Most-Visited Beaches in Calangute and Baga to Siquerim Beach

Calangute is the most southern of all the North beaches. Calangute and Baga offer a big variety of water sport, mostly jet skiing but also kites. In the meantime, more and more casinos come to Goa, also in this area. Here, you find younger guests from India, European bag packers and a more price-conscious audience.

Infrastructure around these two beaches has become bigger: there are hotels, guest houses and restaurants. You also find chain restaurants like Pizza Hut and Dominos, a shopping mall and a wax museum. Even the big hotel chains have come here, in this case Novotel and Hyatt. Because these beaches can easily be reached from the airport, they are always busy. These are the most-frequented beaches in Goa. This shows in construction work, there is barely any empty space left.

The area is a bit crowded; you almost don’t see the step to Siquerim Beach. Siquerium Beach very prominently features the Taj Hotel. Right next to it, you find the Aguada Fort.

Anjuna: Hotspot for Hippies, Bag Packers and Flea Markets Visitors

Further north, you find Anjuna, the hippie Mecca and bag packers hot spot. If you come by bus, this is where you arrive. There are cheap, very simple guest houses and you have very little problem getting in touch with other travelers. The little village up the cliffs is pretty. They sell all kinds of things for tourists, but the view is amazing. Sitting in one of the bars or restaurants, enjoying the view to the ocean is one of the best things do to.

The Anjuna Flea Market every Wednesday is very popular. Also, the party scene likes to meet in Anjuna. If you like Yoga, you find many offers here.

Vagator and Chapora: Nice Landscape at the Chapora Fort

Further north, there are the two smaller beaches Vagator and Chapora. Both surround the Chapora Fort and create, in combination with its red stone cliffs and unique scenery. If you are looking for an entire apartment, you can find it here. Many permanent guests stay here, this is also how a party scene has come up.

Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol: Secluded Beaches or Bag Packers

The three most northern beaches Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol are separated from the rest of the land by the Chapora River.

Morjim Beach has a preserve area for breeding water turtles. Anyways, Morjim has some problems with dirt coming from the river and that is why its sand is a bit darker.
The beaches of Mandrem and Arambol are still not very crowded. Fun fact: in Mandrem, there beach and all the guest houses are separated from each other by a river. You walk on small bamboo bridges to get to the beach. Very far north, in Arambol, you again find beach shacks and cheaper ways to stay but no hotels, comparable to the beaches far in the South. Also, there are many Yoga offers here.

see also: The Beaches of South Goa

Der Beitrag The Beaches of North Goa erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Beach Shacks and Restaurants at the Bay

Palolem is mainly a collection of beach shacks and restaurants chained along the coastline and offering an ocean view. Wide parts of the beach are largely not built-up. You only find some boats here. Right after the beach line, right under palm trees, the line of shacks and restaurants starts. Even here, you are still walking on fine, white sand.

The first row of hats has an open sea view. Even the second and maybe the third row still offer a veritable view. Some of these wooden shacks have one floor, others even two.
The beach shacks are constructed for one season and get entirely removed during monsoon season. Considering this, their standard is very high. Most importantly, they have water closets and running water. They walls are only thin wooden panels, though. These beach shacks cannot be compared to hotels, they are rather simple hats.

Prices are reasonable even though they tend to vary strongly. For 20 Euro, you definitely find something here, much less in off-season.

A Maze of Hotels Further Inland

A few meters off the coastline you find the first real hotels that means solid buildings with walls and quite often an AC. Most of them are smaller, quite often only 3 – 6 rooms. Some of these hotels are 50 meters from the beach, others a bit farther. You can get good prices here too, 30 to 40 Euros per night.

Palolem has a kind of center and main access to the beach. This is usually where the cabs take you. You have to look for your hotel or shack yourself. That is why you see guests walking along the beach with their luggage all the time. The paths between these hotels are narrow; you can easily walk or use a scooter but not a car. In the beginning, this maze is a bit confusing.

In the center, there are some stores with all necessities but nothing more. Of course, they also sell all kinds of tourist stuff (silver jewelry, scarves, spices, T-shirts, clothes, bags). The quality in the stores is a bit higher than anything the beach hawkers offer.

Restaurants at the Coast

All the beach restaurants can in fact be recommended. All of them offer ocean view; you can sit in the shade and face the water. Quite often, they also have sun beds at the beach and also serve food there.

They offer a vast variety of food you can basically get anything here. There are no big, all-inclusive hotels. That is why all the guests go to these restaurants even for breakfast. You can go to a different place every day, the quality is good everywhere. Sometimes it’s even difficult to remember where you were the day before, these restaurants are all very much alike.

For Indian standard, these restaurants are not cheap but compared to German restaurants, prices are still reasonable.

In addition, there are several restaurants off the beach with all kinds of stuff. You can eat for less money here.

Boat Tours

In Palolem, boat tours are popular. There are small wooden boats at the beach with which you can take a trip on the ocean. These tours take place usually mostly for sunrise and sunset but any other time is possible. The sellers find you at the beach, offer their boat tour and how much you pay is part of a bargaining process. The boat takes you off the coast to the ocean. You see the coast from the water probably a dolphin and maybe they take you to a little island in front of Palolem (Canacona). Some more routes go to the river channel close by or a field trip to the “Butterfly Beach”, a beach almost inaccessible from the main land. All of these tours are nice little trips, don’t expect anything spectacular but rather enjoy the view and relax.

