really are looking to scratch that beach itch while you're in the Keys, taking a boat ride out to one of the many sandbars along the string of islands is the way to go.

Just ask the locals which one is closest to you by boat ride based on which region of the Keys you're staying in (Upper, Middle, or Lower).

No matter where you end up around sunset, be it land or sea, make sure you position your gaze towards the Gulf Coast for what is, in my humble opinion, the most breathtaking spectacle on Earth.

I may be biased, but nothing tops a Florida Keys sunset, and I've been spending the majority of my adult life chasing the high of watching from the pool deck with my closest childhood friends as that famous fireball sinks into the vast ocean against a pink, orange, and purple backdrop.

Finally, Key West may not have the beaches that some of the other famous Floridian spots do, but there is still plenty of fun to be had all along Duval Street.

If you're into that sort of thing, bar crawling along the world-famous strip will offer loads of fun and plenty of interesting residents to swap stories with.

You can make the drive down to the Florida Keys with visions of sandy-white beaches in your brain, but you would miss out on everything else that makes that area one of the best in the world.

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Do me a favor this summer and find a way down to the Keys.

Don't go to a single beach and prepare to have the time of your life. Then let me know all about it, so I can live vicariously through you.

Sincerely, a man with a growing family and too many responsibilities to relive his childhood right now.