Siesta Beach Crescent Beach Siesta Key July 2023 | From The Villages to Sarasota Florida

In this video I drive from The Villages Florida to Sarasota Florida and visit the world famous Siesta Beach and Crescent beach in Siesta Key Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. Considered the best beach in the USA, and some say the world. Amazing 99% white quartz sand. Absolute must see. Thanks for coming along!
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TheVillagesChief
#thevillages #thevillagesflorida #florida #thevillagesfl #thevillages 2023 #siestakey #siestakeybeach #siestabeach #crescentbeach #sarasota

[@TheVillagesChief]

Support this channel and get some cool merch at ChiefHobie.com

[@paulh3122]

Been there six times. Best beach my family and I visited. Would holiday in Florida, a week in Orlando for the kids then a week in Sarasota. Great times, fantastic sunsets, irreplaceable memories. All the best from Scotland ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for sharing Paul!

[@paulh3122]

@@TheVillagesChief ❤️👍

[@spiritualascentionsociety9394]

❤❤❤❤❤ like wow...I'm amazed by the Amazing sites!! Thanks for sharing this video! I think Floridas calling my name...😮😊😊😊 And you took a swim...yay! Take care, You. 😊

[@TheVillagesChief]

Love that beach!

[@michellespry5736]

Chief …your voice is so calming..Appreciate your videos and taking the time to share such a big change …

[@TheVillagesChief]

That’s very sweet thank you so much :)

[@reginaglennhill5097]

Fun fun

[@TheVillagesChief]

😎

[@kimnorg]

Looks beautiful

[@TheVillagesChief]

Very!

[@geocape7060]

As a Sarasota snowbird I love this. You are really good with the camera. I love Sarasota. It's a wonderful place to be. Thanks for this handsome man.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks so much glad you enjoyed it! How nice to be a Sarasota snowbird, you’re living the dream!

[@ninaswanson5662]

Amazing trip! Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@TheVillagesChief]

My pleasure!

[@blessingsoutlaw]

Was going to ask but decided to Google 👀 how the quartz sand ended up there. Apparently, over millions of years, stones flowed down rivers from the Appalachians, losing the outer layers of feldspar and mica, leaving behind quartz. Twas a different world then. 😊 Thanks for the tour!

[@TheVillagesChief]

That’s so incredible to think it came from the Appalachian mountains, what an amazing world

[@tonyk3116]

Beautiful video. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks Tony!

[@galechicago325]

I’ve spent many winters in Florida, but I have never seen a white sand beach like that. Amazing. If I could, I’d like this video twice.

[@TheVillagesChief]

It's really amazing how bright white, clean and cool to the touch the quartz sand is. Thanks so much!

[@cherylhillskemper7564]

What a great beach! Love the sand! I usually stay at my son's place in Indialantic, on the Atlantic side. It's chill also, but very different. Definitely putting Siesta Beach on my list! Thx for the video!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for watching Cheryl!

[@harveydickson3523]

Love all the camera work: high end!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks!

[@karensundin3399]

Beautiful white sand and the sunset was Amazing. I am use to Washington beaches with gray sand and lots of shells and sand dollars. Beautiful blue water. Thanks for sharing

[@hanwin651]

Chief, please do more video outside The Villages . Tampa bay is very nice . Long boat key is another good vacation place.

[@TheVillagesChief]

I plan on it, I just havent explored that much yet, but I will soon. And you're right, I've been to Long Boat Key, and absolutely love it!

[@CuriousES]

Enjoy the video! I normally go to Anna Maria Island because I prefer smaller beach and that walk on the sand it’s too intense. But that sand is amazing!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks I'll have to check out Anna Maria Island :)

[@lauralampe1664]

Looks like an awesome beach. Glad the sea turtle nests are protected. Thanks for sharing your getaway.

[@mcgluro]

Yet another great video Chief! I appreciated seeing the journey as well as the beach and your artistic shots really enhance your videos. Thanks for taking us along!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Much appreciated!

[@elizabethbaldwin8488]

You should go watch the sunset at Siesta on a Sunday sometime. There is a spontaneous Drum Circle with citizens and other instruments and dancers and you can particpate and hundreds of people. I plant a chair 30 yards away from the crowd and watch for a bit and then turn it around and listen and watch the sunset,

[@TheVillagesChief]

That sounds amazing! Especially since I play the drums and love the beach, and love the sunset!

[@elizabethbaldwin8488]

Its been going on for at least 30 years (i think), every Sunday. I know you play....next time you come please video again...enjoy!

[@noreenn6976]

On my bucket list, seeing sea turtle hatchlings head to the sea.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Gotta love turtles! 🐢

[@noreenn6976]

@@TheVillagesChief lots of turtle nests on Vero beach

[@joec68500]

The sand is normally cool on your feet too.

