Vacation on Florida's Gulf Coast: List of Florida's 10 most beautiful, secret beaches!

Florida! Welcome to the sunshine state! From gorgeous beaches, stunning sunsets, phenomenal shopping venues, a nightlife that never sleeps, gorgeous ocean front golf courses, to rich fisheries that any sportsman would love to stake his claim in, Florida’s beaches offer everything a vacationer could ever ask for. But if you are looking for a travel experience that takes you away from the usual deemed-postcard-worthy haunts, set your sights on Florida's sublime spaces between. I have lived in Florida now for over 28 years and have been to every mainstream beach on Florida’s 1197 miles of coast line. In this hub I am going to list Florida’s top ten hidden gems. These beaches are traveler’s diamonds, and unless you are a Floridian there is a pretty good chance you have never even heard of them, but if you are looking for memories that will last you for the rest of your life, hit just one of the following destinations and let it redefine the word beautiful before your eyes.

This stunning Panhandle town is located at the top of the Gulf Of Mexico in Florida's north west. Many fishing enthusiasts often refer to Destin’s emerald green waters as the "World's Luckiest Fishing Village".This is because Destin is home to the largest charter-boat fleet in all of Florida. There is easily 150 vessels which specialize in catering to just about any and every angler possible. Fishing in destin is phenominal and anglers can plan on hooking beautifull, fresh fish such as these: grouper, amberjack, snapper, mackerel, cobia, sailfish, wahoo, tuna, and blue marlin.

Although Destin, Florida has many nicknames, "the Emerald Coast" is one that most clearly defines it. This is the most gorgeous of all Florida’s beaches, and my particular number 1! With Destin's snow white, sugar, sand beaches along with its glistening, crystal clear, emerald waters, when it comes to a beautiful sunset on one of Florida’s many beaches it just not get any better than this! Destin, Florida will redefine the meaning of fairytale before your very eyes. It is just one of those magical places you have to see for yourself in order comprehend how magnificent it truly is.

Destin, Florida is a must see with it's numerous shopping outlets, restaraunts, clubs, as well as the Village of Bay town Wharf. The Baytown Village, located in Sand Destin, is a little piece of New Orlean’s Bourbon Street located in Sand Destin. Sand Destin’s Baytown Village is stunning, visitors both young and old will be awe struck the moment they set foot into Baytown’s vibrant community. Day or night, you will have a complete blast while gawking at everything the Baytown Village has to offer.

*** http://hubpages.com/hub/Destin-Florida-and-its-Emerald-Coast-a-travelors-Diamond-and-a-tourists-dream ***

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Seaside is not a vacation development. It is a vibrant and evolving community of both year-round residents and seasonal guests united in the belief that life is enhanced when people interact, learn and share through experience. Seaside located in the heart of Northwest Florida's Emerald Coast. It's community is made up of beautiful, unique residences and guest houses that blend in seamlessly with pristine beaches overlooking the crystal clear waters of the Gulf Of Mexico. Seaside is designed to reflect a simpler time, when meals were shared, stories entertained and walking was how people got around. Designed by internationally acclaimed town planners, and painted from a palette borrowed from the sunset and sea, the cottages of 80-acre Seaside Beach could have been cut from storybooks. Seaside beach and community is the exact location where the movie, starring Jim Carey "Truman Show" was filmed in 1998, which truly shows its guest they are actually staying in a town right out of the movies.

Florida’s coastal communities of Apalachicola, St. George Island, and Eastpoint make up Florida’s “forgotten coast”. St. George is a magnificent Island town located directly in the heart of it. St. George offers its visitors an authentic taste of Florida’s beautiful Gulf Coast. On St. George Island you will find miles of un-crowded pristine beaches, an endless supply of shallow bays and waterways, excellent fishing and acres of National and State forests to explore. Combine all this with some of the finest oysters and seafood in the country and your stay at St. George Island is sure to be perfect!

Have a secret that's just too good to keep to yourself? That's how the locals feel sitting on the hidden treasure that's Pass-a-Grille Beach. From the broad white sand beaches here you can see the pink towers of St. Pete Beach's sprawling Don CeSar Beach Resort to the north. But south of Eighth Street (Pass-a-grille's main boutique and café-lined drag), the sands are peacefully empty all the way to the tip of the peninsula.

Even the tourists visiting Pass-a-Grill Beach become locals of sorts, as many tend to return year after year, staying in the same hotel rooms or rental cottages. The town stretches for blocks along the water, but is only two blocks wide from the bay to the beach, with no high rise in sight. The historical houses, art studios and unique eateries sandwiched in the sandy lanes are best explored barefoot atop a beach cruiser.

**STAY**at The ultra-privateISLANDS END RESORT, which sits at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, where the channel empties into the gulf. Individual cottages are linked by boardwalks through tropical gardens, and a fishing pier juts into the clear waters.

