The Best Itinerary for 3 Days in Sarasota, Florida
I would never be able to pick one single favorite city in Florida. But if you forced me to, Sarasota is definitely one of them. I love Sarasota for its downtown area which is just busy enough. There is enough to do, restaurants to eat at, and rooftop bars without it being too overwhelming.
Plus, it’s right on the bay and beautiful beaches are just a short drive away.
This itinerary is for 3 days in Sarasota. You could spend more without getting bored, especially if you want to travel slowly. To see a lot of what Sarasota has to offer, 3 days is perfect!
I have added some added fun activities at the end of this article if you have more time or if you want to switch out any of the activities I’ve highlighted.
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Three Day Itinerary for Sarasota
Looking for the quick version? Here you go! For more details, keep scrolling because I break down each activity!
Day One:
- Start with breakfast from The Breakfast House
- Head to the beach (I recommend Siesta Key)
- Check out Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in the afternoon (if you don’t stay at the beach all day!)
- Check out downtown Sarasota for dinner and drinks (I list recommendations for dinner and drinks below)
Day Two:
- Get coffee from Breaking Wave Coffee or grab breakfast from Station 400
- Head to Bayfront Park and Marina for a stroll (there is a splash pad and playground if you’re traveling with kids)
- Take your time exploring the Ringling Museum
- Get lunch at Yoder’s
- Explore the shops, restaurants, and bars at St Armands Circle
Day Three:
- Start your morning at Myakka River State Park
- Grab lunch at Der Dutchman or one of the other restaurants I recommended in downtown Sarasota or St Armands Circle
- End your trip with a nighttime kayak paddle!
Day One: Beach, Siesta Key Village, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and Dinner
If you like breakfast, check out The Breakfast House. It’s located in a quaint building that used to be a house. They have wonderful pancakes but all of their food is good.
Had to the Beach
After we have breakfast, we are going to head to the beach! My personal favorite beach in the area is Siesta Key.
If you like white sand beaches, you’ll love Siesta Key. The sand is actually made of quartz, so it’s softer than sand on other Florida beaches. It also stays cool even in the hottest months.
Siesta Key has been voted the number one beach in the USA in the past by by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice™ awards and by Dr. Beach. It can get busy so I recommend getting there early, especially on weekends and during busy times of the year.
Turtle Beach is just down the road from Siesta Key. It’s lesser known and quieter overall if you want to escape the crowds.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite at the beach, check out Siesta Key Village. You’ll find plenty of restaurants to choose from as well as small businesses if you want to do some shopping.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has 45 acres of beautiful gardens (that’s an understatement). It is split up between two campuses but their more popular location is the one in Downtown Sarasota. It’s right on the water!
You can see rainforest, desert, a butterfly garden, and native Florida plants. The gardens are stunning and truly this place is massive. I knew this place was cool, but I severely underestimated it and was totally blown away. There are over 20,000 plants!
If you have kids, they will love the Ann Goldstein Children’s Rainforest Garden. When we were visiting, groups of adults were enjoying the area because it really is that cool. There is a waterfall, swinging bridges, interactive displays, a small cave, and more.
Evening: Downtown Sarasota
After your day at the beach, head down to downtown Sarasota. The vibe here can be whatever you want to be, depending on how long you spent at the beach and what you want to do.
Dinner
Sarasota has a really good dining scene with tons of restaurants to choose from. Here are some of the best restaurants in Sarasota if you’re looking to go out to eat for dinner.
1592 Wood Fired Kitchen and Cocktails – Casual Mediterranean food cooked on a wood-fired grill.
BESO – Incredible Spanish tapas. They also have a good nightlife and specialty cocktails.
Duval’s – High-end seafood dishes with local, fresh fish.
Indigenous – Farm to table food in a converted bungalow with a changing menu specializing in American food.
Mediterraneo – Good, upscale Italian food.
Owen’s Fish Camp – Some of the best local seafood you can find with a southern flare. It’s located in an old Florida shack.
Kojo – Upscale Asian fusion with an open kitchen.
Sage – One of the most expensive options, but phenomenal food. Their menu is seasonal so you never know what will be on the menu (in an exciting way!) Get there before your reservation for a cocktail on the roof.
Selva – Delicious Peruvian food serving the best ceviches and craft cocktails.
