My daughters and I love our “Galentine’s” tradition. Every year we take a “girls only” trip close to Valentine’s Day. This year we chose Jupiter, Florida! The best part is my college bestie is lucky to call Jupiter home and we wanted to celebrate Galentine’s with her.
Jupiter is on the East Coast of Florida (AKA the Atlantic Side), just north of West Palm Beach. We flew direct from Chicago into Fort Lauderdale, but you can also fly into West Palm Beach (not direct).
After our visit to Jupiter, we quickly decided that this is our new favorite town in Florida and here’s why.
WHY IT’S OUR NEW FAV PLACE
Jupiter is the perfect combination of upscale Florida with top notch restaurants but also a sleepy little surf town all in one. It has world renowned golf courses, is a boaters paradise, and is the postcard for a healthy active outdoor lifestyle. Everyone soaking up that Florida rays and enjoying their hobbies on a daily basis. Floridians kayaking, YOLO boarding, swimming, windsurfing, and snorkeling all while living their best life.
BEACHES AND THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAYS
Jupiter is the ideal beach town because it has miles of beach and many public beach access points. It also has many small private intracoastal beaches along the waterways. We had so many options for fun in the sun. We drove along the intracoastal waterways and found a small private beach access (just for us) that made for the perfect day of relaxation and adventure. We set up our beach chairs and soaked up the sun on our private little patch of sand. Right behind us were mangroves that dipped their roots into the waters. My daughters played in the mangroves for hours on end. Splashing, creating forts, playing “Survivor”, and giggling. Happy kids playing in the sunshine makes everything better.
The following day we went to check out a hot spot called Cato’s Bridge. Cato’s bridge is known for clear waters, is a popular snorkeling spot, and has a public water hammock. This is a great spot if the tide is high and you get lucky with parking. It was a busy boat day near the bridge, so we found a private sandy beach where we played in the crystal waters and had front row seats to watch the beautiful yachts cruising by.
We also went to a beach close to Blowing Rocks. I can see why snorkeling is popular in this area because of the large corals and rocks on the beach that continue onto the ocean floor creating crevices for many tropical fish. Our favorite thing about this beach was the ocean waves and salt spray would splash up in between the rocks creating a fountain of fun to play in.
THE FOOD SCENE
No matter what you have a taste for, you will satisfy your taste buds in Jupiter. Be ready for everything from delicious Acai bowls to amazingly fresh seafood.
Guanabanas is a must, an island themed open aired lively spot, that has live music and a tropical breeze right off the intracoastal waterway. There are so many great options for dining, we had to make a “Must Go To” list for our next visit.
A few others that we really enjoyed were, Lynora’s for Italian, the Food shack for fresh off the boat seafood, and Lucky Shuck for a lively vibe.
THE FOOD YACHT
The Food Yacht experience is a must. A husband and wife team who are living out their passion purpose as chef and captain with daily lunch and dinner cruises on their private boat. It is a custom menu that the chef chooses to fit for each group. The food quality is top notch and they will adjust the menu to accommodate any food allergies. We sipped wine (BYOB) and feasted on amazing cuisine as we coasted through Jupiter’s intracoastal waterways during sun set. I highly recommend this for any celebration or for an elevated dining experience. Keep in mind it books up months in advance so call to reserve several months before your planned travel dates.
THE SUNRISE
When on the East Coast try a Sunrise to get your day started. We woke up before dawn and headed down to the beach to watch the sunrise. My 14 year old had this on her bucket list and we were absolutely going to check it off her list.
The girls rubbed there sleepy eyes and hopped in the car for a quick drive to the beach where we felt the cool sand beneath our feet, and watched as the bright sun peeked up from behind the horizon. The experience energized our souls and helped us to realize that although we were tiny in this big world we were also part of something so beautiful.
The next time you are looking to plan a Florida beach vacation, check out Jupiter.
I personally can not wait to go back.
XO
EVE