Five Things You Must Do in Longboat Key

Longboat Key Car Rental

The City of Longboat Key offers the best of Florida’s sun-soaked, Gulf Coast beaches.  Located between the cities of Sarasota and Tampa, Longboat offers more than one thousand hotels, condominiums and bed and breakfast establishments to accommodate visitors year-round.  Tourists from around the world visit Longboat Key to enjoy its breathtaking beaches, its abundance of outdoor and water activities, and the nightlife of its neighboring cities. 

Longboat Key is most famous for the following attractions:

1) The Longboat Key Fine Arts and Crafts Festival: The Festival is held in March and April, and offers live music and art (yes, ‘live’ art), food and beverage, and plenty of activities for children of all ages.  The event is held at the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, which hosts art classes and lectures, exhibitions among its three galleries, and special events scheduled throughout the calendar year

2) The Gulf of Mexico: Longboat Key boasts some of the most spectacular beaches on Florida’s West Coast.  Visitors enjoy swimming, surfing, sunbathing and fishing, year-round. 

3) Outdoor Activities: Longboat Key offers moderate to warm temperatures most seasons of the year, with sunlit skies during the day and cool ocean breezes by evening.  Visitors are able to enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities, including biking, hiking, windsailing, tennis and golf.  The city hosts several outdoor clubs and recreational centers to suit many sporting interests.

4) The Sarasota Opera House:  Located in neighboring Sarasota, just a few minutes’ drive from Longboat Key, the Sarasota Opera House hosts world class stage productions.  Visitors may obtain current events information at  www.sarasotaopera.org.

5) 5) The Ringling Museum of Fine Art:   Recognized an official Florida state museum, the John & Mable Ringling Museum comprises twenty-one galleries of fine art collections of all periods and from all corners of the globe.  The museum also houses an art library with sixty-five thousand holdings. 

From ocean-front views to opera, fishing to arts festivals, Longboat Key is a must-see for the Florida tourist.