The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Caladesi Island near Clearwater

PLANNING A VISIT TO CALADESI ISLAND?

You’ve landed on the right page! We love spending time in Florida during the cold winter months back home and Caladesi Island is one of our most favorite places to visit in Florida. We’ve put together a guide with helpful tips and details to help you best enjoy your time on Caladesi Island.

If you are looking to escape the crowds in Tampa and Clearwater, take the ferry out to beautiful Caladesi Island State Park. It is full of opportunities for relaxing at the Caladesi beach, enjoying the nature trails, Caladesi Island shelling, and swimming.  

The white sugar sand beaches and swaying palm trees are dreamy! We also saw a bunch of armadillos roaming around the island so keep an eye out for them. This was our first time watching armadillos in the wild!

Whether you’re staying in the area or visiting as a day trip, this is a great place to visit. The ferry from Honeymoon Island to Caladesi makes it really easy to visit.

Clearwater to Caladesi Island

If you are traveling from Clearwater you will most likely get on the ferry at the Caladesi Island Ferry Tickets & Information area. The drive from Clearwater to where you get on the Caladesi ferry is about 25 minutes.

How to Get to Caladesi Island

You can get to the island by private boat, kayak, ferry, or by walking from Clearwater Beach.

Can you walk from Honeymoon Island to Caladesi Island State Park?

You cannot walk from Honeymoon Island to Caladesi Island. If you are leaving from Honeymoon Island, you will need to take a 20-minute ferry ride.

If you want to walk onto the island, you can walk from Clearwater Beach. I have more details below on this walk.

Caladesi Island Ferry

The ferry is the most popular and easiest way to get to the island. The ferry leaves from Honeymoon Island State Park and the ride is about 20-minutes long. It is a nice and relaxing boat trip. If you do go over on the Caladesi ferry, there is a 4-hour time limit on the island.

How much does it cost to go to Caladesi Island?

Here are the costs for going to Caladesi Island on the ferry leaving from Honeymoon Island.

Adults: $16  
Children (6 – 12): $8
5 and Under: Free

The tickets listed above are the cost of a roundtrip ticket. You can take $1.00 off your ticket with this Caladesi Island Ferry coupon.

Also, keep in mind, you do need to pay the $8 entry fee to Honeymoon Island State Park to get to where the ferry leaves from.  

Caladesi Island Ferry Schedule

The Caladesi Island State Park ferry runs daily except for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Ferries departing Honeymoon Island starts at 10:00 am and leave every half an hour.

Kayaking to Caladesi Island

If you are looking for an adventurous way to get to the island, rent a kayak! The best place to rent a Calades Island kayak from is Sail Honeymoon. They are located on the south side of the causeway leading to Honeymoon Island. They rent single and double kayaks.

The paddle to the island takes about 20 minutes. Depending on how long you want to spend on the island, you can pick a two-hour or four-hour rental. There is a three-mile mangrove trail on the island so if you are wanting to explore that you will want more time, potentially even a whole day.

The entrance fee is $2 per person if you kayak over to the island.

How to Walk to Caladesi Island State Park

The walk to the island is not a short one but can be done. If you love walking along the beach, you will enjoy this beautiful walk. Starting from Clearwater North Beach, the walk is about 3 miles. It is not an overly difficult walk but roundtrip it is about 6 miles.

The best place to park if you want to walk out to the state park is at the northern end of Mandalay Avenue. The best beach access is at Somerset Road. Walk north and then you will see a sign for the nature trail and bridge.

We wouldn’t recommend this option! Save your energy for playing at the Caladesi beach and take the ferry!

Private Boat 

If you are going to be in the area with your own boat or a rented boat, you can drive your own boat to Caladesi Island. There are docks you can use where the ferry boats dock or you can anchor wherever you would like.

The entrance fee is $6 per boat for up to 8 people. This does not apply if you are coming over on the ferry.

Caladesi Island Private Boat Charter

If you want to combine a trip out to Caladesi Island Florida with dolphin watching or exploring the area, you can book a private boat charter. The half-day charter can take you to many of the barrier islands including Caladesi Island and Three Rooker Island.

A boat charter through Sandbar Rehab is a great way to explore the islands at your own pace and spend some time out on the beautiful water.

Things to Do on Caladesi Island State Park

Once you get to the island, there are lots of fun things to do and places to explore. Plus, if you want to just sit on the Caladesi Island beach and relax, it is a beautiful place to do that!

Swimming at the Caladesi Island Beach

If you’re wondering if you can swim on Caladesi Island the answer is YES! It is a beautiful beach with very small waves, making it a great place to go swimming. This is one of the best things to do on Caladesi Island.

There is usually a lifeguard on duty between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Caladesi Beach

The island has about four miles of beach. Along the Caladesi beach, you will see a variety of wildlife, sea life, shells, and beautiful water. Because this island is mostly only accessible by boat, it is not as busy as some of the other nearby Florida beaches like nearby Siesta Key Beach and Clearwater Beach.

You can expect to find lots of open space on the beach with plenty of room to relax and enjoy the beautiful island. When we were there, we had the Caladesi Island beach almost to ourselves. There were a few other people looking for shells as they walked the beach.