Fun Fact: The boats are pulled in and out of the water with pure manpower, there are no machines anywhere. Male beach visitors are often asked to help get the boat in or out.

Alternatives

If, in high season you feel Palolem is a bit too busy for you, you can go to the neighbor beach Patnem. Patnem also is a very beautiful beach with a similar crescent shape, similar restaurants and beach shacks but less busy and quieter. Further south of Patnem, there is a 5-star hotel resort for guests with high demands.

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Quintana Roo C1 South of Chakanaab: Upscale Hotel Resorts and Beaches (e.g. Playa Mia and Paradise Beach)

Further south along the coastline you see some upscale resort hotels, restricted hotel areas and some beaches. All beaches offer tourist equipment that means they have pools, sun beds, service restaurants, volleyball fields, sunshades, sometimes even water parks for children.

From north to south, these beaches are:

• Punta Tormentos: does not have much, mostly bigger stones that make swimming and getting in and out of the ocean difficult, a decent place for a short stop, not more
• A bit further south is Paradise Beach: this beach has everything: pools, pavilions, rooftop restaurants, sun beds, washrooms. All in all like a resort hotel, only open to public.
• Playa Mia comes next: a water park with slides and everything else. For children, this is definitely the best place. Anyways it has a fee but not a very high one. Many cruise guest come here, mostly family. Expect this place to be rather crowded.
• The next beach is Albertos Beach: it’s less busy but also has a beach bar and the usual (sun beds, sun shades, music).
• Most southern beach on this list is Playa Palancar, this beach has sun shades made of straw, a bar and sun beds. Similar to Alberto, also quite nice. From all the western beaches, I liked these two best. Things are not so much over the top here.

All the beaches on this route are entertainment centers with music, restaurants, sports and games. You will not find a calm, pristine beach here. But the water is very comfortable the ocean is calm and quiet, the waves very low and weak. If you have any, bring water shoes. Sometimes, there are stones in the breakwater. All of these beaches a nice place to see the sunset in the evening.

At the very South of the Island: Punta Sur

Punta Sur is a protected area, pristine, deserted and extremely pretty. The route from San Miguel is 35 km (about 45 min). The last bit of the route is already part of the protected area. There are no paved roads, only flat sandy roads. We could easily drive here with our rental scooter. The nature sanctuary requires an entrance fee. Here, at the end of the island the Caribbean Sea appears in many shades of blue and turkey. The sand is very fine and white; there is a lighthouse and a swamp area.

Information about Punta Sur can be found here.

East of the Island: Atlantic Coast and Traversal the Cozumel

You are now at the eastern side of the island, off the main routes and facing Open Ocean. Winds are stronger, the ocean is rough and the waves are bigger. Every now and then, there is a restaurant or a café around, even smaller shops. Yet, this part of the island is much less busy than the other side. Very little traffic, loads of tranquility and calmness and only very few humans anywhere. It’s windy; you can basically only sit the in shores and not really swim. At the beaches there is usually nothing. You can sit, but there are many sand grains in the wind. It’s a nice place to walk, relax, be alone but not a good place to sunbathe and swim.

Yet, I like this coastline better than the west: this appears more real and more beautiful. I don’t need a pool 50 meters from the ocean; I don’t need endless background noise from music or water games and slides. The west is an artificial place; the east is mainly a place of nothing but the beach and the ocean. In spite of the strong winds and waves, there are no surfers of kite-surfers anywhere. I don’t know why.

I think I should definitely come here. Driving along the coast on your scooter, stopping every now and then, having something to eat or drink: these are the things that work quite well here.

There are no towns or hotels anywhere. After 25 km (35 min) along the coast, you reach the islands only cross connection ´”Traversal de Cozumel”. Turning left is the only option you have, you cross the island and after 15 km (15 min) you reach San Miguel and the ferry port.

The island continues quite a bit further north but there are no public roads north.

Maya Ruins San Gervasio

There is another stop in the middle of the cross connection: the Mayan Ruins San Gervasio. You drive another 7 km north off the cross connection on an unpaved road. Even that worked quite fine on the scooter. Then, you reach the Maya Ruins. You can do a little hike here. We were almost the only ones there.

More information about San Gervasio here.

I would definitely recommend this short trip: there are more spectacular Maya Ruins (Chichzen Itza) but San Gervasio is definitely nice and gives a good impression of the atmosphere of those days.

North of San Miguel

After a roundtrip on the island, you are now back in San Miguel. At the ferry port, you can go a bit further north (Avenue Rafael E.Melgar). You find some more hotels and restaurants here, but less fancy less chic and much simpler (plastic chairs instead of fancy promenade). The food was super tasty and much cheaper here. In some of these restaurants, you only find Mexicans, no tourists. Also, the island’s little airport is here. You can only north for about 7 km, final spot is a golf course with some hotels around. You cannot go any further north or any further inland.

Tour on the Island – How and How Long?

You should plan an entire day to do this tour. The best option is to rent a scooter. The island is not that big, a scooter is enough to circle it, you don’t need a car for that. I find it important to move a bit off the main routes. No matter how crowded the island is, no matter how many cruise passengers make a day visit, if you move far enough south (Punta Sur) or west (Caribbean Coast) in the main time between 10 am and 3 pm, you can always beat the crowds. People gather in the resorts south of the ferry port and in Chakanaab.

I would visit the beaches on the east in the morning or in the evening. In the evening, this is the best place to see the sunset. I would do Chakanaab on a day with very few cruise ships around.

