Description

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Whether you're kayaking through mangroves, bodysurfing with manta rays, or sunbathing with a piña colada in hand, soak up the Sunshine State with Moon Florida Gulf Coast. Inside you'll find:

• Flexible itineraries from short beach getaways to a 10-day road trip covering all 700 miles of the Florida Gulf Coast
• The best spots for outdoor adventures like kayaking, hiking, biking, bird-watching, and fishing, and the best beaches for swimming, sunsets, and seclusion
• Top activities and unique experiences: Discover the vibrant performing arts scene in Sarasota or stroll through quaint riverfront towns and secluded island enclaves. Unwind on shell-scattered beaches or spot gators in the swampy Everglades. Ride the coasters at Busch Gardens, browse art galleries in Naples, or catch a college baseball game during Spring Training. Sail through the canals of Tampa, kick back at a beachfront oyster bar, and sip a local brew as the sun sets over the ocean
• Expert advice from Florida native Joshua Lawrence Kinser on where to stay, where to eat, and how to get around by car, bus, or boat
• Full-color photos and detailed maps throughout
• Background information on the Gulf Coast's landscape, wildlife, history, and culture

Experience the best of Florida's Gulf Coast with Moon.

For more of the Sunshine State, try Moon Florida Keys.

About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. 

For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media. 

About the Author

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Joshua Lawrence Kinser is a native Floridian from Pensacola who spends the better part of each year traveling the entire length of the state's Gulf Coast. After bouncing between jobs for more than a decade, traveling around the world as a writer, a wildlife biology research technician, and a professional drummer on cruise ships, he returned to Florida to write full-time.

Joshua honed his writing skills working as a staff writer for The Pensacola News Journal and publishing articles for magazines such as SAIL and Times of the Islands. As a wildlife biology tech, he has worked in Florida, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Glacier National Park in Montana, and in the forests surrounding Yosemite National Park in California. He is passionate about the outdoors and is always searching for the best freshwater springs, hiking trails, campsites, and fishing spots along the Florida Gulf Coast.

When he isn't writing guidebooks, Joshua is busy writing fiction and nonfiction. He currently splits his time between Black Mountain, North Carolina, and Gulf Breeze, Florida.