Caladesi Island State Park Snorkeling

The four miles of flat beach with the nearby shallow waters make Caladesi State Park a great place to go snorkeling, especially for families. One of the best places to go snorkeling is near Main Beach. It is the beach closest to the restrooms and café.

It has deep and fine-grained white sand. There is not a lot to see in the water here, but you do have a chance to see something. Just don’t expect to see a large number of sea life here.

Caladesi Island Florida Shelling

The unique continental shelf off the coast of Florida is very flat making it a lot easier for shells to remain intact when coming to shore.

Nearby Sanibel Island off the coast of Fort Myers is often referred to as the seashell capital of the world but we found really beautiful shells along the whole west coast of Florida. Caladesi island shelling is a lot of fun!

You will want to look for shells starting an hour before low tide. It is easier to find shells out on the sandbar during low tide than high tide. You can check the tide schedule here.

Make sure to bring along a shell bag to make bringing your shells back home easier. This shell bag is so handy to have because you won’t have to carry your shells and the holes in the bag let out the access water and sand.

Check Prices for Shell Bags on Amazon Here!

When you first get off of the ferry, look for the Shells of Caladesi Island display. It is so cool to see all of the shells that can be found on the island, even if you don’t find them yourself. Plus, stop here on your way back to the ferry to see what kind of shells you found. There are about 45 shells shown on the board.

Tip: Shuffle your feet in the sand to avoid being stung by a stingray.   

Caladesi Island Kayaks

The best place for kayaking on Caladesi Island Florida is on the east side of the island. This is the side facing the mainland. The water is very shallow and clear, making it an easy and rewarding trip in your kayak. You can expect to see lots of birds along the shore. We saw a great blue heron and lots of pelicans.

Along with birdlife, you can see some sea life in the clear water like stingrays, lots of fish, and crabs. If you are visiting during the winter months you might get lucky and see a manatee in the mangrove trees.

If you want to explore more of the mangroves, you can paddle through the island on the Mangrove Kayak Trail. It is a three-mile trail, but you can turn around if you don’t want to paddle that far.

Caladesi Island kayaks are available to rent at the marina for $25.

Fishing

The passes just off the shore make great waters for catching tarpon, snook, redfish, seatrout, flounder, grouper, sharks, and more. The summer months are especially great for trophy snook.

You can fish off the shore, from a kayak, or on a boat. Kayakers and those with small boats can launch directly from the Honeymoon Island Causeway which is about a 15-minute boat ride away from Caladesi Island.  

Hiking in Caladesi Island Florida

There is a three-mile loop that runs around the island if you want to do some hiking and explore the nature trail on Caladesi Island. From the boat dock, take the boardwalk. From the boardwalk, there is a T intersection that will have signs for the Island Trail.

The trail will take you through salt marshes, mangrove swamps, down to the beach, and through the coastal scrub on the island. Along the trail, be sure to look for the armadillos and maybe even a raccoon, although you’re more likely to see their tracks.

There are quite a few turns and connecting trails so it is a good idea to take a picture of the trail map posted before heading out. The oak and palm hammock are really unique and fun to see.

Caladesi Island Helicopter Tour

After exploring the beautiful beaches and trails on Caladesi Island, it is time to see it from the sky. This blue water beach in Florida is so pretty from above.

If you want the best helicopter tour of Caladesi Island and the surrounding Clearwater Beaches, I suggest booking a guided tour with Tampa Bay Aviation.

Amenities

If you are spending the day or camping on Caladesi Island overnight at the dock slips, there are quite a few amenities on the island to make your stay more comfortable. There are picnic tables with grills available to reserve.

If you aren’t bringing your own food onto the island, there is a café where you can order lunch and drinks. There is a small souvenir shop there as well.

There is also a small playground near the beach. My kids enjoyed playing on it as we made our way back to the ferry. Visiting Caladesi Island and this part of Florida is one of the great things to do in Orlando with kids because it is one of the closest beaches.

Where the boardwalk ends at the beach, you can rent beach umbrellas and chairs. You can also easily bring your own chairs across on the ferry. (Check out our recommendations for camping chairs for kids here!) We love spending time here as a family when we are in Clearwater with kids.

Restrooms, Showers and Dressings Rooms

Halfway between the beach and boat dock, there are showers, changing rooms, restrooms, and a drinking fountain.

Caladesi Island State Park Camping

There are no overnight Caladesi Island State Park camping facilities or lodging available on the island. If you are boating over to the island on your own boat, you can dock overnight at the marina.

There are 108 places available. You just have to register before dark. The slip spots have 30 amp electrical and water hookups.

The overnight slip cost is $24 per night plus tax. You can make your reservation online or first-come, first-served in the marina.

A visit to Caladesi Island is one of the most fun things to do in Clearwater with kids! We also recommend taking a sunset cruise or kayak tour while in Clearwater. If you’re looking at visiting some of the other beautiful beaches on this side of Florida, we recommend looking into nearby Marco Island and Lovers Key State Park.