Magazine notes aspects of Siesta Public Beach, Crescent Beach and Turtle Beach
Among its multiple accolades, Siesta Key has made the top of U.S. News’ “Best Beaches” list for the United States this year, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
The magazine explains that it considers factors such as “clean sands, pleasant waters and high-quality attractions” in creating its annual list.
Siesta beat out three Hawaiian beaches, two other Florida beaches, two California beaches, one in Alabama and an area of coastal North Carolina, as noted in the rest of the 2024 list:
- No. 2 — Maui.
- No. 3 —Honolulu-Oahu.
- No. 4 — Kauai.
- No. 5 — Gulf Shores in Alabama.
- No. 6 — Clearwater Beach.
- No. 7 — Destin.
- No. 8 — Malibu.
- No. 9 — The Outer Banks in North Carolina, including the beaches at Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills.
- No. 10 — Laguna Beach, which is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Of the top 10 U.S. beaches on the U.S. News List, only Maui made the magazine’s Best Beaches in the World list for this year. Maui came in at No. 8 in those rankings, with Fiji at No. 1, with Turks & Caicos at No. 2.
Siesta came in at No. 2 this year in TripAdvisor’s rankings for the top shoreline destinations in the United States, as the News Leader reported in late February.
The U.S. News listing for Siesta says, “With 8 miles of white sand to spread out on, this Florida barrier island off the coast of Sarasota was made for beach bums. Enjoy Siesta Key’s laid-back atmosphere while relaxing on Crescent Beach, a secluded stretch of sand with an area for snorkeling. For more excitement, check out Siesta Beach, which boasts tennis and volleyball courts, a playground and concessions. Or, head to Turtle Beach for premier beachcombing opportunities. What’s more, travelers can avoid costly parking fees by utilizing Siesta Key’s free trolley service during their trip.”
U.S. News does not explain that the parking at the Siesta beaches is free; it is finding a parking place that can be quite a challenge, especially during the height of tourist season and on major holiday weekends, as even county residents will attest.
In regard to its methodology for comprising the list, U.S. News explains that its “travel rankings are based on an analysis of expert opinions and traveler reviews. We also rely on our in-destination writers and editors for their recommendations and insider knowledge.”
The scoring for vacation rankings, the magazine adds, gives 50% of the weight to users’ reports. “Anyone has the ability to vote on the destinations included on our ranking lists,” U.S. News notes. “Specifically,” it says, “we ask travelers whether they believe a destination belongs on the list. The User Score for a destination is calculated from the percentage of ‘yes’ votes it receives on a given list.”
The “Editors’ Score” provides the remaining 50% of the weight, the magazine adds:
- “Editors score individual destinations on a scale of 0 (N/A) to 5 (Phenomenal) in a number of categories based on the characteristics that each location exhibits. Categories include: Sights, Culture, People, Food, Family, Nightlife, Adventure, Romance, Value and Accessibility.
- “Editor scores for each category are then averaged together to calculate the ‘average’ score for a category (for example the overall Sights average, Romance average, etc.)
- “Destinations’ overall scores are a weighted average of the individual editors’ averages, based on which factors travelers said were most important to them.”
Moreover, U.S. News points out, “Local hotel nightly rates and costs for flights, attractions and in-destination transportation are taken into consideration.”