Honeymoon Island

Honeymoon Island State Park, Florida

Whilst staying in a villa at New Port Richey, on the Gulf Coast in Florida, we went out driving to explore the local area. We stumbled across Honeymoon Island State Park, paid $8 to enter and were so pleased we did!

Located at the end of the Highway 586, head towards Dunedin Causeway and drive right to the end following the signposts to Honeymoon Island.

Honeymoon Island was named the Honeymoon Isle in 1939 by a New York developer who built 50 palm thatched bungalows for honeymooners on a deserved coast line. What an absolutely fantastic place, miles and miles of sandy beaches, shallow and exceptionally warm waters and hardly any people around – idyllic!

Provided for visitors are wooden double swings and picnic tables, not too many but just enough. The wooden swings are of great sentimental value, donated in memory of members of family who have visited Honeymoon Island in their past life. There are also a couple of beach side cafes, a gift shop, restrooms and ample free parking. If you want to find out more about the local wildlife on the Island, located within the park is a nature reserve and trail with bird observation areas.

We spent a very hot and sunny afternoon here, just floating about in the exceptionally warm shallow waters and relaxing, reading our books on the beach and collecting shells. The beach is mainly sandy although there are parts where there are lots of broken shells, so a good idea is to pack some lightweight beach shoes to protect your feet from the sharp edges of the shells. The water is quite salty, so wearing goggles is a good idea, to prevent your eyes from stinging too much.

It was very quiet when we visited with hardly any people around, we almost had the beach to ourselves. The park does close though at 5. 30pm, which is a shame, it would be good if it opened a little later, as it would be a good idea to have a BBQ on a hot summer' s evening.

Best to go prepared with umbrellas, if like me you are fair skinned and need some shade. Also take some lightweight deck chairs, towels, beachwear and plenty of water! It will be hot in the summer months. Ah yes and another piece of advice, wear plenty of mossy protection, due to lots of rain this year there are an abundance of mosquitoes.

We can' t wait to go back and visit, running out of time on this trip but definitely will return in the future!