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Head to head editorial

Florida Keys vs Nassau: sargassum compared

Nassau has the friendlier geography: its Cable Beach shore faces north, while the ocean side of the Keys faces southeast into the path of the seaweed and saw record arrivals in 2026.

The reasoning

Why the map says what it says

The Keys card below tracks the Atlantic-facing side of the island chain from Key Largo to Key West, and conditions can differ between that shore and the bay side of the same island. The modeled Nassau shore is angled away from the open Atlantic. Both are working coastlines with good cams, so the freshest answer is always the cards and cameras below.

Editorial judgment based on coast orientation; the cards below are the data. Seaweed lands mostly on coasts facing the open Atlantic (NOAA CoastWatch FAQ). Reviewed 2026-09-01.

Right now

Current risk level, side by side satellite-derived

Both measured from NOAA's update of . Each card rates one specific stretch of coast; open a destination for the full picture.

The record

September, five years back satellite-derived

Raw satellite floating-algae detections near each coast for this month in each of the past five years (brighter orange and red = stronger signal). These are detections, not risk ratings: clouds and glare can hide algae, offshore mats do not always land, and the nearshore strip is blanked where the signal is unreliable. Click any map for that month's full Caribbean view.

Florida Keys

Satellite floating-algae map near Florida Keys, Sep 2025 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2025Satellite floating-algae map near Florida Keys, Sep 2024 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2024Satellite floating-algae map near Florida Keys, Sep 2023 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2023Satellite floating-algae map near Florida Keys, Sep 2022 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2022Satellite floating-algae map near Florida Keys, Sep 2021 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2021

Nassau and Cable Beach

Satellite floating-algae map near Nassau and Cable Beach, Sep 2025 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2025Satellite floating-algae map near Nassau and Cable Beach, Sep 2024 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2024Satellite floating-algae map near Nassau and Cable Beach, Sep 2023 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2023Satellite floating-algae map near Nassau and Cable Beach, Sep 2022 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2022Satellite floating-algae map near Nassau and Cable Beach, Sep 2021 (opens full map image in a new tab)Sep 2021

Making the call

How to decide

  1. Read the cards above, including the full mix of levels, not just the headline.
  2. Open a beach cam for each contender if one exists; nothing beats looking.
  3. Ask each hotel for a same-day photo of its swimming beach.
  4. Remember the atlas rates coastlines, not resorts: one cove can beat its neighbor on the same morning.

More head-to-heads on the compare page, or build a shortlist from scratch with where beaches stay clearer.