Best beaches/town in Jacksonville area
 

We are planning a little trip to Jacksonville next summer and trying to decide whereabout to stay. Have seen posts on Amelia Island, Fernandina, Ponte Vedra among others. We most likely will want a condo, but like outdoor activites such as running & walking on the beach most mornings, biking, shopping a little, but also will be up for relaxing in the afternoons, even someplace with a great pool for floating would be ideal. We have a week, so may venture to Savannah for a few days as well.

Amelia Island is beautiful, you can go over to Fernandina Beach and enjoy the Victorian homes and shopping and some nice restaurants.
It is a short trip to Little and Big Talbot Islands, which are State Parks and wonderful beaches, hiking trails and picnic areas.
You can wander down A1A to St Augustine for the day.
It is 2 hours north on 95 to Savannah.
The accomodations on Amelia Island are mostly beautiful as is the shopping, a very good grocery store and small cafes.
Ponte Vedra is lovely but really a very exclusive expensive community of homes and golf courses, not a lot to do. But it is on the way to St Augustine so it would be a good stop for lunch or a drink. There is only one public access (I think) in Ponte Vedra to the beaches, but when you get past there you will get to Guano State Pk...miles and miles of beaches, no people, no dogs and just gorgeous.
I think I spelled it right :)
Oh and you can go horseback riding on the beach on Amelia Island..

Now that sounds cool, horseback riding on the beach on Amelia. We've done it before in other places and it's right up our alley, just the kind of thing we like to do. Thanks! Can you make a specific recommendation for Amelia lodging, preferably a condo? We've already looked at a few, but would like some suggestions before I spend days and weeks looking for that "perfect" spot, as my normal anal-retentive self does ;)

On Amelia, there are a lot of condos in the Summer Beach area between the Ritz Carlton and the Amelia Island Plantation. Unfortunately I can't help with anything specific; since the inlaws live there, we've never needed other lodging. I do love the beach there -- it's long, expansive and never terribly crowded, even at the Fourth of July. It's a short, 10-minute drive from that area into Fernandina Beach for restaurants, shopping, etc.

Speaking of horseback riding on Summer Beach, here's a picture:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...11652962GqIaww

That is so cool, horsebackriding on the beach. I'm not sure that happens anywhere else in Florida. Do you have to bring a big old pooper scooper with you? This must also be a dog-friendly beach, no? I haven't been to Amelia since they built the "plantation" on it. I googled but couldn't find a reference to the old B&B there, I think it was called the 1812 House, where we stayed once. Anybody know what happened to it?

Anastasia Island State Park is a very nice place east of St. Augustine at the north end of St. Augustine Beach.

I have a friend who loves Jacksonville Beach. I got the impression it was an older beach community but perhaps others know what's there, I've never been. Not exactly Amelia Island but some people like that old Florida.