Some places you visit because you’ve never been there before.

Some places you return to because they already feel like yours.

For our family, that’s Cape San Blas and Port St. Joe.

This area isn’t really a vacation destination for us anymore.

It’s more like…

our annual exhale.

We usually go during the summer with extended family, rent a big house in Port St. Joe, bring the dogs and settle in.

Then when we want the beach?

We head to Cape San Blas.

There isn’t pressure to see everything.

There isn’t a schedule telling us where we need to be every hour.

It’s:

Beach.

Fishing.

Golf carts.

Seafood.

Family.

Dogs with sandy feet.

Birthday cake.

Ice cream.

And occasionally…

figuring out what time it actually is. 😂

Tiny Trip Snapshot 🚆

Where: Cape San Blas + Port St. Joe, Florida

Part of Florida: The Forgotten Coast

Trip Style: Family beach week + absolutely no desire to over-schedule ourselves

Who Goes: Our family + extended family + travel dogs

Where We Stay: Usually a big rental house in Port St. Joe

Where We Beach: Cape San Blas

Our Priorities: Beach, fishing, food and family time

Pace: SLOW

Would We Go Back?

We do.

Again and again. ❤️

Florida’s Forgotten Coast 🌴

If you’ve never heard much about Cape San Blas or Port St. Joe…

that’s kind of the point.

This stretch of Florida is part of what’s known as the Forgotten Coast.

And compared with some of Florida’s much more developed beach destinations, it really can feel like somebody forgot to tell everyone else about it.

You still get gorgeous emerald Gulf water.

White sand.

Beautiful sunsets.

Seafood.

Fishing.

Boating.

All the things I want from a Florida beach vacation.

What you don’t get is a giant high-rise resort every twelve feet.

Port St. Joe is a sleepy little coastal town.

And I mean sleepy.

This is not the place where you’re going to dinner at 9 p.m. and then asking:

“Okay…what are we doing next?”

Because Port St. Joe may have already gone to bed.

By around 9 p.m., the whole town feels like it’s saying:

“Okay everybody. That’s enough excitement for today.”

And honestly?

That’s part of why we love it.

Wait…THIS Happened Here?! 📖

You know me.

Give me a beach and I’m happy.

Give me a beach with a bizarre history and now we’re REALLY talking.

Because sleepy little Port St. Joe has a surprisingly dramatic past.

The original town was called St. Joseph, and in the 1830s it wasn’t sleepy at all.

It was a booming port city and you can actually still see them building ships in downtown PSJ.

In fact, by the late 1830s it had become one of the most important communities in territorial Florida. In 1838, delegates actually gathered here to draft Florida’s first state constitution—which is why Port St. Joe is still known as Florida’s Constitution City.

And then…

everything went wrong.

In 1841, a devastating yellow fever epidemic swept through St. Joseph.

The Florida State Archives notes that within weeks, a huge portion of the town’s population had died. Many of the survivors fled, leaving what had been a thriving city largely deserted.

And apparently that wasn’t enough.

A few years later, a major hurricane and storm surge devastated what remained of the old town. Historical accounts differ slightly on whether that final storm occurred in 1843 or 1844, but either way the result was essentially the same:

Old St. Joseph disappeared.

Eventually the community was rebuilt, and modern Port St. Joe developed nearby.

But I LOVE knowing that history while we’re there.

Because now when you’re driving around this quiet little beach town thinking:

“There is absolutely nothing happening here.”

you also know:

“Well…there USED to be.”

And honestly, there’s something fitting about a place with that history eventually becoming part of Florida’s Forgotten Coast.

It was once one of the most important cities in territorial Florida.

Then disease and disaster nearly erased it.

And today?

It’s this peaceful little coastal community where my biggest concern is usually whether we’re going to the beach before or after we get ice cream.

History is weird. 😂

Port St. Joe vs. Cape San Blas — Know the Difference 🚆

This is probably the MOST useful thing I can tell someone planning their first trip here.

When our family says:

“We’re going to Port St. Joe!”

we’re really talking about Port St. Joe + Cape San Blas together.