[@TheVillagesChief]

It’s amazing

[@parkermarina]

I love the special effects you shared during this episode. I definitely have to put Crescent Beach on my 2023 bucket list! My favorite Florida beach is Alys Beach~

[@TheVillagesChief]

I’ll have to check it out!

[@Its_the_Whole_Everything]

crescent is one of my favorites

[@trudyyurina5473]

Siesta Beach is very crowded in the winter months with those snow birds (we are snowbirds). Love that white sand.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks Trudy!

[@laurarahz12]

Wow beautiful!! I’ve Sanibel is really nice too, any plans to go there? Thx for sharing, living the life!!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Absolutely!

[@lindaearley4099]

Great job ! I've had the pleasure of being at the beach at night when the turtles hatched and went for the water here in west central Florida. It's a bit of a tricky situation getting them to go in the right direction 😢

[@TheVillagesChief]

Very cool!

[@11candy11]

Beautiful white-sand beach Gorgeous sunset. Please consider doing some videos reviewing your favorite restaurants in the Villages. It makes a nice shout-out for local businesses and... true confession: I love watching anything food-related. This might explain my need for a fridge alarm. LOL

[@TheVillagesChief]

Haha ok I will think about it 😎

[@renethompson9744]

Outstanding! What a lovely place to stay, so close to everything and that beach, the Sunset, awe, just awe...thanks for sharing.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks Rene glad you liked it!

[@teresasietsema189]

I’m soooo jealous!!!!! Minnesota lakes don’t come close!

[@noreenn6976]

Wow, that sand is amazing! Nice hotel room, thanks for taking us along.

[@TheVillagesChief]

You bet!

[@keg9850]

You should have posted I 75 on Friday or Saturday..... it was gridlock all the way down. Nothing but trailers, campers, trucks, boats, jet skiis etc.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Hmmm, I went down on Friday and didn’t hit any traffic

[@soniamoreira5003]

Amazing! What a beautiful beach. Thank you for sharing.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for watching Sonia!

[@DisMindy5767]

Wow that looks like a beautiful beach. The only gulf beach I've been to is Galveston. It's not even close to that nice. This is now on my list! Thank you so much for taking us along. How did Gridley enjoy his stay at the doggie motel?

[@TheVillagesChief]

He did good, they treat him real nice and play when he's there.

[@Bruce-se1sg]

Great video. Just completing our 1 week lifestyle visit. Great time , tons of pickle ball and nightlife. What do you do for fun in TV ?

[@TheVillagesChief]

Mostly walk around the squares enjoy the music, ride my bicycle, some fitness, occasional drink, out on the Harley, not too much, not retired just yet so I stay busy working

[@LandGirlGB]

Looks amazing! I think that would be an awesome weekend trip to take with a group of friends from the Villages. Just to chill out on the beach would be awesome and that beautiful sunset makes you appreciate all that’s good in the world! The ride down isn’t that long and it would be a nice change of scenery! On my bucket list to do when I get down there! Thanks for taking us along!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Sounds great!

[@Carolyns23]

Super cute, beachy hotel room, plus the sand on that beach is Ah-mazing!

[@TheVillagesChief]

😎

[@davidrupprecht2774]

Absolutely the best beach in the US! Thanks for the trip.

[@TheVillagesChief]

You bet!

[@DailyPay_withKristina]

Too bad did not know you were coming to our beautiful Sarasota. We could have had lunch

[@TheVillagesChief]

That’s very kind!

[@thevillagesnatives3491]

Thanks for sharing Chief. Beautiful beach!

[@TheVillagesChief]

You bet!

[@bebright123]

Siesta Key is the most beautiful beach I’ve seen! ❤ Can’t wait to go back again!!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Me too!

[@tammydaniel6101]

My home town, Siesta Key!!!! Miss it so much!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Nice!

[@bartola_ing]

Hi Chief, Thank you for sharing your getaway, love the quartz sand,nothing like watching the sunset on the beach 🌅

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for watching!

[@fft57d]

Have you been to Daytona Beach? Is it nice? My husband and I love day trips. Please show more!!!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Very easy, straight shot to Sarasota, 2.5 hours and no tolls. I-75 south.

[@fft57d]

​@@TheVillagesChiefthanks! I just rewatched the video and I heard you mention there are no tolls, so I edited my message. Thank you for responding! My husband and I really want to live here.

[@fredrogers2453]

Sorry but half of the video was sent on the drive which took away from the accommodations and the beach...

