Best place to go for a quiet beach vacation? (1 Viewer)

[Brian Price]

Hello all. I am looking to take a nice beach vacation this summer and don't have much knowledge of good beaches. I am basically looking for a quiet, non-touristy place that is modern but doesn't have the hustle and bustle of a normal vacation. I am trying to stick in the US or Caribbean. Any info from personal experience would be great. Thanks in advance.

Brian Price

 

[Jason Boucher]

Bermuda has the best, most deserted beaches I have ever experienced, but expensive to get there. You can have a stretch of white sand beach and crystal clear water with nobody else within eye sight. Many such places around the island, but expensive to get there. Grand Cayman Island has some fantastic beaches, with the purest water I have ever seen, and snorkeling offshore, but very expensive as well. If you want to stick to the mainland, and water clarity is not an issue, the Outerbanks of North Carolina are perfect for a relatively quiet beach resort. Miles and miles of wide beaches with dunes. Corolla has become a Hollywood Haven with mansion beach houses. Duck is a serene beach village. If you need clearer water, head to Florida. Cocoa Beach is markedly less touristy than Daytona, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. For a very laid back feel, head to the Keys. The beaches are difficult to find, but the water is great. Bahia Honda has great beaches on both the Gulf and Atlantic sides, and has been listed as a top 10 site by Dr. Beach. Check out Sombrero Beach in Marathon. A locals place, but nice beach with some coral outcroppings. If you want to see the best secluded beach in the world, get a boat or charter a sea plane to the Dry Tortugas. The beach at Fort Jefferson is like a big private bathtub, with multicolored fish and a Civil War era fort. You can swim along the fort walls, or go out 50 yards to a fantastic reef. Water is as pristine as the Caymans, and the marine life is stunning, including sea turtles and nurse sharks. You can camp overnight. There are no other hotels, and you will have the island to yourself, with a few park rangers. I have also experienced nice beaches in the Bahamas and Jamaica, but not only very touristy, but the disadvantaged locals pose a hassle to tourists. I'm not a Caribbean fan, aside from the Caymans and if you count, Bermuda, which both allow you to be left alone.

 

[Eric_L]

Norther California coasts are beautiful, isolated and peaceful. The water is rough and cold, not too good for swimming, however there is fantastic views, rock climbing and many wonderful small communities to discover. I would suggest a place called 'Sea Ranch'.
http://www.tsra.org/

A nice home can be rented for a week at a time at a reasonable rate. I've had good luck with Ram's Head Realty.

__________________

On to a totally different environment....

Gulf Coast Florida has some of the best kept secrets also. Their waters are comfortable and smooth. Some of the beaches are almost powder-like.

Sarasota has some of the best. It is a bit hot this time of year, but also not very crowded. During winter it is a bit more occupied. There are also many other distractions in Sarasota - shopping, night scene, arts etc.

If you want to go for a smaller community the try Englewood, which is just south of Sarasota.

Hope this helps. It may be useful to others to know if you'll be traveling alone, with romantic partner, or a whole family.

 

[mark alan]

The west coast of Puerto Rico. I was there on business, and saw miles and miles of beaches without a soul on them. Plus, you are still in the US, and most people speak english.

 

[Chris Baucom]

Brian,

Take a look at Bald Head Island off of NC, near Southport. It is an upscale island with no cars allowed on the island. It is about as quiet as you can get for a beach. You get there by taking a ferry over from the mainland. You leave your car and they help you get your stuff to your house. Golf carts are the only vehicles on the island, which makes it nice and quiet. You can rent a large house, small house, condo, stay at a B&B etc. Golf is good there and there is no noise. There are restaurants and a grocery store on the island, so you never have to leave if you don't want to.

Bald Head Island

 

[Bob Graz]

I like the Outer Banks of NC. In general I find the Outer Banks quite peaceful. It's spread out. You can drive around and find some beaches nearly empty. It's just a very pleasant place to vacation (I'll be there in a few weeks).

 

[CharlesD]

Another vote for Bermuda. There are many virtually empty beaches along the south shore of the Island. Most people seem to go to Horseshoe Bay for some reason, and while that beach is packed many others (such as Elbow Beach) are sparsely populated. Bermuda is very relaxing place and although it is a tourist destination, it not very "touristy" and is quite laid back. If you want a nice quiet beach and a relaxing vaction Bermuda fits the bill perfectly.

 

[Matt Stryker]

What kind of beach do you like? Some people like calm, clear water with little surf (which usually means a Gulf beach) and other people (me) like nice rolling surf that you can ride floats/whatnot on.

Nags Head in NC is good, but a little pricey...it may also get a bit crowded, but it doesn't have all the crap that Daytona, Panama City, and Myrtle beach have. Crowded here just means you can see a few other people on the beach, not get in a traffic jam trying to get to the grocery store (like in Panama City).

