Customer Reviews

Florida Beaches (Foghorn Outdoors)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you thought travel guides were written by chamber of commerce clones or paid hirelings of the booster flacks, then this book will make you rethink that stereotype. It's funny, raw, irreverent, honest, literate, in fact, it reads like something written by the heirs to the travel writing tradition of Jacks London and Kerouac. This is no b.s.

Hard to believe these two guys spent so much time in Florida without discovering what a sandspur really is. (They refer to "sandspur lots" as lots with sand and spurs. The sandspur is a common weed, well-documented in Florida.) But this doesn't seem to be the book's only shortcoming. Evidently the authors' idea of a good beach is a spring-break spot, fresh with wet T-shirts and tequila shooters. That's okay for some, but there are Floridians who find other things about the beach compelling.

With over 400 beaches, Florida is Mecca for those with a need for sun and sand. This 681 page guide is a godsend to those that live for the bronzed body, fun, and zany people that these beaches offer.

This guide is the most accurate, comprehensive guide on Florida beaches to date. The authors have spent over 17 years in compiling this great guide. The comments and selections are theirs alone. The guide is full of facts (Florida is a 447 mile peninsula), stats (Florida grew in habitats by 23% in one decade) and hard information (the main reason to buy the guide). Puterbaugh and Bisbort, as the writing will evidence, are conservationists, strongly lauding eco-tourism. Kudos.

Though the nightlife sections in this guide are far the best available, the accommodations and costal cuisine sections are paltry and poor; nowhere near the strength of better state guides. Puterbaugh and Bisbort selected the 25 "Top" beaches among the 400 beaches in Florida, but sadly omitted a map showing where these 25 beaches are located. Thus you do the work via the index.

I used this guide while traveling for a month through Florida. `Florida Beaches' could be a stand alone guide, but I recommend that you use it in concert with an excellent state guide, such as Frommer's Florida (see my review). Together, these guides will direct you to the best Florida has to offer. 4.5 Stars. Strongly Recommended.

Florida Beaches was a most necessary travel companion during a recent trip down the Florida coast. Authors Puterbaugh and Bisbort possess an insight and humor not found in the typical travel book.