Get a Drink
Just like there are plenty of phenomenal dinner options in Sarasota, there are even more wonderful places to grab a drink. If you want to grab a drink, these downtown Sarasota bars are great options:
The Perspective Rooftop Pool Bar at the Art Ovation Hotel – The pool bar is located on the 5th floor and has a pool, music, and views of Sarasota Bay. There are great cocktail and beer options. They also serve food here if you get hungry.
The Roof Bar and Eats at the Westin – Of all the rooftop bars, I think the view from the Roof Bar at the Westin is my favorite. You have views of downtown Sarasota, the marina, and the bay. It’s a more relaxed, casual vibe which is nice if you want to head there after the beach.
Pangea Alchemy Lab – If you’re into mixology (or good drinks), you’ll love this place. Drinks are creative and fun; they also change with the season. It’s a fun speakeasy vibe.
O’leary’s Tiki Bar and Grill – Oleary’s is exactly what you picture a Florida bar looking like with a location on the water, thatched roof, tables in the sand, and live music. All you need to do is order a tropical drink and you’re in a quintessential Florida bar!
The Gator Club – This is one of those bars that feels like a dive bar, but everyone knows about it. It’s in a building that was built in the 20s! There is live music downstairs, a DJ upstairs, tons of nooks and crannies within the building, and a lively atmosphere. They also have a whiskey bar with whiskeys from around the world.
Day Two: Bayfront Park, The Ringling, and St Armands Circle
Bayfront Park and Marina
Start your morning at Bayfront Park and Marina, located right on Sarasota Bay in the downtown area. There are stunning views of the water but there’s also a splash pad and playground area if you’re traveling with kids, a marina (this is a great place to rent a boat if you want to add that to your Sarasota itinerary), views of the city, and a tiki bar. It’s just a nice, quiet place to start the morning off right.
If you want to grab a coffee before your stroll, check out Breaking Wave Coffee located just a short distance away.
If you’re looking for a good breakfast spot, check out Station 400. The food is locally sourced and the building is a restored train depot dating to 1852.
Ringling Museum
Start your morning at the Ringling. I am obsessed with this place, and it’s definitely one of the best things to do in Sarsaota!
The Ringling was kind of confusing to me before I visited the first time because it’s so many things all in one. But basically, it’s a huge complex that includes several different areas to see.
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and Sculpture Garden: The museum has an impressive art collection of more than 10,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and more from around the world. There are also traveling exhibitions and the art ranges from ancient through contemporary pieces.
Ca’ d’Zan Mansion: The former winter home of John and Mable Ringling, built in the 1920s. It’s an incredible building with architectural styles from diferent periods including Venetian Gothic, Italian Renaissance, and Moorish. Mable designed the house and was inspired by a trip they took to Venice.
Circus Museum and Tibbals Learning Center are in the same building. Both offer an immersive experience of circus history. You can see some of the costumes and memorabilia. My favorite part is the miniature circus, which is an enormous display showing what the circus looked like.
There is a playground close to the Circus Museum with slides, a 3-story playhouse, swings, and a water park. This is great if you’re traveling with kids!
Asolo Theater has a wide range of shows (tickets for shows are in addition to your admission fee). The theater itself is impressive. It was originally constructed in 1798 in Asolo, Italy, until it was dismantled in 1931.
Bayfront Gardens – throughout the grounds are many impressive gardens. The entire area is stunning and immaculate but some of the highlights to see include the rose garden (aptly named for roses), the secret garden (Mable’s garden that she once filled with plants given to her by friends and neighbors), the dwarf garden (various stone statues), and trees of estate (impressive trees, including 14 banyan trees).
For all of this to make sense, you might want to know who John and Mable Ringling were. The are famous because of John Ringling. He, along with 5 of his brothers, were known as the “Circus Kings”. They created their own traveling circus show then later purchased the Barnum and Bailey’s circus show. They really had a monopoly over the traveling circus.
Pro tip: The Museum of Art, Bayfront Gardens, and Glass Pavilion are free to the public on Mondays (you still need to pay regular admission for the Circus Museum and Ca’ d’Zan). So if you happen to be in Sarasota on a Monday, you might want to move your days around in order to save some money and visit the Ringling on a Monday.
Lunch at Yoder’s Restaurant and Amish Village
After exploring the Ringling Museum, grab lunch at Yoder’s Restaurant and Amish Village. It’s one of the best places for lunch and it’s so good that it’s been on the Food Network multiple times.
They serve hearty home-cooked meals. But the real star of the show is their pie!
St Armands Circle
One of my favorite places in Sarasota is St Armands Circle. It’s a charming area with more than 130 boutiques, shops, galleries, restaurants, and more. They also have events here, too.
