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Featured Replies

What are some of your favorite beach towns that you have been to or vacationed in? I was recently in St. Pete Beach and didn't think much of it compared to some other places I have been. I'm talking about cool towns, not just pretty beaches. 

I liked Siesta Key when we went in 2021. I enjoyed the Destin area but where we were was a zoo, and we stayed in a giant resort and didn't leave. I was only there for one morning but I loved Laguna Beach. I really like Captiva Island. Been to plenty of beaches on the Atlantic side of FL and while driving on the beach is cool, I don't know that I've been blown away by any 'beach towns'. Had a couple day stop in Savannah a few years back and thought Tybee Island was cool but didn't do anything there due to weather. 

What have you got?

Johnson Bayou, LA

Edited by Iceman

1 hour ago, Baboontyme said:

What are some of your favorite beach towns that you have been to or vacationed in? I was recently in St. Pete Beach and didn't think much of it compared to some other places I have been. I'm talking about cool towns, not just pretty beaches. 

I liked Siesta Key when we went in 2021. I enjoyed the Destin area but where we were was a zoo, and we stayed in a giant resort and didn't leave. I was only there for one morning but I loved Laguna Beach. I really like Captiva Island. Been to plenty of beaches on the Atlantic side of FL and while driving on the beach is cool, I don't know that I've been blown away by any 'beach towns'. Had a couple day stop in Savannah a few years back and thought Tybee Island was cool but didn't do anything there due to weather. 

What have you got?

I’d say Destin over anywhere else. 

Folly Beach.  However, I am very biased as I spent summers there, as a teenager, in my uncles beach house.  I have great memories from when it was still a relatively quiet beach town.

Crystal Beach. Spent a month there one weekend 20 years ago. Woke up Sunday morning in the sand. Can still feel that hangover. Would not recommend. 

59 minutes ago, HeHateMe said:

Folly Beach.  However, I am very biased as I spent summers there, as a teenager, in my uncles beach house.  I have great memories from when it was still a relatively quiet beach town.

Love Folly Beach and having Charleston so close is kind of the best of both worlds. 

1 hour ago, YoungCounty said:

Crystal Beach. Spent a month there one weekend 20 years ago. Woke up Sunday morning in the sand. Can still feel that hangover. Would not recommend. 

Do you like to camp? 

Sanibel/Captiva and the north end of Anna Maria Island above Pine Island are tops for us. Owned on one, was buying on the other when the hurricane hit last fall, may stick with vacationing for a while.

Outside of those two, it would be the northern keys or the beach areas around Charleston and then the St Simon’s area. I’m not a fan of the Atlantic beaches but the towns are worth a visit.

If you're willing to stay at a somewhat pricey resort, Henderson Beach is great.  It's right next to a state park so there is essentially no civilization north of you for a few miles.  The beach is private as well.

  • Author
6 hours ago, HeHateMe said:

Folly Beach.  However, I am very biased as I spent summers there, as a teenager, in my uncles beach house.  I have great memories from when it was still a relatively quiet beach town.

Looks like a cool place. 

Siesta Key is a great beach town. Have spent quite a bit of time there recently. Pacific Beach in San Diego is great little town as well.

Although not super beachy Key West is a good time. 
 

Honestly, Port Aransas is great town and a blast, the beach is just not that pretty.

7 hours ago, YoungCounty said:

Crystal Beach. Spent a month there one weekend 20 years ago. Woke up Sunday morning in the sand. Can still feel that hangover. Would not recommend. 

renting a house for an extended weekend, cooking nothing but the shiftiest hotdogs and drinking the shittiest liquor for 4 days, having a bonfire on the beach as all the jeeps drove past every evening, randomly hooking up with a chick from high school who was still a hot little spinner, good times.

1 hour ago, LebongJames said:

Siesta Key is a great beach town. Have spent quite a bit of time there recently. Pacific Beach in San Diego is great little town as well.

Although not super beachy Key West is a good time. 
 

Honestly, Port Aransas is great town and a blast, the beach is just not that pretty.

Rockport was the best back in the day. Great food. Wasn’t crowded. Good fishing. Water usually looked OK. You could spend all night watching people spear fish/spotlight flounder. 

1 hour ago, LebongJames said:

Siesta Key is a great beach town. Have spent quite a bit of time there recently. Pacific Beach in San Diego is great little town as well.

Although not super beachy Key West is a good time. 
 

Honestly, Port Aransas is great town and a blast, the beach is just not that pretty.

Rockport was the best back in the day. Great food. Wasn’t crowded. Good fishing. Water usually looked OK. You could spend all night watching people spotlight/ spear fish flounder. 
 

That said, I’d drive to Gulf Shores befor starting the beach town discussion. 

Port St. Joe, Apalachicola.  Beaches at Cape San Blas are great.