They’re two pieces of the same vacation for us.

Port St. Joe = Our Home Base

Port St. Joe sits on St. Joseph Bay.

This is where we usually rent our big house.

It’s where we grocery shop.

It’s where many of our restaurants are.

It’s where we get our birthday cakes and ice cream.

And the bay itself is beautiful for boating, fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, scalloping and exploring.

Cape San Blas = Our Beach

When we want:

white sand + emerald Gulf water + beach chairs + spend-all-day-at-the-beach

we drive out to Cape San Blas.

And this is the part I think people who love the better-known Florida Panhandle beaches need to know:

You don’t have to give up that beautiful emerald-blue Gulf water just because you keep traveling farther down the coastline.

Cape San Blas has gorgeous emerald Gulf water and sugar-white sand too.

It just comes with a VERY different atmosphere.

Quieter.

Sleepier.

Dog-friendly.

Beach bonfires.

Golf carts.

Fishing.

Beach houses instead of giant resort towers.

This is my speed.

And Port St. Joe and Cape San Blas are close enough that we don’t feel like we’re choosing between them.

We’re using both.

Tiny Money Tip 💰

We’ve often found that we can get more house for our money in Port St. Joe than we can staying directly on Cape San Blas.

And when you’re traveling with extended family and dogs, that matters.

I’d rather have:

BIG house + kitchen + room for everybody + short drive to Cape San Blas

than spend considerably more just to have the house sitting directly on the beach.

That’s one of the ways we make this annual trip work for a big family.

The Port Inn is super cute if you are looking for a hotel stay instead.

PS There are no big hotel chains down there!

Save on the things that don’t matter much to you. Spend on the experiences that do.

Getting There Without Flying 🚗

You already know how we’re getting there.

We’re driving.

This is exactly the kind of trip where having our own vehicle makes sense anyway.

We’re bringing beach stuff.

Fishing stuff.

Dog stuff.

Food.

Luggage.

And enough miscellaneous family belongings to make you question whether we’re going to Florida for a week or permanently relocating.

Nobody is weighing my suitcase.

Nobody is telling me my bag is two inches too big.

Load it up. Let’s go.

The only thing flying is our kite!

The House Is Part of the Vacation 🏡

For this trip, I don’t want a hotel.

I want a house.

A BIG house.

We’re usually traveling with extended family, and having everybody under one roof is part of what makes this trip different from our others.

There’s a kitchen.

Room to spread out.

Space for the dogs.

People coming in from the beach.

Somebody cooking.

Somebody getting ready to go fishing.

Kids wandering around.

People sitting outside.

Wet towels appearing in places wet towels have no business being.

It feels less like staying somewhere on vacation and more like temporarily moving our family to the beach.

And I love that.

The House That Apparently Existed in Two Time Zones ⏰😂

Now let’s discuss something that confused us considerably more than it should have.

This area sits close to the Eastern/Central Time boundary.

Close enough that apparently our electronics occasionally became…

confused.

I am not exaggerating when I say we’d be in one part of the rental and a phone would show Central Time…

then walk into another part of the SAME HOUSE and another device would show Eastern Time.

Same house.

Different rooms.

WHAT TIME IS IT?!

😂

Eventually we learned not to blindly trust whatever time our phones had decided upon.

Tiny Tip 🚆

If you’re staying in this part of the Florida Panhandle and you have a reservation, charter, checkout time or anything else that actually matters:

confirm the time zone.

Don’t assume your phone knows what’s going on.

Ours clearly did not.

This Is the Vacation Where We Actually Relax

This is NOT one of my typical:

“EVERYBODY GET DRESSED! WE HAVE SIX ACTIVITIES TODAY!”

vacations.

And I love it for that.

We go to Cape San Blas.

Ride around on golf carts.

Search for seashells.

Fish.

Hang around the house.

Cook.

Go find something good to eat.

Come back.

Sit around.

Go back to the beach and have a bonfire.

That’s basically the itinerary.

And nobody is asking:

“What are we doing tomorrow?”

I don’t know.

