SE GA/NE FL beaches--which ones are "best-kept secrets", meaning...

[ereks mom]

...AFFORDABLE, least crowded in summer, good local restaurants, white sand, and CLEAN (not talking about oil spill here, since this would be the Atlantic side, but clean as in not trashy), but not "tourist-y" (fast food chains & souvenir shops everywhere)? This would be for a family vacation (2 adults & 2 teens).

[Tidbits of Learning]

I always went to Amelia Island/St. Augustine and it was fun and nice. St. George's is nice as well. There is an old spanish fort at St. Augustine that is fun to go to and a bit educational as well.

I vote Amelia Island/St. Augustine and I grew up in SE GA and went there every weekend during the summer as a teen.

*sigh* I miss the good ol' days of a swimsuit and cut-off jeans and not a care in the world.

 

My family just came back from Mexico Beach and had a great time. It is near Panama City though and I don't know how touristy. The family started going a few years ago and my kids have been and they mainly go out fishing and such on the ocean.

Edited June 29, 2010 by OpenMinded

[MomtoCandJ]

Tybee Island isn't that touristy along with the beach in Jacksonville and Brunswick

[mom31257]

I second the Tybee Island. I went with family in May, so I don't know the crowds in the summer, but we LOVED it!

[Robin's Song]

I second all of the above replies. Really, anything south of Jacksonville beach and north of Daytona are lovely. Not that either Jax beach or Daytona are bad, but I prefer less touristy beaches. My husband and I are both from Florida, and when we took our kids to visit family last year we camped on the beach about an hour south of St.

Augustine. Fun times :)

[stephanier.1765]

I love Amelia Island! As a local, my favorite beach is Mickler's Landing in Ponte Vedra. It really is one of those beaches that if you aren't local you probably wouldn't even know it was there. I love that it has bathrooms and showers and a paved parking lot. We have never been there and not found something exciting...live starfish in the surf, dolphins, beached whale, tons of shark teeth to collect. I often see people riding horses on the beach but luckily no horse poo. They also have life guards which is really important to those with kids.

 

Stephanie

[ereks mom]

It really is one of those beaches that if you aren't local you probably wouldn't even know it was there.

 

We would love to be able to rent a small single-family house right on the beach. We want simple--a bit rustic, actually--just a couple of bedrooms, a bathroom & a kitchenette. We'd love a covered porch so we could eat outside. A pool would be nice, but not a necessity. And of course, if there were a good mom & pop seafood restaurant nearby, that would be divine!

Edited June 29, 2010 by ereks mom

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

I vote also for Amelia Island or St. Marys in Georgia. In South Carolina I would look at Kiawah Island.

[mom2att]

We would love to be able to rent a small single-family houseright on the beach. We want simple--a bit rustic, actually--just a couple of bedrooms, a bathroom & a kitchenette. We'd love a covered porch so we could eat outside. A pool would be nice, but not a necessity. And of course, if there were a good mom & pop seafood restaurant nearby, that would be divine!

 

 

Mickler's in Ponte Vedra is a great beach, but not that great when it comes to rentals, being pretty much surrounded by mansions. Try looking farther south, closer to St. Augustine and Vilano Beach. The houses are more of the beach-rental type (but definitely still nice).

[FloridaLisa]

Another vote for St. Augustine. Lots of beach houses or condos to rent, great expanse of beach, clean, and lots of great history and restaurants. Some fun, free summer concerts at the pier and downtown square as well as farmer's markets. St. Augustine is a well-kept secret. It's interpreters like to say that St. Augustine was going through a renassaince when the English were founding Jamestown. ;) PM me if you end of going and I can recommend some condos and restaurants.

 

Lisa

[mom2denj]

Mickler's in Ponte Vedra is a great beach, but not that great when it comes to rentals, being pretty much surrounded by mansions. Try looking farther south, closer to St. Augustine and Vilano Beach. The houses are more of the beach-rental type (but definitely still nice).

 

:iagree:

[runmiarun]

I vote for Jekyll Island, GA. I live in the Golden Isles of Georgia, as our area is called. Jekyll is one of our barrier islands that is delightful for vacation. They are in the midst of a much-needed renovation so the prices are affordable for lodging. There are several places to eat in a variety of price ranges. I could go on for pages but will just provide the link to their website: http://www.jekyllisland.com/. I've been coming here since I was a kid so when we had the chance to move here, we did it. There are several island here to explore as well so here's the link to the local visitor's bureau: http://www.comecoastawhile.com/.

The beaches are not pristine white since we are a coastal estuary and have 3 rivers drain to the ocean but our beaches are wide with plenty of room for everything and doing nothing.

[Caroline]

We love North Hutchinson Island/Fort Pierce, Florida. We have been going there for five years and it is never crowded, except at the state park on the 4th of July, and that is confined to the state park. There isn't even a Starbucks. For nice, non-chain restaurants we go into Vero Beach. I think it is much cleaner than Tybee and definitely less crowded. We wouldn't know about it if my parents hadn't retired to Port Saint Lucie.

[Samiam]

As a local, we always' went to Mickler's Landing....great beach...but there really is NOTHING around there as far as hotel/food accomodations. You would have do a beach house, and that's a VERY expensive area of NE FL.

For a change, we would occasionally go to Vilano Beach...it's between Jacksonville/PonteVedra, and St.Augustine. There's just a few small hotels there, a few small local restaurants,and many affordable beach houses. You can drive on the beach if you go to the public beach area. It's a beautiful, quiet beach. It has a nice cropping of rocks a little way down, so great for tide pool finds. And of course, you could always head into St. Augustine for a change of scenery.

[stephanier.1765]

I don't know what your budget is but a friend just sent me this link so I thought I'd share it with you.

 

http://www.vrbo.com/139565

 

It looks to be a lovely little place.

[ereks mom]

I don't know what your budget is but a friend just sent me this link so I thought I'd share it with you.

 

http://www.vrbo.com/139565

 

It looks to be a lovely little place.

 

:001_smile: