Customer Reviews

Moon Florida Beaches: The Best Places to Swim, Play, Eat, and Stay (Moon Handbooks)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book goes well beyond just the facts and figures. It gives the author's analysis, opinions, and very good advice. In-depth, detailed. Even discusses damage to each beach area caused by the recent busy hurricane seasons. Don't waste your vacation going to the wrong beach -- get help choosing the right beach from this book.

This book is a guide for those who like beaches. It is not a book for those who like condos, bars, and pretentious "luxury" high rise hotels. The authors offer information on every accessible beach in the state, which is an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. I have lived in Florida my entire life and have visited the majority of these beaches (quite a few I discovered only by reading this book), and the descriptions are spot on. I cannot recommend it enough, unless you want to know where to get drunk with college students on spring break, where to buy a pair of Ferragamos, or where to see an unbroken wall of giant concrete eyesores.

So, I bought this book because some girlfriends and I plan on taking a roadtrip to Florida this summer. Since we're coming from Texas, our first stop will be along the panhandle. So I start there. Which is apparently the back of the book.

I bought this book to read about beaches of Florida. I'm attempting to learn about what to see and do in and around the Destin area and, so far, all I've gotten are two pages about how Destin is overpopulated with condos and townhomes. In fact, the first sentence about Destin reads: "Destin is a city out of control." It then blabs on about overdevlopment in the area, how much the city is overrun, and how much it sucks that the people of Destin let this happen.


That's all fine and dandy if I were reading a book about overdeveloped cities or something...I'm not. I'm reading a book about Florida beaches and what to see and do. In fact, on the cover, it says: The Best Places to Swim, Play, Eat and Stay. This is what I want to read about. I don't want to read about why you think Destin is overrun by condos and the like.

Now, if you can get past all the ranting, the book then provides a listing of attractions. Looks like they took it right out of a phonebook or something. And I suppose I could have picked up a Destin phonebook in our hotel room and gotten more helpful information from that. At least I would be sure to skip all the ranting.

This book has the title Florida Beaches, and we bought it thinking it would be about, I don't know, maybe Florida Beaches? It isn't. Or at least, it mostly isn't. The book offers the author's opinions on everything from voting to condo development to nightlife. Of beaches, however, you'll learn very little. You will NOT find answers to the questions you may have about the beaches, such as: Is the beach a good one for snorkeling? Where can you park? How much parking is available and what time does it fill up? What is a good time of year to go? When is it crowded? Is it clean? What else is nearby after visiting the beach? And so on.

If you want to learn about Florida Beaches, look for another book.