Our very best family vacations were various rentals between Leucadia and Del Mar, CA.  Always feels like home whenever I’m out there.

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I grew up on the beach, now in the middle of summer I prefer the Oregon or Washington coast.

we're doing a july trip staying for 2 nights each in del mar, huntington beach and santa barbara.  can't wait.

8 minutes ago, hornbri said:

I really like SPI but I grew up in the area. 

The sand will be ok till a space x rocket crashes and burns making it all glass for miles. I kid. I hope. 

On 3/30/2025 at 1:44 PM, Updawg said:

Port Arthur in August is fabulous

Sabine Pass man….

17 hours ago, shnsajax said:

I grew up on the beach, now in the middle of summer I prefer the Oregon or Washington coast.

Cannon Beach is great. Massive beach. Cool little town, easily walkable.

Seems crazy you can fly into Portland in late July, 95 degree heat wave going on there, then drive a little over an hour and it's 67 in Cannon Beach.

Hook 'em!

On 3/30/2025 at 11:19 PM, bluto said:

Wildcard is St Joseph, Michigan. 

hey - we don't need to crowd the beaches. there are only so many weeks of nice weather, and that part of Michigan basically becomes a Chicago suburb already on the weekends.

On 3/30/2025 at 12:23 PM, jimmyjazz said:

How anyone can prefer Destin to St. Pete Beach is beyond me.

Destin > St Pete 

stationed at both st Pete is a shit hole 

3 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

Destin > St Pete 

stationed at both st Pete is a shit hole 

I've spent significant time at both, I could not disagree more.  Destin is a low-budget cruise ship docked for repairs, it is truly a garbage destination.

Door County, WI in general.  Sister Bay and Bailey's Harbor in particular.

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Give it a few months and this one will fit your parameters. 

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I’ll be in MV over the 4th of July, and there’s a bunch of Jaws related stuff going on for the 50th anniversary of the film’s release, so here’s to swimmin with bow legged women.

  • Author
1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've spent significant time at both, I could not disagree more.  Destin is a low-budget cruise ship docked for repairs, it is truly a garbage destination.

I think this past year's storms had a pretty significant impact on St. Pete Beach. It felt like damn near 50% of the resorts and restaurants on both sides of Gulf Blvd were closed and/or under construction. I still was not very impressed. The resorts, restaurants, bars and stores on Gulf were all pretty run down. The main strip was not very walkable. Narrow sidewalks inches from a busy 5 lane highway with people doing 50+. No beach walk on the beach side. I wasn't expecting a ton and with the time and budget I had to throw the trip together, it was as good as I could have done, it just didn't really measure up to some of the other places I've been. I can't really speak to Destin as I said we spent most/all of our time there in the resort. 

St. Petersburg itself surprised me in regards to how nice it was, but I wouldn't really call it a beach town, either. 

12 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

I think this past year's storms had a pretty significant impact on St. Pete Beach. It felt like damn near 50% of the resorts and restaurants on both sides of Gulf Blvd were closed and/or under construction. I still was not very impressed. The resorts, restaurants, bars and stores on Gulf were all pretty run down. The main strip was not very walkable. Narrow sidewalks inches from a busy 5 lane highway with people doing 50+. No beach walk on the beach side. I wasn't expecting a ton and with the time and budget I had to throw the trip together, it was as good as I could have done, it just didn't really measure up to some of the other places I've been. I can't really speak to Destin as I said we spent most/all of our time there in the resort. 

I get that.  I think we're looking for different things.  I prefer the small, mom & pop hippie towns, and Destin ain't that.

Don’t sleep on the Delaware coast 

Laguna Beach, Capistrano Beach, El Porto (N Manhattan Beach) and Black’s Beach.  Laguna is especially choice if you rip 133 into town on a motorcycle.  Since lane splitting is legal in CA you can get some good runs in filtering up to the front of lights.  
 

Westport (first bay south of Olympic peninsula) in Washington State is a hidden gem if you like abandoned beaches, beer, mediocre food and fishing towns, which I do.  

There are also about a million white shell beaches with zero people ever sprinkled around southeast Alaska.  

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Edited by USCATX

I’ve enjoyed Hilton Head. Very family friendly, solid food options, pretty walkable if you stay in the right place. 
 

Hiked the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula. Had a great time on second beach. Once you get south of there you don’t encounter a soul. 

Cannon beach is cool; camped on the beach last summer at Manzanita State Park.


Bar Harbor/Acadia was great. Water was super cold even during a heat wave.

 

I have a work conference that’s on Huntington Beach. Amazing setup and the surf/volleyball scene is perfect. 

Hawaii is on my near term list. 

Edited by Firemans4Horn

33 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Amazing setup and the surf/volleyball scene is perfect. 

 

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