This is Part 2.
You can find part 1 here:
Taking a Tour in Cozumel: A Day Trip Around the Island Part 1 from San Miguel to Chakanaab 

Der Beitrag Taking a Tour in Cozumel: A Day Trip Around the Island Part 2 from Chakanaab to Punta Sur and back along the Westcoast erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Cozumel – How to Reach by Ferry and Else

From the mainland you reach Cozumel by Ferry. There are several ferry companies: the two well-established ones are Mexiko Water Jets and Ultramar. The latest addition is called Barcos Caribe. A single trip is 6 to 8 Euro; there is no reason to book tickets in advance or by a roundtrip right away. I would even advice against it. Some of the companies only offer trips every other hour. But there is always a ferry from another company in between. The best way to do this is to go to the ferry port, find out which ferry is the next to leave and buy a ticket for that one. There is always one ticket counter open, the one has the next tour.

The ferry takes 30 to 45 minutes to Cozumel. Usually, this was pretty smooth. On a few days, the sea was rough and the ride gets bumpy. On these days, there was a band on board playing music; the band was not there any other time.

By ferry, you reach San Miguel de Cozumel, capital and center of the island.
Cozumel also has an airport which can be found north of the capital. This is a good way to reach the island directly. Some American airlines have non-stop flight to Cozumel.
Another way to reach Cozumel is on a cruise ship. A bit south of the regular ferry port, Cozumel has a cruise port. In particular in winter, many big cruise ships stop here. Some of them come early in the morning at around 6, other later in the middle of the day. Most of them leave early, at around 4 to 5 pm.

How These Cruise Ships Affect Cozumel’s Daily Life

These cruise ships stay at their own port. Sometimes only one ship sometimes five or even seven. That’s always different and people from Cozumel can always tell you about that. Cozumel has a new shopping mall right at the cruise port, here you find the Hard Rock Café. Most products are made for one-day-visitors: jewelry, tequila, hot sauces and restaurants. This place is quite nice but not one of the island’s highlights.

The cruise ships appear on the horizon in the mornings, the closer they get, the more obvious their sheer size becomes. They look more like a skyscraper. I was surprise to see that many people indeed don’t get off the ship. Of course, that can always change. Some of these ships have as much as 5000 to 7000 passengers: several times really only a few of them left the ship and came to the island. I really wasn’t expecting this.

In the mornings, the cruise guests are not around, most of the time they come between 10 and 11 and usually only till 3 or 4 pm. Of course, there are busy days with 5 to 6 ships around. Anyways, most cruise guests don’t make it far on the island. Standard would be the cruise port, town of San Miguel (9 km north) and the Chakanaab Park.

San Miguel de Cozumel

When you go to Cozumel by ferry, the first thing you see is San Miguel de Cozumel. The promenade at the coast is quite fancy, many stores and restaurants, all of them made for tourists.

If you have a Cozumel hotel, you are most likely somewhere in this area (a bit further north or south of the town, along to coast road). When you go a bit intown, off the coastline, the town’s appearance changes drastically: It’s less clean; things are less polished and less shiny, no more fancy roads and stores. But, in the end, this off-the-main routes area is more real, authentic less artificial. But there isn’t much to see or do.

Along the Coast Road Quintana Roo C1 in the Island’s West: Cruise Port and Going to Chakanaab on the Small Road

At the ferry port, go south. You can see several stores and restaurants; this is the tourist center of the island.

The first interesting spot is the cruise port (mentioned above). On this 4 km route, the town barely ends, apart from restaurants and shops there are mostly diver stores and stores that sell day tours for divers, snorkelers and everything else about the ocean.
Until you reach the cruise port, you need to share the road with cars, residents and regular traffic. At the cruise port, the main road goes a bit inland. There is a smaller road for scooter and cyclists right at the coast, here you can drive easily even if you feel a bit unsure about your scooter and you don’t disturb all the other traffic.

Next interesting stop is the Chakanaab Beach Adventure Park (10 km from the ferry port, 20 km or 15 min from the cruise port). This is a little adventure park. The route is very easy you can go by scooter or take a cab. These 10 km are always busy; it’s the main tourist route of the island.

This is part 1 – The article continues here..

Der Beitrag Taking a Tour in Cozumel: A Day Trip Around the Island Part 1 from San Miguel to Chakanaab erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

What is Sian Ka’an?

Sian Ka’an is a vast protected area, a UNESCO World Nature Heritage that stretches along a huge area of 5200 sqm. The area is on the eastern coast of Yucatan, south of the main tourist areas in Playa del Carmen. The Sian Ka’an coastline is almost non-settled and is thereby stands in contrast to the entire Yucatan Peninsula and its famous city of Cancun in the north or the Playa del Carmen holiday area further south. Also, there is very little infrastructure. The only “town” is Punta Allen can only be reached on am offroad path, there are no solid streets. On the way to Punta Allen, you can see a few smaller places to spend the night. But there aren’t many of them.

Yucatan’s east coast is rather tightly populated and has almost no empty space at all. Sian Ka’an makes the only exception: a huge piece of land with no buildings, streets or people, a highly complex system of water streets and mangroves in a swamp. It offers shelter for many species, animals and birds.

Doing a Tour to Sian Ka’an

For 100 dollars (or more) you can book a tour in a minibus to Sian Ka’an. It takes two hours (130 km) from Playa del Carmen to reach.

