Spending a Friday in Jacksonville, Florida

In My Humble Opinion
1

After a red-eye flight I’ll be spending a Friday morning and afternoon in Jacksonville before driving off to a weekend elsewhere. I’ll be back for a few hours on Monday before my flight home.

It’s my first visit, so I’d welcome tips on how to spend that time. My first priority is the beach – which is your favorite? It would also be nice to find an interesting, walkable neighborhood and a good local place to have lunch.

No interest in museums or galleries (my brain’s a little foggy after a red-eye). I’ll have a rental car, but wouldn’t mind parking it for the day and walking or taking transit.

Also, the BEACH! Maybe I should just spend the whole day there.

Thanks in advance,
E.

2

All 3 are fine, no significant difference, tho if you want a more wilder beach experience, I’d recommend either Hanna Park, or Huguenot Park on the other side of the ferry (which is also fun to ride). Plenty of good restaurants at the end of Atlantic Blvd. on or near the ocean.

3

Or you could get out of town (frankly Jacksonville is the most boring city of its size) and go somewhere like Fernandina Beach, just up the road a bit. Nice beach, lovely state park, restaurants, beautiful historic downtown.