1,200+ Beach Bars on One Map

Splash

Every beach bar we’ve stumbled into, overstayed our welcome in, or been tipped off about, dropped on one map.

Some we’ve certified in person. Some are here because a bartender in Anguilla swore by a place in Bonaire and turned out to be right. Tap the button and we’ll show you what’s closest. Or scroll down and pick a beach.

Fair warning: the Caribbean section is dangerous.

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Destination Guides

These are the places we’ve written up properly: a full guide to the bars, what to drink at each one, and which ones are worth the drive. Start here if you’re planning a trip.

The Caribbean, Mexico and Beyond

No roundup for these yet, but every bar is on the map and has its own page. Aruba and Anguilla are next in line for the full treatment. The number is how many bars we’ve got there.

Browse by US State

Florida has more beach bars on this map than Maryland and California combined, which is the least surprising fact on the site. Maryland sitting at number two surprises everyone. Blame the Chesapeake.

Beach Bar Bum Certified

Certified means one thing: someone from the Best Beach Bars team was there, on that stool, and the review is ours. Nobody pays for it and nobody can. These are the bars that have earned it so far. See them all in one list.

What Counts as a Beach Bar

People ask, usually around the third drink. Here’s the standard. Sand, or an unobstructed view of it, and we mean from the bar, not from the parking lot. Drinks first; food is welcome but optional. No dress code beyond “wearing something.” No velvet rope, no bottle minimum, no DJ named after a weather event.

A dock bar counts if the water is right there. A rooftop with a distant sliver of ocean does not. Hotel bars are on probation: if someone off the beach can walk up barefoot and get a cold one without a room key, it’s in. If not, it’s a lobby with ambitions. Tiki bars, dive bars, rum shacks, oyster houses on a pier, all welcome, as long as the beach is doing the heavy lifting.

Know one that meets the standard and isn’t on the map? Tell us about it and we’ll go check. That’s the job.

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