Looking for warm beaches in the dead of winter can leave you with limited choices. But seeking the hottest beaches -- those where the action never stops -- is a different matter altogether, even in February. In places like California, Hawaii and Florida, the water and air temp might drop a bit, but the activities on the beaches remain smokin’.
The action never stops on the beaches along the Santa Monica Bay that curves around Los Angeles. Days and nights on the sand in February vacillate between the high 60s and low 70s. Since the water’s still relatively cold, low 60s tops, a full wetsuit is definitely needed. But it's worth it since the best Southern California surf rolls in during the winter months. And if you don’t feel like shooting a few tubes, some of the beach cities -- Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Venice Beach and Santa Monica in particular -- are always lively. The clubs in the South Bay keep rocking, the Venice Boardwalk never stops being a people watching paradise and the Santa Monica pier, containing one of the last pier amusement parks in the state, is always jumping.
On the other side of the country around Tampa Bay in Florida life is still a beach, winter or not. February in Florida can get chilly. But the cold lasts only a day or two. For most of the month it remains in the mid-70s. The water’s a little cold, but not as cold as California, and west coast Florida beaches, which front the Gulf of Mexico, usually don’t produce a lot of surf unless there’s a hurricane brewing anyway. Beachcombing doesn’t stop and neither does shelling on these pristine white sand beaches. Places like Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach, with their abundance of restaurants, clubs and museums, are as busy as ever in February.
One gigantic destination summer or winter is the south shore of Oahu at Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, where wintertime air and water temperatures are pretty much in harmony with the laid-back attitude you need to be there in the first place. Waikiki doesn’t get the monster surf Oahu’s north shore is famous for, but it’s a great place for a surfing lesson, particularly if you get to text your freezing friends back home about it when you‘re done. And there’s plenty more to keep things hot, like world-class hotels, incredible restaurants and exciting night spots. But even without them -- hey, it’s Hawaii. What else do you need?
Southern California's Huntington Beach south of L.A. in Orange County is very cool during the winter, particularly around the pier and downtown areas. Since the crowds are lighter, the city opens the beach parking lot to RV camping, which means you can play at the pier and crash in your motor home without much of a walk. On the other side of the country in February, a lot of the northern states population descends on the Florida Keys. Key West, in particular, remains one of the coolest places on the planet no matter what time of year it is. And one last place to find yourself in February with your toes in the sand is on the beach at quaint Tybee Island in Georgia. Complete with a picturesque lighthouse and pristine pure white sand, it’s right around the corner from Savanna and one of the best places in the country to watch dolphins frolic in the waves.