Other recommendations in NC are Bald Head (already mentioned), and Sunset Beach. Sunset still only has a 1 lane bridge onto/off the island, so its pretty undeveloped. But it is only 30 mins or so away from North Myrtle, so if you/your friends get the urge to shop or go touristy for a night, its there. Plus Sunset has a GIGANTIC beach strand (the sandy part).

 

[Randy Tennison]

St. John Trunk Bay, in the caribbean, is the most beautiful beach I've been on. A great snorkle reef, and unbelievable unspoiled beauty.

 

[MarkHastings]

Brian, this is cosimc! Check out one of Yahoo's headlines from today:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ife_beaches_dc

Well, maybe not the quietest, but the best.

 

[Scott Barnhart]

Here's another vote for the Outer Banks, especially Corolla. The absolute best, most relaxing vacation I ever took was when we rented one of those big oceanfront houses in Corolla with a private access to the beach. Hardly any people, serene, beautiful and relaxing. The week we spent in Duck the year before was awesome also. Unfortunately, I live all the way across the country now, so I doubt I'll get back there any time soon.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Perdido Key in the Florida panhandle, right near Alabama. That is one gorgeous beach, and is fairly low key. Lots of condos and houses available for rent. If you go slightly out of season, like right now, it'll be deserted, although its been some time since I was last there. If you want a change of pace you can go visit the Pensacola public beach for some people watching. There's also the naval base with the Naval Aviation musuem if that's something you're interested in.

 

[Mike Clark]

How important is the water quality?

I live close to Galveston (TX) and my gf and I go down for the weekend once in a while. We actually stay off the island in a town called Point Bolivar. The cabin we rent is a 3 bedroom, very nicely furnished, with a large deck w/hottub. (All the cabins in the area are actually on stilts, so even though it's a 1 story living space, you have to climb a flight of stairs to get to it. You actually park underneath the cabin itself.

From that particular cabin (and there are other's that are closer) it's about a 15 minute drive to the ferry to Galveston. The ferry is free to take, runs 24 hours a day, and is about a 20 minute ride. Although it can get crowded during the summer, it's not too bad during the week. Most of the people that have cabins there use them on weekends only. (Cabin is a bit conservative, like I said, it's a normal 1 story house that just happens to be 10 feet in the air.)

If you head into Galveston itself, there's quite a bit to do. Lot's of touristy type places, shops along the beach, restaurants/bars, etc. Also there is a place called Moody Gardens (and they have an IMAX! )

The cabins normally are in 3 rows.






...............Cabin.....................>

Note: each community of cabins is pretty much isolated from the next development, so the road right behind the cabing gets no traffic at all except for ppl heaing to a front row cabin.

Weekend cost (at least at the one we go to) is $150 a night, but I bet you could get one for $500 for the week since as I mentioned, weekdays aren't real busy.

The reason I mentioned water quality is the water right there along that stretch is brown. You'll often see ships passing by fairly close to shore, and they churn up a lot of mud etc (although you don't actually hear them)

On Galveston island itself, the water is cleaner (they're not right out in the ship channel) but it's not crystal clear either.

From Galveston itself, it's only about a 45 minute drive to Houston, so it'd be quite feasible to see some other stuff during your stay (NASA, Six Flags, Natural History museum, etc.)


All the times I've been there I've only seen one of the neighboring cabins being used once, and that was during Mardi Gras. In other words, privacy isn't a real big issue.

I love getting up early in the morning and taking a cup of coffee out on the porch and watching the sun rise. (Of course, I immediatly go back to bed afterwards...who wants to get up at 6am on vacation? )

I wish I could remember the name of the real estate agency in that area.

 

[Craig]

Mexico Beach, about 30 miles east of Panama City in the Fl. panhandle. Still has a lot of Mom & Pop stores, doesn't have a lot of the high rise condos like Destin or Panama City. The most beautiful white sand beach I've seen.

Fernandina Beach, just north of Jacksonville, Fl is also a very nice place.

 

[Eric_L]

I hear there is a uncoming theaater forum cruise that is sure to include a beach. You'll be on a boat filled with HT enthusiasts, but other than that it should be good.

 

[Jay H]

If you truly want quiet, I'd suggest the various beaches in Kauai, Hawaii or any beach that you cannot drive to. Kalalau beach is an 11 mile backpack that is spectacular in it's own right, but because everybody carries their own tents and gear, it is certainly very quiet, peaceful and beautiful. (West side of Kauai, awesome sunsets). Miloli’i beach is another one that you have to take a sea kayak to, it's just west of Kalalau but inaccessible because of the cliffs.

Jay