Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Travel

Here’s yet another reason to avoid Florida beaches this year

You'll want to skip Florida beaches for your vacation this year when you hear about this

Dannielle Beardsley
By

It’s always Florida, isn’t it? Anytime someone makes the headlines for the wrong reason, it happens in Florida. This time, the bad news has to do with Florida beaches. No, it’s not hurricanes or shark attacks — you have to worry about something else ruining your beach vacation this year. It’s called the Atlantic sargassum belt, and when it reaches our shores, it has been known to wreak havoc on local ecosystems and local tourism — and it doesn’t smell pretty.

A seagull standing in seaweed on the beach.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What the stink’s about

This isn’t the first time Florida (and other beachy tourist destinations ) have had to deal with sargassum but, according to NPR, Florida’s looking at a massive problem this year. The blooms of seaweed have been tracked since 2011, with areas like Guadeloupe, the Yucatan Peninsula, and various Caribbean Islands being affected.

Recommended Videos

Last year, the U.S. Virgin Islands had it so bad they had to declare a state of emergency, and Cancun took preemptive measures, sending the Mexican Navy out to try to clear it away before it hit their beaches.

Related

Why the seaweed is bad

While seaweed is important for marine life living in the North Atlantic Ocean, there’s a time limit on it being good. After 48 hours, sargassum starts to rot.

The smell is horrid

If you’ve ever been to a Florida beach during Red Tide season, you know the smell we’re talking about. That rotten egg scent doesn’t leave your nostrils just because you left the beach.

It could hurt the turtles

The brown, floating bloom of seaweed will smother those precious nests the sea turtles lay. 

In huge numbers, it’s harmful to other habitats 

If left to rot, the seaweed starts to steal oxygen while harming other oceanic habitats.

It’s not great for humans

Even if you get over the horrid smell, it’s not the best for humans to be around anyway. As it rots, it releases hydrogen sulfide, which, could cause respiratory problems, hurt your eyes, and give you headaches. People who have chronic respiratory problems, like asthma, should be especially careful, according to NPR. The seaweed also contains arsenic, which you don’t want near you either. (And even if you’re totally fine with all of that, jellyfish sea lice, and other sea life could be lurking in there. It doesn’t exactly make for a pleasant beach-going experience — and if you’re paying for a vacation, you want it to be memorable in a good way.)

A crowded beach with visitors all along the coast.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check before you book

While you might get lucky and time your vacation at a Florida beach when it’s not being taken over by this algae, do a little research before you book. We hate to be the messenger, but if Key West is on your list of stops, the seaweed has already moved in there.

With the patch of sargassum up to 5,500 miles long and growing, encountering sargassum on the beach seems pretty inevitable. If your summer plans include anything to do with a beach vacation in Florida, you might want to book a plan B if you prefer not to endure sargassum’s stinky aroma.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Dannielle Beardsley
Dannielle Beardsley
Contributor
Dannielle has written for various websites, online magazines, and blogs. She loves everything celebrity and her favorite…
Travel tips: It will be more expensive than ever to visit Amsterdam next year — here’s why
Amsterdam has a plan to curb the tourist crowd - it just means a visit there will cost you more than before
The Amsterdam sign in Amsterdam

The reality of trying to see a sight like the Mona Lisa or the Eiffel Tower is not what you see on an influencer's Instagram. It's overcrowded, loud, and you'll be stuck in line forever. From Barcelona to Venice, places are struggling with overtourism, but there is one particular city having a hard time reigning in the visitors, and it's going to make you pay big time if you want to go there. Amsterdam is trying to control its visiting population with a hike in its tourism tax in hopes of evening out the numbers for the locals.

The tax it takes to travel
A little travel tip — the tourism tax is already a part of travel no matter where you go, from hotel fares to airline fees. The tourism tax helps the place you visit in several ways, from keeping the buildings and other structures in good condition to protecting the gorgeous environment you want to see.
A few ways the tourism tax is collected

Read more
This is how strong the U.S. passport really is
THe U.S. passport may have slipped in the rankings, but it's still pretty strong
A person holding up their passport in an airport.

Which countries you could get into with your U.S. passport used to be something you never had to worry about. If you had a passport from the U.S., it seemed like almost no country was off limits, and you wouldn't need to double-check your travel plans. But beginning in 2014, the U.S. passport started to lose some of its star power. Here's where the Henley Index (which ranks passport strength) dropped the U.S. passport on their latest updated list.

Why passport strength matters

Read more
U.S. Virgin Islands escape: See why St. John is America’s not-so-best-kept tropical island secret
Some of the world's most stunning beaches are right here in the U.S. No passport required
Tiny islands of Trunk Bay off the shore of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Even if you’ve been to the U.S. Virgin Islands, until you’ve set foot on St. John, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This postage-stamp-size speck of land just east of St. Thomas is among the smallest developed islands in the Caribbean. With few roads, near-zero chain businesses of any kind, and the vast majority of land designated as a U.S. National Park, it feels a thousand miles from anywhere. Here are just a few of the best places to eat, play, and stay in one of America’s best tropical island destinations, St. John, USVI.

What to do on St. John, USVI
The Caribbean is home to some of the world’s most stunning beaches, and St. John alone is home to many of them. Pick up a dirt-cheap Jeep rental in Cruz Bay and spend the day exploring the island’s North Shore through Virgin Islands National Park, where every beach seems even more incredible than the last. From east to west, you’ll find Maho Bay, Cinnamon Bay and finally, Trunk Bay. The latter is staggeringly beautiful: Soft, white flour sand, impossibly turquoise water, and the best snorkeling spots in the U.S., with an underwater snorkel trail to boot.

Read more