[@sherrycampbell9196]

Loved seeing the scenic drive to hotel location..the hotel looked vety nice and beachy vibe colors and close to the beach..the seista beach ...the quartz sand looks heavebly..thank you for sharing your trip..and i am sure mr gridley got the royal treatment at petsmarts spa staycation🎉..❤from a Indiana girl living on the Virginia Tennessee line

[@smileyone6186]

That was beautiful. Relaxing video again. When we move down there I would love for us to hang out with you. You are so soothing❤thank you Chief❤😊

[@TheVillagesChief]

For sure! I don’t know if I’m soothing in real life tho haha

[@fft57d]

Would you recommend living in Sarasota? I wanted to check-out both Sarasota and the Villages to live-in part of the year or maybe permanently. Thanks for your show! You have alot of useful information! Have a great week-end.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Yes I love Sarasota! Great area, wonderful beaches, lots of dining and super nice

[@PietrinaBravata]

Hi Chief. Nice ride. Looks like you had good weather. The tropical Beach Resort looks like a comfortable place to stay. I love short trips. Looks like this was a fun get away. Absolutely beautiful beaches and beautiful sunset. Thanks for taking us along and sharing your adventure. It was fun to watch!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for watching Pietrina!

[@jroach3296]

Beautiful beach!

[@Fldaisy]

So beautiful. I went to honeymoon island that same weekend. It was slammed with people. And the beach is very narrow but the water was beautiful and perfect for grandkids. I will definitely have to check out siesta key. Great job on the video. 😊

[@TheVillagesChief]

It did not disappoint, beautiful beach

[@alicethomas6472]

This is such a beautiful place. WOW! The white sand makes it look cool. LOL!!! Glad you had some time to get away. I'm sure you miss Gridley. Hope you made it back safe & sound. Enjoy the beautiful sunsets too. Wow! Thanks!

[@TheVillagesChief]

I did!

[@dustyreynolds4225]

Hiya Chief, thank you for time to make and share this video. I've explored parts of Gulf Coasts with those amazing white sands. Plus a bit of Big Island, Hawaii too. I miss running into that gorgeous perfect temperature water! Too bad dogs are not allowed, I'm sure it's due to poop issues. ANYWHO...take care and thank you for your service

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks Dusty!

[@mbraden8949]

Beautiful! Nothing grounds me more than the waves and sunsets on the beach. It didn't look like there was an abundance of seaweed like I found on Ft. Lauderdale and Naples beaches. This might be a good destination for our next sibling get together. Thanks for taking us along with you ;)

[@TheVillagesChief]

I don’t remember seeing any seaweed of significance on this trip, thanks for watching!

[@nshaver24]

Such a wonderful relaxing video🏖️⛵️😎…thanks for sharing…your editing skills are amazing!!….Nancy

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks!

[@stephaniemoore189]

such a beautiful area, but way too hot for me. I will stay here in upstate ny

[@febie8695]

Thanks for sharing your Siesta beach Getaway experience ! That’s one of my favorite beach here in Florida . Check out also honeymoon island , Ana maria island .

[@TheVillagesChief]

Will do thanks!

[@frankclark717]

Beautiful beach and thanks for taking along for the ride Chief

[@TheVillagesChief]

You bet!

[@kathykulba4320]

I brought Mom and I down for a life style visit Memorial Day weekend til the 9th of June. One of our road trips was down to Sarasota to see the Ringlng Museum , house, gardens, and art museum. We went the exact way, back roads and all, the highways there are gorgeous, no pot holes like up here in Wisconsin. I LOVED reliving the drive!! I couldn't figure out those cranes in the water?? building a new road or bridge? I would have loved to go to the beach, just a bit difficult because I take her everywhere in the wheelchair. LOVED seeing Florida!! Can't wait, one day!!! thanks! Kat

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for sharing Kat!

[@elizabethbaldwin8488]

You can rench beach wheelchairs! That beach is a very wide one though, lot to walk and push. We have shorter beaches. Lido Key Beach for one.

[@kathykulba4320]

@@elizabethbaldwin8488 thanks!!!

[@Carol-cd4my]

Beautiful 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@TheVillagesChief]

It truly is!

[@lucky13driver]

It’s nice to see some of the roads outside of the “bubble”. Sarasota looks beautiful. We live in Corpus Christi Texas and are giving The Villages a serious look for retirement. My wife and I are getting close to retirement and like the idea of a 55+ communities, currently The Villages is the front runner. Your videos have given us a better understanding of the community without the realtor view from someone who seems pretty like minded. Great video sir!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks so much for the kind words, good luck on your future plans!

[@user-wk3sx6yh7n]

Great mini vacation for us in Upstate NY ! Glad you wore your hat…sometimes 🌞😅 Great ride, thank you 🙏

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks for watching!

[@rcw3749]

Very nice!!

[@christinemowbray6116]

Thanks for showing some of the ride .. I am soooo Looking forward to going to the beautiful Florida beaches being a Jersey Shore girl ( by way of NY) ☀️🌊

[@TheVillagesChief]

My pleasure!

