Humiston Beach, Playground, and Cafes, Vero Beach

Humiston Beach is a fantastic area in Vero Beach. Here you will find a beach with a lifeguard, and right at the beach is an awesome playground! There is a starfish sculpture to climb, a dolphin sculpture, plenty of shade canopies, huge play structures, swings galore, and benches by clusters of palms. Across the street from the beach park is Kilwin's Ice Cream, in a modern yellow building with archways and loads of windows. Walk on Ocean Drive toward Sexton Plaza, north, and you will pass little stands selling veggies, hot food, and fresh baked bread, on Saturday mornings. Across the street, at The Beached Whale Cafe, there is live music outside on Saturday mornings.

Admire the banyan tree and carved reliefs outside The Historic Driftwood Resort, right here on Ocean Drive. It was built by Waldo Sexton in 1935, who was also involved in the creation of McKee Botanical Garden (a gorgeous garden ten minutes to the southwest) and many other spots in Vero Beach. He bought art, tiles, wrought iron, Moorish lanterns, and heavy carved doors from the lavish mansions in Palm Beach that were all damaged by a hurricane in the 1950s and then demolished (Trump's Mar-a-Lago is the only one of these mansions that remains).
The gorgeous reliefs you see outside the Historic Driftwood Resort are from Mizner's mansion. One of the grandest mansions, Playa Riente, had a tiled Spanish bar that is now in The Patio Restaurant. See more remnants from the 1920s Palm Beach mansions in Szechuan Restaurant and Ocean Grill (at Sexton Plaza). 
There are plenty of cafes on the water, including The Wave Kitchen, where you can get breakfast or lunch for about $15 each. The Early Bird Dinner, 5-6 pm on Sun-Thurs, is $25 for a three course set menu. The restaurant is indoors with a view of the pool and the ocean in the distance.
From humble Nino's Cafe (lunch and dinner) you can see the ocean from outdoor seats set a bit back from the sea in a strip mall. You can all share a pizza for around $19, or have pasta for $14. 
Citrus Grillhouse has gorgeous seating indoors or outdoors on a dune above the water. Closed Mondays. Early Dinner special is 5-6pm Tues-Thurs, two courses for $25. 
Mulligan's Beachhouse Grill is a casual, affordable, fish-shack choice, right on the water with tables in the sand on the dunes.
Sexton Plaza, where Mulligan's is located, is a lovely development, where a roundabout ends at the sea, where rows of coconut trees loaded with coconuts and benches overlooking the water delight you. The ground is paved in lovely bricks in patterns, and there are stairs going down to the sand. A stormwater drain is dead-center at the beach there unfortunately. But the atmosphere at this development is great!
Vero Beach Museum of Art is only a four minute drive west, still on the island, and is a nice place to walk around in the AC checking out the recent exhibits. It is in a modern, attractive space.
23 minutes to the north, kids LOVE the rock pools at Sebastian Inlet.
South Beach Park in Vero beach is also a beautiful place to go. 

Directions

Humiston Beach Park is located at 3000 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach FL. There is plenty of parking south of the beach park in two parking lots, one across the street (Ocean Dr) from the park. There is also plenty of slanted parking along the road. But on weekends it could fill up, so come early!
Sexton Plaza is located at 1025 Beachland Blvd, Vero Beach. There are lots of parking spaces in the middle of the plaza.

Start Navigation

Click on map for interactive view