Probably the same thing.

There are destinations I visit because I want to see everything.

This is where I go because I don’t need to.

Cape San Blas Beach Days 🌊

The beach isn’t something we have to squeeze into the schedule here.

The beach IS the schedule.

Cape San Blas gives us the kind of beach vacation we actually want.

The water.

The sand.

The space.

And the DOGS. 🐾

Many Gulf County beaches allow leashed dogs, which is one of the biggest reasons this area works so well for us. There are exceptions—including the state park—so always check the rules for your particular stretch of beach before bringing your dog.

Depending on where you’re staying and the current beach-access rules, there are also places where you can drive onto the beach.

Which means…

the golf cart can actually become part of beach day.

And then there are beach bonfires.

Beach.

Dogs.

Golf cart.

Bonfire.

Sunset.

Tell me again why I need a giant resort?

Tiny Tip 🚆

Beach driving, golf-cart access, bonfires and dog rules can vary depending on exactly where you are, so check the current Gulf County rules before your trip rather than assuming every section of beach has identical rules.

The Travel Dogs Come Too 🐾

Our travel dogs almost always come with us on this trip.

And they LOVE it.

Especially our pitty.

There are few things in life apparently more satisfying than putting her little…

toe beans in the sand.

She is a beach dog.

And having a house rather than a hotel makes traveling with dogs SO much easier.

There’s room.

We aren’t navigating hotel hallways every time somebody needs to go outside.

And they’re part of the vacation instead of something we have to make arrangements for back home.

Honestly, watching dogs experience the beach might be entertainment all by itself.

Okay…But What Is There to DO? 😂

Here’s the funny part.

I keep telling you that we go here to do nothing.

But that doesn’t mean there’s actually nothing to do.

There is PLENTY.

We just don’t try to do all of it in one trip.

Explore St. Joseph Bay

Don’t treat the bay like it’s just the water you drive past on your way to the Gulf.

It’s beautiful and surprisingly clear.

Kayak.

Paddleboard.

Snorkel.

Fish.

Take a boat or jet skis out

Or just slow down and enjoy it.

Rent a Boat or Jet Ski 🚤

If you want to spend a day on the water, check out Bayou Boat Rentals.

Pack food.

Grab everybody.

Get out on the water.

Fish.

Look for dolphins.

Explore.

This is my kind of attraction.

Go Shell Hunting 🐚

Take the boat out toward the peninsula and go looking for shells.

And you can find some BEAUTIFUL ones.

This isn’t:

“Here’s the shell somebody bought from a souvenir store.”

This is:

“LOOK WHAT I FOUND!”

Infinitely more fun.

Take a Sunset Horseback Ride 🐴

Want one of those:

“Okay, THIS feels like vacation”

experiences?

Go horseback riding on the beach.

Broke-A-Toe Horseback Riding offers rides in the area, and a sunset horseback ride along the coast fits the whole Cape San Blas vibe perfectly.

Not rushed.

Not crowded.

Just horses, beach and sunset.

Yes please.

Lighthouse + Turtle Time 🐢

You can also check out the Cape San Blas Lighthouse and learn about the sea turtles that nest along this coastline.

This is where Mom gets to sneak some education into vacation again.

History.

Wildlife.

Beach.

Everybody wins.

Everybody Gets Their Thing 🎣

And then there’s fishing.

If you’ve read literally any other trip we’ve taken, you’ve probably noticed that fishing has a tendency to appear.

That’s because of my husband.

Sean and the kids enjoy it.

And Port St. Joe is exactly the kind of place where fishing naturally becomes part of the week.

Some people are fishing.

A kid is boogie boarding on the shoreline.

Somebody else is building a sand castle on the beach.

Somebody’s riding the golf cart.

Someone is probably hungry.

Nobody needs the entire family to participate in every single activity.

Everybody gets their thing.

Don’t Leave Without Fresh Fish 🐟

If you like seafood, check out one of the local fresh seafood markets before you leave.

What they have can change depending on what’s actually been caught.

Which is exactly how it SHOULD work.

