Hi all,
I'm curious to know which beaches you think are beautiful in northeast Florida or any must-see gems you love. We are driving from Palm Beach to Savannah, GA, and want to spend four nights on the beach along the drive up the coast. I've spent a lot of time in the keys, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Naples areas so we are trying something new. I have heard St. Augustine is nice? Just looking to relax, see some sights and find nice resorts/hotels along the way. Hotel suggestions are also welcome if you have any ideas. I have two kids (19, 20) who just want to relax, maybe golf and sit on the beach. This is for May and I'd like to keep hotels under $500/night. I actually prefer smaller towns but looking at Jacksonville, it may not be possible if that's the place to go. Considering three stops but flexible. Thank you!

We enjoyed our visit to Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island area. There's a very nice stretch of beach and a few golf courses.

We enjoyed New Smyrna Beach area. for a fee you can drive on the beach. For us new englanders this was a real novelty and a nice convenience, all your "stuff" is right there with you - no lugging beach gear from the parking area. Nearby is the Cape Canaveral National Seashore and it was free parking with our National Park pass and lovely beach areas.

michelleak4222— I am a fan of Saint Augustine, but more for the history, beauty and charm than for the nearby beach, although that was fine. The Castillo San Marcos tour was interesting, some of the home tours (Prince Murat, Oldest House) were well-done, especially those giving a peek into a time when Florida was under Spain. The Flagler Museum had some gorgeous and priceless artefacts and I would highly recommend their old-fashioned music player tour if they happen to be doing that while there.

I was just reading about both of those beach areas so thank you very much for this!

what a good idea to drive on the beach! I was not aware you could do that there. New Smyrna Beach-I will look it up. I have heard of it before but I don’t know anything about it. Thank you for this and for letting me know about the national park pass, that’s a good idea!

I definitely think we will stop in Saint Augustine even if it’s just to walk around the city because I have heard really great things about it. Thank you for these suggestions on the Flagler Museum and house tours. I am looking forward to it!

As mentioned above Fernandina Beach is worth checking out. The town has 50 blocks of historic buildings housing restaurants, bed ‘n’ breakfasts, and boutique shops. Check out the cozy Book Loft, a famous independent bookstore (it has 1,500 rare books). Ft. Clinch State Park features serene beaches and six miles of natural surface trails for hiking and mt. biking.

I like St Augustine just because there are some interesting things to do/see and I'm not a big beach person.

However the beach there is hardly beautiful, not even close. I don't think east coast FL beaches are that great no matter what, at least north of Miami. They are not like the Gulf.

I think driving a car on the beach is appalling, Florida is so backward. It is degrading to wildlife habitats, can disturb any birds around, compacts and helps damage the sand, can lead to erosion, its effect on sea turtles is terrible and can destroy eggs, etc And they do have sea turtles in that area.
Not to mention all of the erosion and damage problems caused by two hurricanes last year, to allow that seems outrageous to me.

On top of that, salt water is terrible for your car.

I never understood this concept. Why would anyone want to be on a beach with a bunch of cars on it? That would be a major turn off for me.

Ponte Vedra is a barrier island, waterfront community near Jacksonville, FL. Beautiful. Lots of golf.