Sian Ka’an is huge and two routes are possible: driving along the coastline to Punta Allen or off the coastline in the swamp to Muyil. When we booked the tour, only one option was offered: driving along the coastline. The latter was never even mentioned. We could choose between two others options: a 10-person-minibus with a driver or driving in a Jeep ourselves.

According to our travel agency, the tour does not take place every day. We could only choose between Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. They said, jeep tours were not available for the day we picked. More about that follows later. It was ok for us; we wanted to go by minibus anyways. The tour started very early, we left at 5 am. The bus makes its tour, collects several people on the way and things are rather easygoing for the first two hours. The bus drives to Tulum where we meet all the other busses all vehicles continue the route together, heading to the park.

Several Hours of Offroad driving: Tour to Punta Allen

At this point, the tour gets interesting. The bus drives very slowly on a totally uneven, bumpy “road”. Calling it a road is already too much. There are huge bumps, the street is an uneven, unpaved mess and big trees and branches are everywhere. The ride itself is very, very bumpy. Thick branches get very close to the windows and things are getting exhausting. All the vehicles can only go very slowly. After 30 minutes, there is a stop at a viewpoint. After that the adventurous ride continued for another 3 hours. Nobody felt really good in the bus, everyone was eagerly waiting for the ride to end. If you have problems with this, make sure to sit in the first row on one of the passenger seats. We only had a Spanish speaking driver, the tour guide was somewhere else and the two front row seats were empty.

In Punta Allen, everyone was just exhausted and tired. I have to admit, I did not see a lot during the ride.

In Punta Allen, they have a short break for everyone and a smaller snack is served. If you fancy crab in the evening, you can order now. The restaurant itself is very nice, a rustic wooden construction with only a roof to offer shade, not even a solid building.

Boat Tour to A Coral Reef and Bird Island

The entire group (about 40 to 50 people) is not split into a Spanish speaking group and an English speaking group. We are to sit in little motorboats in groups of six. All the boats are leaving, not all together but in blocks. We saw dolphins (not so much of a surprise). The salespepople told us we would see sea turtle, that’s their way to promote the tour. But these sea turtles are very shy, you have to be very lucky to see them. One came up very shortly, saw all the boats and disappeared into the depth within seconds.

The boat ride on the ocean is anyways really nice. The sea shines in many different colors of blue and green, the coastline is very pretty. After a while, we reach a riff. Now it’s time to snorkel. Our little boat had one guide who also did the snorkeling tour. He really did jump into the water with all his clothes on (long pants, long shirt) and that is how he swam. After a few minutes, the snorkeling is over and you get back on the boat.

The second boat stop is “Bird Island”: two mangrove islands full of birds. You can see many different species here; Sian Ka’an has 379 different bird species. All the boats circle the small islands slowly, the birds don’t care about the boats and you have time to take some pics.

After that the boats stop in a lagoon, you are still deep in the ocean but the water is flat (only about 1.5 meters) and you can walk to the beach. After a short time to swim, the boats go back to Punta Allen.

Back in Punta Allen: Dinner and Driving Back

In Punta Allen, things get a little messy because everyone takes off their swimming clothes and changes. A dinner buffet is served and after that the bumpy drive back starts.
This trip is much worse than the first because now you know what’s waiting for you. After a long, bumpy ride you reach road 307 and Tulum. While we were driving back, we met the Mexican Army, on the same bumpy road, driving equally slow. But several soldier with machine guns were standing on the pick-up.

More Tour Varities: Self-Drive Offroad Tours

As mentioned above, they told us Jeep tours are not available for that day. But: several jeeps were driving with us. I seriously doubt that this makes a cool trip. Every jeeps has four passengers, if there is only two of you, you need to share the car and the driving experience with strangers. The jeeps tour was even more expensive than the bus tour. Before you book a jeep tour, you should definitely be aware of the fact that the jeep is not just for you but needs to be shared.

On the way to Punta Allen, at the viewpoint, some tourists did not get back to the bus but in several boats and reached Punta Allen by boat. Why nobody ever offered us this option, I really don’t know. It would have been great to spend less time in the bus on that shitty street.

Muyil Entrance

Muyil is another entrance further south. Here, you can find more Maya ruins and more countryside: fresh water, mangroves, manatees, the jungle, swamps and many animals. We did not do this tour but I would like to do it someday.

Nature Protection and Animal Preserve Area

It becomes very obvious that this is a protected area: swimming with sea turtles is not possible (very good) also dolphins are never chased or surrounded. All boat drivers did that very well. Also, there are very few buildings anywhere, for most parts it’s simply pristine nature.

About the Tour: Information and Some Advice

Our tour guide shortly introduced himself in Tulum and was not seen again till Punta Allen. He was the only English speaking tour guide for the whole group. In Punta Allen, he talked to us again, and apologized that he cannot be in all the busses at the same time. Our bus driver was very nice but knew close to no English whereas we know only very little Spanish. Communication in the bus was only possible because two guests from Spain who knew English very well, were translating for all the other 5 English-speakers. They could translate some stories and anecdotes which was actually great.

When it comes to these organized tours you never need to worry about food. Dinner and lunch is not a five star meal but it’s ok.

Driving took a long time, we did a day trip from Playa del Carmen. I would not do it again, I would rather stay in Tulum and go from there. Maybe even two or three nights in Tulum, for tow day trips one to Muyil and one to Punta Allen.

