The Beaches
Three walkable beach towns just east of the city, Jacksonville, Neptune and Atlantic Beach, with a shared town center, a classic pier, good surf and fresh Mayport seafood.
Updated June 2026
Three towns, one shoreline, zero pretension
Locals just call it "the Beaches," and the funny thing is how much the character shifts block by block. Roll south and you're in Jacksonville Beach, the lively, younger end with the pier, the breweries and the most going on. Drift north and the pace drops into Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach, two low-key, local-feeling towns that share one walkable hub right where they meet. Keep going and you'll hit Mayport, a genuine working shrimp village where the seafood comes off the boats onto a paper plate.
This is the stretch for anyone who wants a real, unflashy Florida beach day. It suits surfers, families, and the kind of traveler who'd rather eat where the boats unload than at a chain. If you're chasing high-rise resort glitz, you'll want to look elsewhere, because the charm out here is exactly that it stays a little scruffy and genuinely lived-in. You can pair a day at the Beaches with our wider beaches & outdoors guide, or use it as your home base while you knock out the city's things to do.
Out and about
What to see & do
The beauty of the Beaches is that everything strings together along one shoreline. Here's what's worth your time, roughly south to north.
Come hungry
Where to eat & drink
From decades-old oyster bars to paper-plate shrimp shacks on the river, this is fish-camp country. Eat where the boats unload and you can't go too far wrong.
Browse the strip
Where to shop
The Beaches lean independent. Skip the malls and wander the Town Center, where the shops are small, local, and made for browsing on foot.
Do it like a local
A perfect beach day
South to north and back again. Here's how we'd thread the whole strip into one easy, unhurried day.
- Start with a morning beach walk and sunrise from the Jacksonville Beach Pier, then grab coffee nearby.
- Drive or bike north to Beaches Town Center; browse the boutiques and surf shops, then eat lunch at Sliders Oyster Bar or North Beach Fish Camp.
- Head up to Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park to walk the trails, watch the surfers at The Poles, or kayak the lake.
- Cap the afternoon in Mayport with fresh local shrimp at Safe Harbor Seafood or Singleton's Seafood Shack, watching the boats on the river.
- Loop back to Jacksonville Beach for a sunset beer at Green Room Brewing.
Keep exploring
More of the First Coast
The Beaches are one piece of the puzzle. Here's where to go next.
Beaches & Outdoors
The full rundown on every stretch of sand, park and paddle around Jacksonville.
Mayport Shrimp & Seafood
Where to find genuine off-the-boat Mayport shrimp, and what to order once you do.
Downtown & Riverfront
The other side of the city, where the St. Johns bends through the heart of Jacksonville.
Southside & St. Johns Town Center
The big-box shopping and dining hub when you want the polished, easy-parking side of town.
Ready to build the rest of the trip? Line up your things to do, find a base in where to stay, scan the calendar on our events page, or wander further afield with our day trips.
Common questions
What are the Jacksonville beaches?
The Beaches are three walkable beach towns just east of the city: Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach. Jax Beach is the lively south end with the pier and breweries, while Neptune and Atlantic are quieter and share one walkable hub at the Beaches Town Center.
Is Jacksonville Beach free?
Walking the sand is free, and you can stroll the hard-packed beach continuously between Jacksonville, Neptune and Atlantic Beach with no fee or plan required. The Jacksonville Beach Pier charges a small fee to walk out on it, and Hanna Park charges around $5 per car at the gate.
Where can I eat real Mayport shrimp?
Head up to the Mayport fishing village, where Safe Harbor Seafood is a dockside market-and-restaurant and one of the surest places to get genuine local Mayport shrimp. Singleton's Seafood Shack is the other classic, a rustic paper-plate shack right on the river.
How do you get around the Jacksonville beaches?
The towns are compact and flat, so the smart move is to park once and walk or rent a beach cruiser between the pier, Town Center and beach access points. You'll want a car for Mayport's shrimp shacks, about 10 to 15 minutes north of Atlantic Beach.
Where is the best surfing at the Jacksonville beaches?
The Poles, reached through the north end of Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, is Northeast Florida's best-known surf break. It's best suited to intermediate-to-advanced surfers, so if you're learning, watch from the sand first and pick your day.