Sunset St Pete Beach FL | Where to Watch the Sun Go Down
What’s the most unique thing about St Pete Beach? The unforgettable sunsets over the gulf and beach restaurants, bars & hangout spots where you can watch them from. ✨ This will keep me coming back for years and years! My guide to the best sunset St Pete Beach FL spots gives you all the best places to watch the sun go down and some photos so you can get a sneak peak.
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- #1 Best Place for Sunset : The Beach!
- Best Restaurants For Sunset Views
- Live Music & Sunset
- Sunset Cruises
#1 Best Place for Sunset St Pete Beach FL – The Beach!
You can’t find anywhere more perfect than the beach and ocean to watch the sunset in St Pete Beach. Here are the best spots.
Pass-a-Grille
Pass-a-Grille is the best place in St Pete to watch the sunset and this is because the way the beach curves means that the shore on the southern section of the beach faces the sunset with a more direct, unobstructed view. It’s also generally less crowded in Pass-a-Grille with easy parking, so you’ll be able to get perfect photos in a peaceful setting.
Visit Paradise Grille’s Pass-a-Grille location for the famous sunset bell ritual, and visit the Paradise Grill Facebook page to see their live music schedule which mostly runs during the busy season’s weekends. Brass Monkey is another restaurant in Pass-a-Grille, serving as another local favorite spot for sunset views.
Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach is the first beach over from St Pete Beach, technically on Treasure Island, and this is the second best spot for sunset in St Pete Beach – just a few minutes away from the center of town with relatively easy parking. The views here are uninterrupted and beautiful. Bring a chair and set up on the sand or go for a swim as the sun goes down (my favorite!).
You can also visit Caddy’s on Treasure Island which is right on the water, where you can get drinks and food with stunning views of the gulf and setting sun.
Upham Beach Park
Upham Beach Park is on the north side of St Pete Beach and this is the liveliest spot I’ve found so far to watch the sunset. If you’re looking for peace and quiet or uninterrupted views for photography, this probably isn’t the best spot to watch the sunset, but for a great vibe and good people watching I really love this spot. You can grab drinks and food up until sunset at the northern Paradise Grille location as well.
Parking is no problem here since there is a huge parking lot, and it’s right near a bunch of hotels, bars and restaurants, so you’ll be able to find anything you need here within easy reach!
Sunday’s Treasure Island Drum Circle
Perhaps the most unique place to view the sunset in St Pete Beach FL is at the weekly Treasure Island Drum Circle which happens every weather permitting Sunday afternoon into evening. This has been a longstanding tradition and family-friendly event, where you’ll find a big group of locals and vacationers show up to drum and dance together while the sun sets. What an awesome sunset / Sunday ritual!!
When we went, the drum circle started around 3:00pm and got busier and busier as the evening went on. To find it head to the parking lots in the middle of Treasure Island near Publix, where there should be plenty of parking. You can also find it on this blog map at the top of the page or my complete St Pete Beach map. For more info on the Treasure Island drum circle visit their Facebook group.
Best Restaurants In St Pete Beach FL For Sunset Views
St Pete Beach is one of the rare beach towns in the US where there are lots of restaurants and bars right on the sand and beach, which means lots of great restaurants with views of the setting sun over the gulf. I already mentioned Paradise Grille and Brass Monkey in Pass-a-Grille, which are the best restaurants for sunset in my opinion.
Spinner’s Rooftop is the first that comes to mind, which also happens to be one of the best restaurants in St Pete Beach. It’s on the highest building in the area, where you’ll have panoramic views of the sunset and St Pete Beach. Aside from the amazing views, what sets it apart is that Spinner’s offers a fine dining experience and that it slowly in a circle so you will have multiple views during your meal.
If you’re looking for a more casual restaurant for a sunset meal, Woody’s St Pete offers beautiful views over the gulf a little off the beach which aren’t AS good as if you’re on the beach itself, but still great. Plus a laidback atmosphere and fresh food including seafood.
Close to Woody’s you’ll also find Buoy’s Waterfront Bar and Grill, which also has great sunset views a little off the beach and a higher end menu.
The Best Places for Live Music & Sunset St Pete Beach FL
Bongo’s Beach Bar is one of my favorite restaurants in St Pete Beach because it offers a really unique vibe with dinner tables right on the sand, and a beautiful view of the ocean and sunset. Even better, the food is fresh, they have lots of cool beach drinks and best of all, they often have live music playing on their stage with a small dance floor in front. You can have fun with the whole family here as the sun goes down.
Jimmy B’s Beach Bar is the legendary bar and best spot for live music St Pete, also right on the beach with views of the sun going down as you dance to the music. They also sell food here, so you can find a table, pull up a chair and relax with everything you need.
Catch a Boat Sunset – Sunset Cruise St Pete Beach
Watching the sunset from a boat is the only way to see the sun go down with completely uninterrupted views, and St Pete Beach has tons of sunset boat ride options. Scupper’s Watersports offers a two hour sunset cruise with an open bar of beer and wine during sunset time for a great price.
Starlite Cruises offers an Evening Dining Cruise in St Pete Beach where you can dine and watch the sun go down. There’s a deck on top of the large boat to view the sunset, or you can pay a little bit extra for a window table. Even better, a selection of mixed drinks, beer and wine are included in your ticket!
For anyone who loves sailing, Dolphin Landings Charter Boats is located in St Pete Beach and offers a two hour daily sunset sail boat trip.
Heading to St Pete Beach soon?! Use my map of St Pete Beach hotels, which is sorted by budget, to choose where to stay and make your trip planning easier.
Lauren Kessel
Lauren Kessel is the author of this blog post and the creator of the Inspired Backpacker travel blog. She is a passionate digital nomad, with the mission to make slow travel a more accessible way of life for everyone. Lauren believes travel is an important means of education and more importantly, a way for people of different cultures to come together and understand each other better. She has a BS in Tourism and has planned countless domestic and international trips for herself, her family and friends, having visited over 12 countries and 30 states so far.
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