A second way to do it is to sleep in Punta Allen or somewhere else in Sian Ka’an. I find some offers online, for example sleeping in a tent on the beach. I’m sure that is a great thing to do: being here in the mornings and evenings with only a few people, before all the day trippers arrive. I’m not sure a how you can reach by yourself: my first guess is a rental jeep supposedly, there is also a collective.

I would not book the off-road jeep tour for four; I find it too expensive for too little. I would ask if I can reach Punta Allen partly or entirely per boat and try to avoid the long, exhausting ride.

In conclusion, I really want to recommend Sian Ka’an to everyone. It is so beautiful, considering some of the organizational remark I have made, and you will definitely be able to enjoy a trip here. I would come back any time!

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Punta Sur: How to Reach

Punta Sur is south of the ferry and the cruise port in Cozumel. From the ferry port in San Miguel de Cozumel it is 35 km and 45 minutes (from the cruise port further south the ride is 10 minutes less).

You can either take a cab, rent a car or a scooter. A scooter is sufficient to get there. Until the cruise port, you share the road with the rest of the traffic, in particular with the locals. But they definitely are considerate and take care of tourists on scooters. A little south of the cruise port, the street splits into two: there is a regular (“big”) road and on the right a smaller version of it. On a scooter, the smaller road is the best place for you. This small street ends shortly before Punta Sur.

The Punta Sur entrance is on the west, the nature-protected area is at the eastern side (ocean) of the island. They charge 14 dollars and after that you can drive along a sandy coast-road. We could easily do this on a bike; the street was unpaved but good. I think you don’t necessarily need a car. See also here – an artcile on renting a scooter on Cozumel.

The Coastal Road in Punta Sur: Coast, Mangroves, Lagoons and Beaches

Some advice to find your way: there is a reggae bar right at the entrance where they sell all kinds of cheesy tourist items. From here, a 4-km-road leads to the lighthouse the island’s southern peak. On this way, you have already overshot a little lagoon that you will further circle on the way to the beaches.

After another 4 km along the coastline, you reach the final destination of the park: Punta Sur Beach. The beach has a restaurant, sun beds, umbrellas and several snorkeling and diving options. The sun beds are for free (basically included in the 14 dollar entrance fee you had to pay).

The Punta-Sur-Coast road is about 8 km, you need approximately 20 minutes. It’s definitely worth to go slower and stroll around a bit. You can even stop, check the inland or enjoy the view. You see the ocean but also a lagoon with mangroves and fresh water where alligators live. If you are lucky enough you can see many rare birds. Several spots have wooden bridges and platform that offer a good view at the swamps and lagoons.

There is also a smaller riff, right in front of Punta Sur. The larger ones can only be reached by boat, though. You don’t need to come to Punta Sur for the riff, the boat leave even further north at the hotels.

There are some more offers we did not do: taking a boat tour in the lagoon, taking and offroad jeep tour.

I would definitely visit Punta Sur again, we liked it so much, we even came twice.

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Far Away From Everything Else: The Forgotten Coast and its Protected Areas

In Panama City, you reach the end of the Emerald Coast. Highway 98 continues along the coastline. Florida’s Forgotten Coast starts in Port St. Joe. Coming from the west, you can change routes and reach the interstate 10 up north in Panama City (highway 231) or Port St. Joe (highway 71). This is the option to drive directly to Tallahassee on the Interstate. On this northern route on I-10 and the little village Marianna, you can reach the Florida Caver State Park. These are the only cavers in Florida that are open to tourists. It only makes sense to do these caverns when you decide to stay on I-10 because you are now too far from the coast highway.

If you decide to not do that route, you can take the beautiful coastal highway 98 until St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. No matter how nice these coast routes are, you always need to consider that you cannot move fast at all. To do the entire route from New Orleans to Jacksonville on the coast highways, you need to plan several nights on the route. You can go from New Orleans to Jacksonville on the interstate in one or two days but you do not see get to see more than an interstate.

I liked all the retirement homes at the coast along that route, in particular for veteran homes. Spending your retirement like that is a dream, usually good weather and no cold winters.

There are many protected areas on route east of Panama City. For example the St. Marks I mentioned above (as the end point of the route) but also St. Joseph Bay and St. Vincent Wildlife Refuge. Further north, there is Walkulla Spring Park, a recreational area and common holiday destination for Americans with lots of flora and fauna. In Walkulla, the Tarzan Movie from 1938 was shot.

Tallahassee as a Stop

Floridas capital Tallahassee is now close. Tallahassee is not one of the most spectacular cities I have ever seen. But it makes sense as a stop after several days at the coast. Tallahassee it the biggest city in Florida’s North (180,000 people) and has many hotel options. Interesting for tourists are two places: Goodwood Plantation and Museum (a former cotton plantation) and the Knott House Museum, that shows an exhibit about Florida’s history.

In Tallahassee you have temporarily left the coastline. You now have three options to continue your route.

You can go east to Jacksonville and the Atlantic Coast. Again on I-10, it takes 3 hours. You can continue your route further south from here.

A second option is to go north from Jacksonville to Savannah and Charleston.

See Georgia Island

We chose a third option which is to go from Tallahassee to the Okefenokee Swamp and to Savannah after that. We did not do Jacksonville at all to have more time in Okefenokee.

