More Travel & Outdoors

Dive Into Resort Life

Downtown, Beach or Golf Course, The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota Pampers Guests in Signature Ritz Style

Twenty-four years after it opened, the Ritz remains a place to see and be seen—and to escape.

12/01/2025 By Megan McDonald

Dive Into Resort Life

For the Ultimate in Luxurious Pampering, Look No Further Than St. Regis Longboat Key Resort

The St. Regis has brought a new level of luxury and wealth to our region—and reminded us of everything we’ve always loved about living here.

12/01/2025 By Megan McDonald

Dive Into Resort Life

The Resort at Longboat Key Club Embodies History and Beachy Luxury

The resort sits on the sprawling Gulf-front site of John Ringling’s planned Ritz-Carlton Hotel and lives up to its venerable history.

12/01/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Dive Into Resort Life

Soak up Affordable Relaxation and a Whole Lot of Family Fun at Zota Beach Resort

The four-star resort opened in 2017 with on-site dining, a pool bar, private cabanas, watersports and beachfront access.

12/01/2025 By Lauren Jackson

Dive Into Resort Life

Lido Beach Resort Stands the Test of Time

Built in 1969, the resort has attracted visitors from around the world for decades.

12/01/2025 By Lauren Jackson

Heroes on the Half Shell

Mote Reports Record Sea Turtle Nesting Numbers for 2025

This year saw more 1,366 more sea turtle nests on local beaches than last year, including some incubating into November.

11/24/2025 By Staff

Gawkers Delight

Quick! Grab a Spot on Selby Gardens’ Boat Tour to Spanish Point

You’ll learn about water, nature, history and, of course, gawk at waterfront mansions.

11/24/2025 By Susan Burns

End of an Era

Good-Bye, Hart's Landing

Last year's hurricanes destroyed the iconic bait shop's docks. This week, the site was razed.

11/12/2025 By Megan McDonald

Grounded!

The Government Shutdown Is Creating Travel Headaches Everywhere

The FAA announced today that it intends to decrease air traffic by 10 percent in 40 markets nationwide starting Friday morning, including at Tampa International. At SRQ, seven flights were delayed today.

11/06/2025 By Megan McDonald

In Fine Feather

It’s Peak Birding Season Look for These Migrating 'Lifer' Birds Making a Stop in Sarasota

At the Celery Fields and in woodland areas like Pinecraft Park, you’ll spot numerous kinds of birds, from jaw-droppingly colorful painted buntings to chicken-like soras and flashy scarlet tanagers.

11/05/2025 By Megan McDonald

Burning Question

What Does Florida’s New Beach Access Law Mean?

Coastal rights attorney Pepper Uchino weighs in on the sand wars.

11/03/2025 By Isaac Eger

Making a Splash

Randy and the Dolphins

Marine scientist Randall Wells knows Sarasota’s dolphins better than anyone in the world. Just don’t ask him to read their minds.

09/05/2025 By Isaac Eger

Mosquito Buzz

You’re Not Imagining It. Mosquitoes Are Getting Worse Here.

More than 80 mosquito species call Florida home, and each mosquito species has different habitat preferences.

09/03/2025 By Isaac Eger

Flashback

In 1937, a Local Man Caught a 2,500-Lb. Shark Just Off Longboat Key

Edgar Green caught the massive animal while fishing alone in the Gulf.

07/21/2025 By Megan McDonald

Creature Encounters

All the Wildlife You'll Spot on the Myakka River

You'll see alligators, for sure—but also fish, turtles, river otters, manatees, bobcats, deer and raccoons.

07/17/2025 By Miri Hardy

Only in Sarasota

Bird Talk at Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Scarlet macaw Alberta is known for her sweet temperament, beautiful tail feathers, and a love of wooden toys, neck rubs and making a mess.

07/14/2025 By John Pirman

Wild and Scenic

Kayaking the Myakka River

Our Gulf beaches are world famous, but Sarasota has another great body of water—the Myakka, celebrating its 40th anniversary as Florida’s only “Wild and Scenic River.”

07/10/2025 By John McCarthy

Flashback

Photo: Sarasota Sun-Debs, 1949

Photographer Joseph Janney Steinmetz captured this scene that year, which shows a ballet instructor giving the Sun-Debs a movement lesson on the sunny shores of Lido Beach.

07/03/2025 By Megan McDonald

Mango Mecca

The Mango's Deep Roots in America Started in Manatee County

More than 140 years ago, some of the first mango trees in America were established in Bradenton.

07/02/2025 By Isaac Eger

Swim Meet

What It's Like to Swim With the Stingrays at the St. Regis Longboat Key

Get up close and personal with stingrays and marine animals at The St. Regis Longboat Key’s Under the Sea lagoon.

07/02/2025 By Megan McDonald