Some of my favorite restaurants in St Armands Circle:
- Cha Cha Coconuts – a tropical bar and grill
- Columbia – Spanish-Cuban cuisine (they also have locations in Tampa, St. Augustine, Sand Key near Clearwater Beach, and Celebration)
- Speaks Clam Bar – They have a raw bar and a lot of delicious seafood options
- Crab and Fin – an upscale seafood restaurant, but a little more casual if you eat outdoors
Day Three: Myakka River State Park, Lunch, Kayak Adventure
On day 3, start your morning at Myakka River State Park. There is so much to do there and you can easily spend an entire day exploring. Rent a kayak, take an airboat tour, hike one of the many trails, and search for alligators. Myakka River State Park is also home to the famous canopy walkway – a walkway amongst the trees!
For lunch, check out one of the places I mentioned in downtown Sarasota or in St Armands Circle. There are so many great restaurants to choose from, you’ll have to come back over and over again to try them all! Or check out Der Dutchman. It’s an Amish restaurant with good comfort food and a bakery.
For your last evening, take a clear kayak tour at night. You’ll light up the water below you with an LED light, it’s a unique way to kayak and see new marine life! You’ll also learn about Florida’s ecosystem and paddle in the mangroves.
You could also head back to the beach to watch the sun set. Or head back downtown to check out a few more of the amazing bars that you didn’t get a chance to visit on day one!
Bonus Activities
If you are staying in Sarasota for more than 3 days or you want to switch out some of the activities I have listed so far, here are some other great things to do in Sarasota:
Spring Training
The Orioles do their Spring Training at the Ed Smith Stadium. This has been their spring home since 2010. If you are visiting Sarasota from approximately early February to late March, you can check out a game.
The tickets are more affordable than regular-season MLB games and it’s a fun evening out, usually with great weather.
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium
The reason I really like the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium is because they have a focus on research, marine life conservation, and education. They used to have a small outreach building at the pier in Anna Maria Island before the hurricanes damaged it. It was free to visit and very educational – that’s where they won me over!
At the Mote Aquarium, you can see sharks, manatees, and sea turtles. They also have touch tanks for kids.
Sarasota Farmers Market
If you’re in Sarasota on a Saturday, you can visit the Sarasota Farmers Market. It’s from 7 am to 1 pm on Saturdays and a perfect way to start the day. There is local produce, good food, clothing, jewelry, art, and more.
The Siesta Key Rum Distillery
This distillery has a fun and educational distillery tour. You will learn about the distillery, how they make the rum taste good, and the rum-making process. They also have free tastings, cocktails for purchase, and a nice gift shop.
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
The Sarasota Jungle Gardens have been a Sarasota staple since the early 1930s! They have over 200 native and exotic animals such as parrots, macaws, snakes, lizards, alligators, and so many more. Many of their animals were rescued or donated. They have daily bird and reptile shows which are entertaining and also educational.
In addition to animals, there are 10 acres of gorgeous landscaping and trails.
General Tips for Visiting Sarasota
Getting Around: Sarasota is best explored by car, but many areas like Siesta Key and St. Armands Circle are walkable.
Best Time to Visit: Late fall to early spring offers the best weather, but this is also when winter residents are in town so it can be busier. Hurricane season is June through November, so it’s helpful to be mindful of this too.
Where to Stay in Sarasota
Hyatt Regency Sarasota – If there is a Hyatt in town, you’ll find it on my list most of the time because Hyatt hotels tend to be the best deal if you’re paying for your hotel stay with points. The Hyatt in Sarasota has a great downtown location, making it easy to walk around downtown and a short drive to the other destinations mentioned in this guide.
The Westin Sarasota – The Westin is close to the Hyatt Regency, making it similar in terms of location. My favorite part of the Westin is the rooftop pool. The views are incredible.
Embassy Suites tends to be more affordable than the Westin and the Hyatt but still has a wonderful downtown location. We absolutely love the 8th-floor pool.
The Ritz-Carlton – Good for an upscale stay. A nice location in downtown Sarasota with a shuttle to the beach.
Cirque St Armands Beachside – This is a good no-frills option if you prefer to be as close to the beach as possible. This hotel is right on Lido Key and you can easily walk to St Armands Circle.
Final Thoughts
Sarasota is a perfect place for a vacation. There is good food, beautiful beaches, and plenty to do. Hopefully this itinerary helped you narrow down how to best spend your time in one of my favorite cities on Florida’s gulf coast!