See Okefenokee Swamp

Some Information about the Panhandle

Don’t underestimate these routes. One example: driving along the southern peak of the forgotten coast (on highway 98 from Panama City to St. Joseph and St. Marks till Tallahassee) you need 5 to 6 hours for only 300 kilometers. The fastest route (highway 213, 20, and interstate 10) takes only 2 ¼ hours (180 km). That makes quite a difference. For these costal roads, you need time, rushing along these routes is pointless. You need to pick a few places that are important to you and decide what you want to do and what you can omit.

Anyone who enjoys crusing, stopping every now and then, seeing various nature preserve areas, watching birds or walking along a beach, has found the right place on earth in the Panhandle. Camping option are available and stopping is always possible. You can easily spend two weeks at the coast just doing that.

If you have less time, you are not able to see everything. You need to use the interstate 10 occasionally, just to make miles and drive a bit faster. Otherwise you would be spending your entire day in the car and you only have time for very shorts stops.
I prefer to mix these two options. In this case, that means: spending time outside, see the countryside, beaches and islands, with no rush there but also moving forward. I recommend this tour:

• Start in New Orleans
• First night somewhere between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach. Depending on time and interest – 1 or 2 nights. Definitely stop in Perdido Key State Park. You can also camp here (or any other location from the Gulf Island National Seashore). Nature lovers and whoever wants to have more time for the countryside should plan to stay an additional 1- 2 nights
• If you like shopping – plan some time for the Silver Sands Premium Outlet in Destin. Depending on what you prefer – you can easily spend an entire day here; Drive to Panama City Beach – on the route you need some time to stop at beaches and swim if you feel like it. Two nights in Panama City to see the city and spend some time on the beach
• Next stop is Port St. Joe. Book a hotel somewhere close to the state parks. Now you have time to visit St. Joseph and St. Vincent and St. George Island
• Next Stop is Tallahassee – if you have time you can visit Walkulla Spring State Park on the way.

Is this the Right Holiday Destination For Me?

If you enjoy nature, like to be somewhere off the main tourist routes and don’t mind driving a bit longer, this is the right place for you. You find nature, coast, beaches and tranquility. Action and Entertainment are somewhere else, Orlando and Miami. I do like nature; it definitely looks different from everything I know from home. Bigger towns are everywhere; there you can get anything you need. You can visit these towns, but it’s not really necessary. Hotels and motels are everywhere, you always have many options. But you definitely need your own car and have to drive 2 – 3 hours per day. Depending a lot, of course, how much time you have and what you want to see. If you don’t mind that, the Panhandle is the perfect place for you.

This is Part 2.

Part 1 of this article can be found here:

The Panhandle: The Part of Florida Most People Have Not Even Heard Of – Part 1: Panama City, Emerald Coast and Information About the Climate

Der Beitrag The Panhandle: The Area of Florida Most People Have Not Even Heard Of – Part 2: The Forgotten Coast, Tallahassee and Route Options erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

From New Orleans To Jacksonville

Southern Florida is famous for its main tourist attractions in Orlando and Miami as well as its beaches and coasts. The so-called Panhandle, Florida’s Northwest is much less known. It’s called panhandle because its shape on the map resembles a panhandle. To locate it roughly, you can pick New Orleans as the starting point and depending on what you like Jacksonville or Tampa as the end point of your route. Of course, New Orleans is not in Florida, on this route you reach Florida after a little less than 3 hours driving (320 km). The total distance from New Orleans to Jacksonville is 880 km (to Tampa 1050 km). This is too much for a short field trip; you need to spend a couple of days in this area.

More Information on New Orleans can be found here.

The Panhandle as a Winter Destination and Year-Round Holiday Destination?

Is the Panhandle a good Year-Round Holiday Destination? Can I spend my winter holiday there and take a sunbath at the beach? Unfortunately, the answer is no. To find perfect beach weather, you need to go further south in Florida. The Panhandle is warm but not warm enough to take a sunbath and swim in the ocean. I was there in November in off-season. The plus side is obvious: very few visitors, the hotels were cheap and the weather was perfect to do some sightseeing in the cities. For a beach holiday, it was not warm enough. I did some walking along the beaches; it’s even warm enough to sit at the beach on midday. But it was not enough for sunbathing and swimming. To me, this is “T-Shirt-weather”, just like a nice, sunny spring day in Germany.

The only difference is that it starts raining all of a sudden. The residents always say weather at the coastline can change within minutes. That’s definitely true, we could see that all the time. Also, it’s quite windy, of course it is, we are near the ocean. Many Kitesurfers are here, we could see them regularly. This area is particularily interesting for them, we saw many residents kite surfing.

Emerald Coast: Gulf Island National Seashore, Pensacola and Panama City

Why would I want to go to the Panhandle anyways? The westernmost point of Florida is Pensacola. You can already experience the character of the Panhandle here: everything is more quiet, laid-back and less touristic. There is lots of pristine nature, long-stretched beaches and calmness. Some areas are protected, but this usually only means that you need to pay a fee (10 to 15 dollar entrance per car) and are only allowed to move within the designated areas. These nature protection areas are extremely important to flora and fauna and need support.

One example is the Gulf Island National Seashore (close to Biloxi). It has a 15 dollar entrance fee. There are beaches, you can go hiking, watch birds, kayak and enjoy the nature. Parts of the park are reachable by car. One of its islands is Perdido Key.
Gulf Island National Seashore is a coastal area, 160 miles long. It’s partly in Mississippi and Florida and consists of 12 different units. A car with less than 15 people in it costs 15 dollars. There are three visitor centers.

