We love watching a ‘House in Florida’ on Sky TV. In one episode the presenter travelled to St Augustine, to be honest even owning a villa in Orlando and vacationing in the sunshine state for years we had never really ventured outside the ‘golden triangle’. So on a grown ups only holiday we had the luxury of only having to please ourselves and not a family, all with differing wants and needs. This was our opportunity to put to the test all we had heard, seen and read in the travel guides.
We left our house in Davenport early and travelled north on Interstate 4 turning onto Interstate 95 (exit 91 - signposted Flagler Beach) - our management company had advised us to travel to St Augustine via Flagler Beach have brunch at the aptly named Pier Restaurant.
Amazingly, Fagler Beach is designated as a city with a population of just under 4,000 and is located 20 miles north of Daytonna Beach and about 30 miles south of St Augustine so is an ideal spot to break the journey. Flagler Beach is an idyllic spot on the upper east coast of Florida bordered on the east by the Atlantic ocean and on the west by the Intracoastal Waterway.
There are over 6 miles of un crowded beaches and when we visited in January the temperature was in the 70’s (although the sea temperature wasn’t!). We loved the fact that the beaches had unlimited access and that there were picnic shelters all along.
In contrast to Daytonna, cars are prohibited from driving onto the beach so it was a delight to stroll along the pristine orange sand (yes orange and we have the photo to prove it!) and watch the large flocks of seagulls swoop and dive into the surf line for food. If you’re really lucky you will see bottlenose dolphins and whales. We couldn’t get over the contrast to the calm turquoise waters of the Gulf Coast but we marvelled at the dramatic Atlantic ocean pounding the shoreline and watched the surfers take full advantage of the surf.
The Pier Restaurant boasts ocean front dining and if you are really sweet to the waitress she will give you a seat next to the window where you can watch the activities of the fishermen on the pier while eating the most wonderful crab cakes – there is a great choice of freshly caught sea food along with the usual burgers and sandwiches.
To continue our journey to St Augustine we left Flagler Beach to travel north on A1A (the road which runs parallel to the ocean) a pleasant and relaxed change from the Interstates.
We left our house in Davenport early and travelled north on Interstate 4 turning onto Interstate 95 (exit 91 - signposted Flagler Beach) - our management company had advised us to travel to St Augustine via Flagler Beach have brunch at the aptly named Pier Restaurant.
Amazingly, Fagler Beach is designated as a city with a population of just under 4,000 and is located 20 miles north of Daytonna Beach and about 30 miles south of St Augustine so is an ideal spot to break the journey. Flagler Beach is an idyllic spot on the upper east coast of Florida bordered on the east by the Atlantic ocean and on the west by the Intracoastal Waterway.
There are over 6 miles of un crowded beaches and when we visited in January the temperature was in the 70’s (although the sea temperature wasn’t!). We loved the fact that the beaches had unlimited access and that there were picnic shelters all along.
In contrast to Daytonna, cars are prohibited from driving onto the beach so it was a delight to stroll along the pristine orange sand (yes orange and we have the photo to prove it!) and watch the large flocks of seagulls swoop and dive into the surf line for food. If you’re really lucky you will see bottlenose dolphins and whales. We couldn’t get over the contrast to the calm turquoise waters of the Gulf Coast but we marvelled at the dramatic Atlantic ocean pounding the shoreline and watched the surfers take full advantage of the surf.
The Pier Restaurant boasts ocean front dining and if you are really sweet to the waitress she will give you a seat next to the window where you can watch the activities of the fishermen on the pier while eating the most wonderful crab cakes – there is a great choice of freshly caught sea food along with the usual burgers and sandwiches.
To continue our journey to St Augustine we left Flagler Beach to travel north on A1A (the road which runs parallel to the ocean) a pleasant and relaxed change from the Interstates.