The Sandbar – Best Tiki Bar in Clearwater Beach, Florida
Last Updated – October 18, 2025
Sometimes there are posts we hate to write – this is one of them!
You see, we have our personal favorites near our home. The best tiki bar in Clearwater Beach, The Sandbar, Opal Sands Resort, is our favorite — also, we live here!
That means we don’t need any more competition for the dozen or so good seats when we are headed for our favorite tiki bar on the beach!
When we first came to Florida some 40 years ago, there was a hotel called the Adams Mark on the peninsula adjoining Clearwater Pass.
The Pass is the entrance that boats enter from the Gulf of Mexico. They had a Beach bar on Clearwater Beach, where on a windy day, you could feel the spray from waves splashing on the barrier wall.
At that time, we thought it was the best Clearwater Beach tiki bar.
They tore the hotel and tiki bar down in 2005 and we thought that was the end of one of our favorite beach bars in Clearwater Beach.
Opal Sands Builds New Hotel
In 2016, the Opal Sands Resort opened its doors to much fanfare. They are an upscale hotel with some expensive accommodations.
My experience is that upscale has nothing to do with a good tiki bar – in fact, upscale kept us away from Opal Sands and their newly built tiki bar for several months.
Eventually, we stopped in and found the same views, same breezes, same view of Clearwater Beach, same boats traveling the Pass – the only mistake we made was missing a few weeks of our new favorite Clearwater Beach tiki bar.
Maybe the prices are a little higher than a few others, but the beer tastes the same and it is still one of the best tiki bars in Florida and surely the best waterfront tiki bar on Clearwater Beach!
The Sandbar is staffed by some real long-term Clearwater Beach people who can help tourists discover the many sights in and around Clearwater Beach. A couple of the bartenders are Florida natives who offer tons of advice – some of it is even good advice!
The food at the Sandbar is more than acceptable but decidedly pricey. The grouper sandwich is the best grouper sandwich on Clearwater Beach despite the contrary advertising otherwise by another multi-unit restaurant.
Best Things To Do on Clearwater Beach
Events and Festivals We Observe from The Sandbar
We mention some of the various events on Clearwater Beach because The Sandbar is at the south end of the beach and views can overlook most of the events. Of all the beach bars on Clearwater Beach, the Sandbar has the best view of all.
Some of the annual events include:
The Sand Sculpture Festival
The Outback Bowl Beach Day
The Chalk Art Festival
Super Boat Races
All of these are fun events and, if possible, plan your trips around these events.
One of the biggest crowd-pleasing events is the Annual Super Boat Races held in late September or early October each year.
Our best tiki bar on Clearwater Beach, The Sandbar is the perfect place to view much of the boat racing action. Here are more Clearwater Beach things to do.
Below is a video of one Super Boat race.
The Allure of The Sandbar
The magic of the Sandbar, as with most tiki bars, is the view, the breezes, and the sand in your toes.
The sights of Clearwater Beach happen within just a few yards of the Sandbar. Weddings, beach parties, lost tourists, and busy lifeguards are all part of the daily drama watched from your barstool! This is one reason we are convinced this local’s favorite is the best Clearwater Beach tiki bar.
Finding the Sandbar at Opal Sands Resort
The Opal Sands is located towards the south end of Clearwater Beach. In fact, if you walk from the beach to the southernmost parking lot, you will be at the Opal Sands.
The Sandbar is located behind the hotel, overlooking the water filtering through the pass to the Gulf. Enjoy the views at the best tiki bar on Clearwater Beach – just don’t take our barstool!
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