More information on: https://www.nps.gov/guis/index.htm

I would have liked to spend more time in that recreational area. We could not do that, but I’d really like to come back some day. Just spending 2 days in that protected area, leave the car somewhere and do some walking all day long, spend time at the beach and simply relax and unwind.

Something quite remarkable is the transition from sea to fresh water in the swamps. You can see this very well in Perdido Key State Park. Many of the typical Florida alligator live in this protected area. More Information on Perdido Key can be found here.

The most important connecting street is interstate 10. But the interstate leaves the coastline quickly and is located a bit further upcountry. You should leave the I-10 as soon as possible and rather take the coast highways. There, you can enjoy the view and cruise very American-like along the coast. You can stop as you like and take a walk at the beach or simply have coffee or enjoy lunch.

The US-army has a base in Pensacola which makes the cities well-known nationwide.
The coastal area between Pensacola and Panama City is called Emerald Coast – named after the precious stone. This name describes the beauty of the area quite nicely. The ocean shimmers in many different colors, the beaches are huge and most of them are totally deserted, the nature protection areas are gorgeous.

Between Pensacola and Panama City (near Fort Walton) is a little town called Destin. For anyone who wants to go shopping, the outlet mall Silver Sands Premium Outlet in Destin is a huge shopping-lovers paradise. You cannot miss the mall. You only need to drive along coast street 98 (the main road). Signs are everywhere at the highway.

After Destin, you reach a little town called Seaside. Seaside is so picturesque; Hollywood used it as the hometown in “The Truman Show” with Jim Carrey. It’s only a little town, but very nice and a good place to stop on the route.

Grayton Beach State Park and St. Andrews State Park: Best Beach of America

Two beaches on the Panhandle need some special attention. Both of them were called the Best Beach in America in different years. Dr. Beach (a geology professor in Florida) picks a winner every year and has a Top 10 list.

Grayton Beach State Park, right between Destin and Panama City, only a few kilometers from Seaside, was number one in 1994 and regularly appears in the Top Ten, 2016 as number 6.

St. Andrews Beach State Park was topping the list in 1995 and is also a regular Top Ten Guest. St. Andrews is another 55 km further east, close to Panama City.

Both beaches are part of a protected area (both state parks). That means you need to pay to go there. The list of activities includes: hiking, nature watching, animal watching, fishing, cycling, camping and of course spending time at the beach, swimming and sunbathing.

This Article continues in Part 2:

The Panhandle: The Part of Florida Most People Have Not Even Heard Of – Part 2: The Forgotten Coast, Tallahassee and Route Options

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Miami Beach – Miami

Miami Beach is a group of islands, artificial and non-artifical, right in front of the city of Miami which is on the mainland. These island are connected to the mainland by several bridges, the main connecting streets are highway A1A and interstate 195.

Miami Beach is a medium-sized island, narrow but long-stretched. The most famous part of the island is in the South: South Beach and Ocean Drive.

South Beach

South Beach looks exactly the way you know it from the TV (Miami Vice, etc.). The city beach is relatively wide, has many visitors and the colorful shacks of the lifeguards are everywhere.

There is a park right next to the beach (Lummus Park). The park is not big, rather small but long-stretched. All in all, this creates a nice atmosphere: the beach on the ocean’s side, and the Ocean Drive on the other side. This is definitely a spot to take a walk. Something is always going on here. If you don’t like walking, you have plenty of other options including bicycles and segways.

Art Déco District

South Beach is also where the Art Déco District starts. It goes from 6th Street in the South to Dade Boulevard in the North (the eastern and western border are Ocean Drive and Alton Road, both not important). Except from the port, the Art Déco District stretches along the entire width of the island. The District has many different building, according to Wikipedia 960. The most well-know building is the former Gianni Versace house (now a hotel). Travel books describe walking routes in the quarter where you get to see all important buildings. You can also book a guided tour.

We did the route Lonely Planet recommends and that worked quite well. We had enough information about all the buildings. I think you don’t need to spend money on a guided tour, a self-guided tour works just fine.

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive is basically a chain of restaurants, clubs, coffee shops and bars. Ocean Drive is full of beach guests every day but really only wakes up after sunset.

All of a sudden many dressed-up people are everywhere, looking incredibly good (both female and male). I would be a little careful with food drinks here some people have accidentally ordered a 20-dollar-plus drink here. In case you want to go out in the night, bring some fancy, up-to-do clothes. I would have felt a little out of place in my regular casual holiday clothes.

Parking at Ocean Drive

Parking here was a bit difficult. Parking is available at the side of the road, but at some point all these parking spaces are full and you need to circle the Art Déco District. Public Parking is available between the 6th and 7th Street for one dollar an hours. You can try and see if you find something here.

Much further north, at 16th street, pubic parking is also available.

Lincoln Avenue

Another interesting area is Lincoln Avenue between 16th and 17th street. This is the shopping mile of Miami Beach. There are many different stores (even Outlet sometimes) and restaurants. We did not go shopping; we only took a walk there.
Parking is again not easy, just like Miami Beach in general.

Collins Avenue

Ocean Drive starts on 6th and ends on 15th street. A parallel road to Ocean Drive is Collins Avenue (highway A1A). Collins Avenue is much longer and is connects the entire island from north to south.