Fishermen have long been lured to Sebastion State Inlet park, where daily hauls off the pier -snook, redfish and mackerel, to name a few, are often more impressive than what the boats bring in from offshore.

Beach lovers adore the 3-mile stretch of saline oceanfront here. Surf crowds frequent Sebastian Inlet, paddling out to catch the big waves, while meantime you will have the beach practically to yourself.

The Sebastian State Park is situated roughly at exact pooint on Florida's east coast where the water makes that subtle change from midnight blue to Caribbean-like turquoise. At Sebastian Inlet's beaches are a major sea turtle nesting area and home to an impressive array of bird life thrive, nature reigns supreme here. Visitors often spot bottlenose dolphins and manatees swimming in the park's waters. Meanwhile, Sebastian Inlet's jetty attracts wild life of a different sort when fans of surfing descend for the annual wave-riding contests held here. Monster Hole, a break that requires a 1/3-mile paddle to reach, is one of East Coast America's most respected proving grounds, and any surfers dream.

Untouched is the perfect word to describe Dog Island. Located on Florida's panhandle, just 3.5 miles off-shore from Carrabelle, Florida in Franklin County. Dog island is known for its natural conservation, many refer to Dog Island as the Galapagos of Florida. Dog Island is located in the northwestern Florida Gulf coast just 3.5 miles off-shore from Carrabelle, Florida in Franklin County. The island is located in the Apalachicola Bay and is the eastern-most part of a chain of barrier islands located off the northern panhandle of Florida.

There’s only one hotel on the roughly 7-mile-long island. There is one way and one way only for travelors to reach the exclusive Dog Island, and that is by taking a ten minute ride on a passenger ferry from Carabelle in the Florida panhandle (50 miles southwest of Tallahassee). You’re guaranteed quiet beaches with powdered-sugar sand, shells galore and aquamarine waters. The only place to stay on the island is the Pelican Inn, where you can snag one of eight oceanfront studios for your own private retreat.

One of Florida's best choices for beautiful shelling, perfect sunsets and sandy white beaches. Foster Beach is located near North Captiva’s much more popular and cultivated cousin, Sanibel Island, Foster Beach in North Captiva has been a popular choice for beach front weddings and romantic getaways where couples can lounge in discreet splendor and gaze at the blue waters for as far as the eye can see. Foster Beach is only accessible by boat, but is worth the effort.

One of the Florida keys many secret beaches, Sombrero Beach in Marathon, is a wonderful free beach. With its picturesque white sandy beach with a cove to the north, Sombrero Beach is a sea turtle nesting beach haven. Sombrero Beach is located on the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Marathon in the Florida Keys. The beach is great for picnics because it has plenty of shade, pavilions, barbecue pits, playground, showers, restrooms, and free parking.

Blue Mountain Beach’s community celebrates the name “Florida Panhandle Pure & Simple” because of the clean and clear water, which appears vivid emerald-green due to its purity and the shallowness of the gulf. Only 345 feet above sea level at its highest point,Blue Mountain Beach’s towering sand dunes were said to have first been mistaken for mountains by early Eurpoeans settlers after being at sea for months. Blue Mountain Beach got its name from the Gulf Coast lupine, which is a plant that lives in the dune scrub along Florida’s Emerald Coast. With its fuzzy blue leaves and purplish blue flowers that look like like tiny sweet peas, it is easy to speculate that the blue flowers covering the tall dunes gave Blue Mountain its unusual name.

Relaxing is easy on the beautifull Siesta Key: sand soft and white as sugar, brilliant sunshine and azure waters abound. But make sure to come prepared with so much to see and do, it's almost impossible to lie still on this island! Siesta Key's beach is as perfect as a stretch of sand could be. Whether you curl your toes in it, run your fingers through it, or bask in the sun on it, the allure of Siesta Key beach is contagious. Beach lovers flock to the silky shores of Siesta Key to take advantage of the plush sand and the tranquil gulf waters. Siesta Key Beach is perfect for strolling, shell collecting, or even renting a catamaran or kayak from one of the many beach concessionaires and taking to the water. Siesta Key is the perfect choice for your next family vacation venue, and boasts beachside picnic areas along with playgrounds for young kids. Siesta Key's quaint town is also home to candlelit restaurants and cozy rental cottages, which is more than perfect for anyones next romantic getaway. On Siesta Key visitors quickly learn there is never a dull moment because as soon as the Florida sun sets, Siesta Key's nightlife kicks in. Siesta Village is the island's bustling heart, it is filled with bars, restaurants and shops of all kinds. This allows visitors can sip a daiquiri, munch on conch fritters or peruse the wares of local artisans, the sky is the limits. Siesta Key makes it easy to indulge in the art of island living, I highly recommend that anyone looking for anyone looking for a unforgettable experience they will never forget, to give Siesta key a try, it will blow your mind.