Is Shelling at Honeymoon Island worth it?

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In October 2023 (I’m behind, ok!?) by three best friends from home came to visit and we spent five days in Clearwater Beach.

One of the things I knew I wanted to do was visit Honeymoon Island State Park. Specifically, I wanted to go shelling at Honeymoon Island.

(Also, here’s the reference on the post title because it’s funny and worth reading).

And that’s because the shelling on Caladesi Island was wonderful and it was SO beautiful, I though Honeymoon Island which is right next door has to be good too. Right? RIGHT?

Wrong. Very wrong. You know I like to keep things real here and I will absolutely tell you if I don’t like a place (see, Toadstool Trail) and, unfortunately, this is one of them.

Before we get too far into this, I want to say just because I didn’t like it here doesn’t mean it’s not worth visiting. Everyone is different and you may love it!

So, back to the beach. I was very excited to go here and have wanted to go for a few years now.

We get there and there’s plenty of parking and it feels like it won’t be super busy, and it wasn’t but it felt like it. I can’t imagine what that beach looks like when the parking is full though.

The beach felt really small but I don’t know if we were there at high tide, which could have been part of it.

There was a lot of sea foliage on the beach along with all the people and it just wasn’t super great overall.

I want to say we spent maybe an hour here? We walked both directions a bit and I really couldn’t even tell you what shells I found.

Most likely some typical small things, but it wasn’t anything noteworthy enough for me to take a picture of on the beach or after.

I usually try to keep shells separate from each beach so I can get a picture of what I found at each place and I don’t have one from here.

There weren’t the usual mountains of small shells you on Florida beaches. Even going into the shallow area I didn’t find much of anything.

I wish I had better things to report back after this visit but it just didn’t do it for me and that’s OK. There are plenty of other beaches I love for shelling in Florida (like Fort Clinch, Caladesi, Clam Pass, and Lovers Key).

Overall, I think our time would have been better spent elsewhere. It would have been much more worth it to take the ferry over to Caladesi instead, which is what I would do next time.

Travel Services I Recommend:
AllTrails – This is my favorite hike tracking app.
America the Beautiful – The national park pass is essential.
Booking.com – This is great for finding and booking hotels.
Get Your Guide – I recommend Get Your Guide for booking tours.
National Park Obsessed – This is the best national park planner.
Skyscanner – Skyscanner is great for finding and booking flights.
Enterprise – This is my rental car recommendation.
See all my resources here.

What shells are at Honeymoon Island?

You’ll find typical Gulf Coast Florida shells here (if you find shells), including:

Conchs
Olives
Kitten paws
Turkey wings
Whelks
Sand dollars
Cockles
Jingles
And plenty more

The best time to look is low tide and/or out on sandbars. I’m not sure what the tide was like when we were there, which could have been part of why I didn’t find much of anything.

Where is Honeymoon Island State Park?

Honeymoon Island State Park is right next to Caladesi Island State Park (pronounced cal-uh-dee-cee apparently) just outside of Dunedin, Florida.

It’s 10 minutes from Dunedin, 30ish from Clearwater Beach, 20 from Clearwater, and 40ish from both Tampa and St. Pete.

How much is Honeymoon Island?

Honeymoon Island State Park is $8 per vehicle, or you can use a state park pass if you have one (but only get this if you live in Florida because it’s $120 and wouldn’t be worth it for just a trip since the parks are pretty affordable here).

There are snacks in the park that would have an additional cost if you wanted anything.

What to bring shelling at Honeymoon Island

Sunscreen – If you plan on being outside, you’ll want sunscreen. I like the Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch a lot AND it’s reef safe! If you’re sensitive to fragrance though, it’s not a good choice. I also like the same one but specifically for your face.

Shell bag – I got these mesh shell bags over the summer and really like them so far. I do wish they were bigger but then I’ll just use two since it came with four. Buy my shell bags here!

Shark tooth sifter – The best and easiest way to find shark teeth is with a sifter. Scoop the sand into it with the sifter below, carefully shake the sand out of it on the water, and dig through whats left. We liked this one. You can use it alone but it’s easier with two people (one to scoop, one to sift). Buy our sifter here!

Big sand scooper – The best way to get the sand into the sifter is with one of these giant scoopers. We liked this one. Buy our scooper here!

Shell scoop (for standing) – A Sand Dipper shell scoop can help you get shells that are under water if you don’t want to snorkel/swim. They can also help just on the beach so you don’t have to bend over. You can scoop the shells right up. Buy a shell scoop here.

Sun hat – I got this giant sun hat and I love it! Mine doesn’t have the lining underneath but they do have some with UPF 50+ linings. Buy my hat here.

Water bottle – It’ll be hot and you’ll need to stay hydrated. Even if it’s not hot you need to stay hydrated. A Hydro Flask will keep your water ice cold all day long.

Headlamp – This is really only necessary if you’re going shelling at the crack of dawn so you can still use your hands to pick up shells and carry your bag.

Is Honeymoon Island shelling worth it?

No. I very rarely say things aren’t worth it but I did not like this. This still doesn’t mean you should give it a shot because you may love it but I didn’t.

It was busyish, the beach wasn’t that good, the shelling was even worse. I probably won’t be back unless I’m with someone that just HAS TO GO.