A Weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
While most vacationers head to the south of Florida (Miami, the Keys, Orlando) or to the Panhandle (Pensacola, Destin, Panama City), they miss out on the secret allure of northern Florida, specifically, the Jacksonville area. Jacksonville and its surrounding beaches along the coast of the Atlantic are fun beach towns, complete with the “surfer dude” attitude and hole-in-the-wall restaurants and shops. My home away from home every July is Ponte Vedra Beach. Looking for a great place to vacation for the weekend? Look no further.
Saturday
6:30am - Get an early start and catch the sunrise at Jax Beach or Ponte Vedra Beach. It’s a sight you won’t want to miss! Go for a run, walk, or just simply bask in the rising sun.
7:30am - Your post-sunrise breakfast at Players Café is an experience. Hand drawn on the walls of the diner are more than 3,000 caricatures featuring Ponte Vedra locals and golf luminaries, including Arnold Palmer and Jim Furyk. Getting there early is key, as Players is a breakfast hotspot on the weekends.
Players Café
262 Solana Road
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
9:00am - You came to the beach to get away and relax, so to the beach you will go! Pack a lunch and snacks and hit the sand. Jacksonville Beach is free to the public and extends 22 miles through Atlantic and Neptune Beaches up the coast. Want to see it all? Jump aboard the Beaches Trolley for just $1.50. Or check out the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier for a close up view of the Atlantic or to cast a line and try your luck fishing.
Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier
503 North 1st Street
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
3:00pm - When you’ve tired of watching people and soaking up the sun, it’s time for a beach treat. Rita’s Italian Ice is a family favorite Italian ice and custard shop located on the main drag of Jacksonville Beach. While the Italian ice is the popular choice, the custard can’t be beat. Order a vanilla and chocolate swirl with rainbow sprinkles. Not only will it taste delicious, but it will look picture perfect among the palm trees for your Instagram.
Rita’s Italian Ice
393 3rd Street N
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
6:30pm - After regrouping in the afternoon, head back out to dinner at Eleven South, a sea inspired, elegant bistro and bar in Jax Beach. Order a small plate to start, maybe the Smoked Salmon Bruschetta or Lobster Mac & Cheese, and then treat yourself to a signature steak prepared in the open flame wood grill. Not looking for something too fancy? Al’s Pizza is the place to go for a great pie or calzone.
Eleven South
216 11th Ave. S
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
Al’s Pizza
635 A1A N
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
Sunday
8:00am - Ready to get in the “best shape of your life”? Take a class with Shannon Hegarty at Down Under Fitness. Fairly new to Jax Beach, Shannon retired from a twelve-year professional rugby career in Australia and started designing fitness classes and training sessions around high intensity interval training (HIIT). A 45-minute class will have your heart pumping!
Down Under Fitness
1043 3rd Street S
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
10:30am - Ponte Vedra Beach’s claim to fame is golf. Where else to play 18 than at the famed TPC Sawgrass course itself? Channel your inner Jordan Spieth on the 17th Island Hole. Or test your clubs at the courses at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club or Marsh Landing.
TPC Sawgrass
110 Championship Way
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
1:00pm - After your round, grab lunch at the local favorite spot, Cruisers Grill. Whether you order a Cruiser burger, Mahi Mahi tacos, or a “soft dog,” you cannot go wrong for the “euphoria inducing” feeling they promise. As you leave the restaurant with a tootsie pop in hand, you’ll be able to say you’ve experienced the laid-back beach lifestyle Cruisers claims to embody.
Cruisers Grill
319 23rd Ave S
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
3:00pm - You could spend hours exploring the trinket shops in Jacksonville Beach. But the place to go to become a real “Salt Life” lifestyle surfer is the Jax Beach Surf Shop. Locals and visitors alike will stop by for rentals of all kinds, surfboards, tandem bikes, stand up paddle boards, skateboards, and more. Their apparel is great for souvenirs, too. The real adventure, however, is a surf lesson. Choose a private or group lesson for an hour or 90 minutes, and they’ll guarantee that you’ll be standing as you ride a gnarly wave into shore.
Jax Beach Surf Shop
221 1st Street N
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
6:30pm - Your last meal during your getaway weekend should be special. So raise a glass at Restaurant Medure. The chefs welcome guests to “experience a wide range of flavors from around the world.” Sample anything from caviar to salmon crème brulee to dry aged ribeye, this restaurant will not disappoint.
Restaurant Medure
818 A1A N
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
Other Things to Do
St. Augustine
About 45 minutes from the Jacksonville area, St. Augustine is known as the Nation’s Oldest City. In 1565, on the Feast Day of St. Augustine, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles saw the coast of Florida in the distance and planted the Spanish flag into the soil on September 8. Menendez was under the authority of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon who named the peninsula La Florida. Head to the Castillo de San Marcos and take a tour of the fortress where Menendez settled with the Spanish. See demonstrations of historical weapons, talk to a park ranger about the culture, or picnic on the Fort’s green.
1 S Castillo Dr
Saint Augustine, FL 32084
Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve
The GTM Reserve is 74,000 acres of coastal lands that cover Ponte Vedra Beach and down the coast. Created to serve as an education center with interpretive activities to stress the importance of estuarine ecosystems. Go hiking and find out about the peninsula’s 5,000 years of history, European plantation life, and efforts made to preserve the resources. Join a beach exploration and learn about seashells and animals that call the beach home.
505 Guana River Road
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082