We’re not looking for:

“What does the corporate distribution center have this week?”

We’re looking for:

“What came off the boat?”

We almost always take fresh fish home with us.

Bring a cooler.

Stop at a seafood market.

See what’s fresh that day.

Then extend the vacation by one more dinner when you get home.

Where We Eat 🍴

We cook a lot at the house, especially when we’re traveling with extended family.

But we definitely have our regular spots.

Krazyfish Grille 🐟

Krazyfish is one we keep coming back to for seafood.

Shrimp and grits is delicious but so is fish and grits! They have it and it is my favorite!

If we’re in Port St. Joe, there’s a very good chance we’re going to end up here at some point.

Howy’s 🍕

When everybody wants pizza?

Howy’s.

Easy.

Casual.

Exactly what you want after spending the day at the beach.

Quatro Locos Tacos & Cantina 🌮

For Mexican, we like Quatro Locos.

It’s also a nice change when you’ve eaten enough seafood that someone in the family finally says:

“Can we eat something ELSE?”

The Italian Kitchen 🍝

Another good option when we want a break from seafood is The Italian Kitchen.

Beach vacation does not require eating seafood seven consecutive nights.

Although Sean may disagree.

The White Marlin 🦪

When we want something a little nicer, The White Marlin & Oysterette is another one we like.

And remember:

this is a sleepy beach town.

Check restaurant hours before you go.

Port St. Joe is not waiting until 10 p.m. for you to decide you’re hungry.

Tiny Traveler Sweet Stop 🍰

Our family apparently looked at the calendar and collectively decided:

Summer seems like an excellent time for everyone to be born.

Which means we’ve celebrated plenty of birthdays here.

And birthdays mean cake.

Bayside Bakery 🎂

Bayside Bakery has become one of our go-to places.

We’ve ordered birthday cakes there more than once, along with pastries and other treats, and they’ve never disappointed us.

At this point, the cake has become part of the tradition.

Beach.

Family.

Birthday.

Bayside cake.

Sugar Shack 🍦

And then there’s Sugar Shack for ice cream.

Because obviously a beach vacation requires ice cream.

I don’t make the rules.

Beach all day → shower → pile everybody together → go get ice cream.

That’s summer vacation.

Why We Keep Coming Back ❤️

Our normal life is busy.

Work.

School.

Sports.

Appointments.

Schedules.

Places we need to be.

Things somebody needs from us.

And even some of our vacations are busy.

There are trips where I want to wake up early because there’s SO MUCH I want to see.

I’ll happily walk 20,000 steps.

Make the reservation.

Take the tour.

See the thing.

Eat at the restaurant.

Go, go, go.

I love those trips.

But I don’t want every trip to feel that way.

Cape San Blas and Port St. Joe serve a completely different purpose for our family.

This is where we slow down.

Where everybody can stay together in one big house.

Where the kids boogie board.

Where we stay up late playing a friendly game of poker.

Where the dogs get sandy toe beans.

Where somebody goes fishing.

Where we eat birthday cake.

Where you can ride down to the beach, build a bonfire, watch the sunset and realize you haven’t looked at the time in hours.

And if you DO look at the time…

there’s a decent chance somebody else’s phone says it’s an hour earlier.

How I’d Do Cape San Blas & Port St. Joe Again 🚆

Exactly like this.

Stay in Port St. Joe.

Beach at Cape San Blas.

Rent the big house.

Bring the family.

Bring the dogs.

Bring the fishing gear.

Pack the cooler.

Rent a boat one day.

Look for shells.

Ride horses at sunset.

Buy whatever fish came in fresh off the boat.

Order the birthday cake.

Get the ice cream.

And resist the urge to fill every empty space on the calendar.

Because the empty spaces are actually the point.

Some vacations are about seeing as much of the world as possible.

This one is about sitting still long enough to enjoy the people we’re seeing it with.

Some places you visit because you’ve never been

Some places you return to because they already feel like yours.

For us?

That’s Cape San Blas and Port St. Joe. ❤️

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Tiny traveler. Big adventures. No airplanes required. 🚆❤️