There are many hotels along that road. The basic rule is: the further south, the cooler and more expensive. We were quite far up north in a hotel called Casablanca in the Ocean. It was fine. I cannot recommend it nor not recommend it. There was no food in the hotel. But Collins Avenue has many options, even that far north. You only need to leave the hotel and walk a few steps.

If you want to find a supermarket, better check up north than on South Beach. In the south, things are more expensive in general.

Eden Roc and Fontainebleu

The two hottest hotels in Miami Beach are Eden Roc and Fontainebleu. These are the most famous and chicest hotels in town. These two are an exception to the “the cooler the more south”-rule.

Parking at the Hotels

Parking at the Hotels was difficult. Our hotel had a very small entrance with Valet Parking. The car was taken to some underground garage, of course for extra money (25 dollars per day). We did not find any other parking and had to pay that.

How Long Should I Stay Here and What Should I Definitely Do?

I don’t think it’s the perfect area for an extended beach holiday. The Gulf Coast has beaches that are much more beautiful. To me, a single day at the beach in Miami Beach is enough (or even only a half day). You should definitely visit the Art Déco District and Ocean Drive. I think, one day and one evening is enough for this. I recommend spending 2 nights and days here, if you feel like it you also have enough time to shop at Lincoln Avenue. You can stay longer and spend some time in Miami. But for Miami Beach, this is enough time.

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Swimwear – Beach Wear – What is Appropriate?

When it comes to swimwear in India, worldviews collide. Men can in fact do whatever they want, except walking around entirely naked. Trunks or anything you wear at home for swimming works and is not an problem. Things are much more difficult for women. For Europeans (and Americans of course) one thing is certain: at the beach you wear a bikini or a bathing suit. That’s the only way to go swimming. Indians perceive this as almost entirely naked and totally inappropriate. Me, as a woman, I would not want to be in a bikini on a beach anywhere in India except Goa.

In Goa, things are more relaxed, everybody is used to white people in swim wear. You can enjoy a classic beach holiday and don’t need to worry. Yet: not everything is possible here. I think, you should enjoy Goa and its casual attitude but don’t push it. Do not try to move the limits. That means: don’t go topless (swimming or sunbathing) that is really inappropriate. I also find G-strings insulting and unnecessary in a country like India. You should always show some respect for the host country and adjust a little. I suggest regular swim wear yes, bikinis that fit and still cover some parts (not to showing) and no thongs. Please don’t show too much, it’s inappropriate and bad-mannered.

Off the beach I would always wear a t-shirt and shorts. Shorts and even tank tops are ok (as opposed to the rest of India). But that’s the minimum, don’t wear less than that. Don’t go to the restaurant in your bikini or walk around in it off the beach.

Sun in Goa

The sun in Goa is strong, very strong. You definitely need sun screen 30 or 50, even in the shade. Don’t go sunbathing in full sun.

I have spent a lot of time in Goa and particularly European winter guests do spend their first day sunbathing in full sunlight. The next day, all of them, really all of them have skin red as a lobster, several sunburns and volunteering move into the shade. You can bet on that beforehand. The sun here is much stronger than anything we have in Europe.

Locals don’t even go outside on midday. We can learn something from that. You need to be extremely careful.

Water Temperature

The sea is always warm. There is only a short phase of rain during monsoon season, but even then temperatures only fall a little. The water never has any time periods when it needs to warm up but is always warm. I find this very comfortable. There are a few waves but rather weak ones. It’s not a “bath tub” but you can easily swim.

Life guards are everywhere at the beach as well as on jet skis. Swimming is not a problem, even though Indians sometimes have problems to believe that women can really swim even in deep water.

Cows at The Beach

It’s India, cows are everywhere. Even at the beach or in front of the stores, at any street or path simply anywhere. If you don’t do anything, they don’t do anything. Best thing is to ignore them and just let them be.

“Beach Hawkers” – Salespeople at the Beach

Beach hawkers are there, mostly in main season. The mostly try to sell jewelry and scarves. These products are usually of low quality; in particular jewelry does not last long.
During high season around Christmas, salespeople offer a variety of things: ice cream, beverages, DVDS (usually pirated versions and downloads), clothes, sheds, scarves, towels, massages and everything possible.

The salespeople at the beach are a bit pushy. If you ignore them entirely and don’t show any reaction at all, they let you be and move on. But as soon as you show some interest, they start their entire program. Jewelry sellers for example unpack every single item and put it on a cloth, the sunbed, and the client’s legs.

Prices are subject to bargaining and vary strongly. If you cannot handle all of this, and feel easily stressed, stay in one of the big hotels. They have private beaches where the beach hawkers are not allowed.

What I think about these beach hawkers: you are in India, a country with poverty issues. Of course, these guys come to Goa to make money where the rich tourists are. All they do is try to make a living. The jobs they could have anywhere else would be much worse. In the end, everyone just wants the same thing: a good life for yourself and the family.

You should always consider that before getting too annoyed and unfriendly. There is a reason why these beach hawkers do what they do. They usually come from much poorer places and stay for the season. I would say you can every now and then buy something, even though the quality is low. This can be the difference between a person eating in the evening or starving.

I would not buy from children because I don’t want to support child labor. India is a working democracy that tries to fight poverty. Even poor families have opportunities and offers to send their kids to school. That is why I think it’s best if they don’t make any money and it’s simply not worth sending them to work.

How you handle these kinds of things is up to you. I only ask you to think about why these beach hawkers are around before you feel annoyed and disturbed during your relaxing beach holiday.

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