[@sandykish9608]

Thanks for this one! Calgon take me away!Felt like we were right there~So nice for a little weekend. I bet Gridley was happy to get back on his own couch though😂

[@TheVillagesChief]

Yes he was!

[@KingoftheNorth56]

Good job on another awesome video chief! It almost looked as if you were going thru a wave (hanging ten🤙🏽)..Stay safe and we’ll see back in The Villages…

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks Victor!

[@napervillerealestatelifewi5148]

Cool video. Did you look into any "pet friendly" hotels? We want to take our pets on trips when we get down there.

[@TheVillagesChief]

No because I knew I couldn't take him to the beach so I didn't look into that on this trip. I heard Venice beach does allow dogs (I havent confirmed it tho) so I'll have to look into that on a future trip.

[@TheElizabethfrances]

Great video!

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks!!

[@katrinreal]

Check out North Lido Beach!

[@geocape7060]

My favorite.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Will do on my next trip!

[@geocape7060]

@@TheVillagesChief Sarasota snowbird here. How far are the Villages from Sarasota? I love Sarasota.

[@TheVillagesChief]

2.5 hrs

[@katrinreal]

@@geocape7060 mine as well :)

[@paulashealthyliving]

wow no one there!!!!

[@Liz-gc6gn]

Thank you for doing a video on places to go in FL! I’ve been watch Central FL day trip videos, it looks like so much fun. I don’t get why FL gets such a bad rep.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Me neither!

[@donyamalmquist7298]

I am so happy to have found your videos! I am researching retirement options for my friend, what an education it has been! My friend is a 60 yr old male “solo ager” (new term for me). Siesta key and The Villages are on his list. I have a question for you. I read as many comments as my eyes could handle so please forgive me if you’ve addressed it already Now that you’ve been in the villages for a while, do you think there is a best age for the village lifestyle? Could you envision yourself living in Siesta Key and contrast that to what life‘s like in the villages? Would one be a better fit for a different decade of life? I don’t mean to give you a job here if it’s too much to ask, just don’t bother ❤ Thank you!

[@TheVillagesChief]

That’s such a great question and thanks for watching. Now that I’ve been here a year I plan on doing a one year review, and some of my thoughts have changed a little here and there, but overall to answer your question, I would say if I had a choice of living in siesta key or in the villages, I would choose siesta key at this age however, I say that because I don’t golf I don’t participate in any of the activities here in the villages, which is just my personal lifestyle is a little different than the normal lifestyle here for example, instead of golf, pickle ball, etc,I like to travel I like to ride my motorcycle a lot and activities like that although I love living in the villages because it’s safe, clean and friendly and I really like the availability of the live entertainment seven days a week and I do like all the options for swimming pools and gyms at the rec centers. But again I think I would like to live near the shore if I could or somewhere near nice beaches (or mountains) however, that wasn’t an option for me at the time so the villages is nice and I don’t mind driving down to Sarasota or other places which are only a couple hours away. Anyway, the villages is great, but comparing it to siesta key is difficult because siesta key is such a unique place overall, I’m very happy to live here in the villages and I think it’s good at this age there are a lot of folks, my age ( 60 ish ) especially in the southern part of the villages or newer parts of the villages. Not sure if my answer helped or not but come check it out. I would spend a couple weeks here if you could and see what you think. Again, thanks for watching!

[@donyamalmquist7298]

Thank you so much! Great feedback. I am listening to a book called “Right Time, Right Place” about analyzing the right fit for retirement. If it were me, I would be renting around the world, 2 months at a time! Lol Thanks again!

[@carolynlafontaine-xo3xt]

R u thinking of moving out of the Villages?

[@TheVillagesChief]

Honestly, it’s too soon to tell, I would want to give it maybe another year or a couple years before I decide for sure right now I’m happy but I don’t know if this is what I’m looking for long-term. Great question. Thanks for watching Carolyn!

[@debgifford4289]

Just one day and road travel until The Villages will become the place I call home. Not a easy thing to do. Leaving a lifetime of friends. So now I have a video to show them. Look who doesn’t want to walk the shoreline of this beautiful beach. I think I will have a lot of company 😳 Of course you get another 👍 up😊

[@TheVillagesChief]

Thanks Deb! Good luck on the move!

[@SportsMusicCars]

why the hat in such nice weather?

[@TheVillagesChief]

I don't wear a hat that much at all, just to represent

[@cliffclaveman2729]

Get away? Aren't you retired? What do you need to get away from? The Villages? LOL. Oh yes. Might suggest better background music for your videos. Sounds like funeral music. Something more light and tropical would be much better.

[@TheVillagesChief]

Nope I’m not retired Cliff, thanks for the advice tho I just like ambient grooves from time to time

[@cliffclaveman2729]

@@TheVillagesChief Opps my mistake.......................thought everyone in TV was retired. LOL