1. Flagler Beach

• Best For: Nostalgia. A throwback to the '50s, this Atlantic beach town has no high-rises, but rather bungalows on streets that run from the ocean to the Intracoastal. Drive the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway that cuts right through it, pull over to park and walk down the wooden stairways to dip your toes in the surf.
• Scenic Stop: The imposing A-frame marked with big, white letters that shout "Flagler Beach" from its roof marks the fishing-pier entrance. It's worth the buck to walk out to the end, take in the coastline and watch for whales or dolphins.
• Culture: The cozy downtown's Gallery of Local Art taps into the community's talent pool. Mermaid ceramics, watercolor spoonbills and color-pencil animal sketches are among the well-priced pieces.
• Fun Eats: Try the wasabi-and-honey-crusted salmon at Blue in the Topaz Hotel. After dinner, check out the carnival/museum décor. Owner Mark Lee gives tours of the upstairs rooms when they're not occupied, including the one said to be haunted.
• Sleep: The Island Cottage Oceanfront Inn is a romantic hideaway—canopy beds, fire- places, whirlpool tubs and sunrise ocean vistas. visitflagler.org

2. Palm Coast

• Best For: Experiencing quintessential Florida. From I-95's exit 289, it's a direct shot across the Palm Coast Parkway and its toll bridge to the barrier island and the Hammock Beach Resort. Except for a few low-rise homes, this scrub-lined seashore is a taste of Florida sans civilization.
• Chill Out: The sounds of the wind and the Atlantic surf blend with an occasional song- bird's tune, so hang out on the beach and enjoy the peaceful setting.
• Tee Time: On the Jack Nicklaus Ocean Course at the Club at Hammock Beach, the 18th hole runs parallel to the ocean.
• Explore: Princess Place Preserve's 1886 hunting lodge (built with tabby concrete and pine, cedar, oak and cypress timbered off the property) is an unexpected find in this nearby park where kayakers paddle through salt marshes of the Matanzas River to spot bald eagles.
• Sleep: Hammock Beach Resort's posh suites boast vibrant jewel tones and British-colonial infuences. Enjoy a dip in the heated indoor mega-pool before retiring for the evening. hammockbeach.com

3. St. Augustine

• Best For: Repeat visitors. We never tire of exploring this history-rich town, even when we've walked the old city a hundred times.
• Tour: Learn about the town's 18th-century drinking customs on the St. Augustine Pub Crawl. Departing from circa 1870 Ann O'Malley's Irish Pub, the tour stops at four other taverns to sample brews.
• Eat: Cross the Vilano Bridge and head north to Cap's on the Water. Once an old dive in the woods, this rustic spot on the Intracoastal has emerged with a menu of Florida sea- food (like Mayport shrimp) and an impressive 400-bottle wine list. Request a table on the dock under the shade of giant oaks for the sunset hour.
• Sleep: Choose the ocean instead of cobble-stone streets. Beachfront Bed & Breakfast is not your usual B&B; you might just pass it by, mistaking it for a private home. Inside, a vaulted beamed ceiling, pine-wood floors as well as a fireplace give this 1940s house on St. Augustine Beach a real homey feel. staugustinepubcrawl.com, capsonthewater.com, beachfrontbandb.com

4. Jacksonville Beach

• Best For: A stress-free hideaway. Stake out a spot just beyond the sand dunes, feel the ocean breeze and listen to the magical symphony of the Atlantic surf. A new pier, bustling bistros, bars and boutiques are just a short stroll away.
• Best Eats: Ragtime Tavern in nearby Atlantic Beach, a 20-year tradition that lives up to its slogans: "Fresh from Scratch Seafood" and "Beer Like it Ought to Be."
• Play: Simple pleasures like shelling, biking and other traditional beach activities may be all you need.
• Don't Miss: Step back in time at the Beaches Museum & History Center and climb aboard Old #7, Florida East Cost Railroad's 1911 Steam Locomotive.
• Sleep: With only 4 guest rooms (each with a view of the shore), Pelican Path B&B by the Sea makes the perfect lieu de loisir (place of leisure). pelicanpath.com, ragtimetavern.com

5. Amelia Island Jazz Festival

• Best For: Music lovers. Performances by big-time jazz musicians, like saxophonist David Sanborn, are good reasons to visit Florida's northernmost barrier island on the Atlantic coast. The Amelia Island Jazz Festival (Oct. 3-10) mixes Latin and classic concerts in venues from bars to churches. Each year the crowds get bigger, so make plans early.
• Don't Miss: Musicians play up close in an intimate, old-house setting as bread-pudding Bananas Foster wows diners at Sunday's jazz brunch held at the Beech Street Café.
• Drinks: The historic Palace Saloon on Fernandina Beach's main street is a cool place for jazz, but throwing back a few at its 100-year-old mahogany bar and then slipping around the corner to the new Karibrew Pub for a red wheat beer is the evening's perfect wrap.
• Sleep: The Florida House Inn in Fernandina Beach has a rustic, frontier-town appeal; the antelope heads and wild-turkey prints contrast with the Victorian style of other B&Bs here. Bonus: It's just steps from Centre Street shops and the sweet aroma of Fantastic Fudge on the corner. ameliaisland.com

6. Micanopy

• Best For: Antiquing. One tiny main street lined with antiques shops, an ice-cream parlor and a lunch counter runs through this little slice of Americana. In this charming town about 1½ hours north of Orlando, live oaks drip with Spanish moss as they shade historic homes that date back to well before the turn of the last century.
• Shop: Peruse vintage books including rare Civil War tomes at O. Brisky Books. Check out the extensive cameo collections at Delectable Collectibles.
• Sleep: Rock on a porch swing on the wraparound veranda of the Herlong Mansion, an 1845 masterpiece that started out as a Cracker-style farmhouse and actually evolved into a mansion with Greek-revival and Southern-colonial touches. Its Arts and Crafts interior includes charmingly creeky floors intricately laid with mahogany, maple and oak.
• Don't Miss: Handwritten love letters from the early 20th century hang throughout the manse.
• Explore: Take a guided tour of author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' old homestead nearby where she lived while writing her famous novel Cross Creek.
• Eat: The daily soups and deli sandwiches at the Old Florida Café are as comforting as the knickknacks that fill the town's only restaurant. herlong.com, welcometomicanopy.com

7. High Springs

• Best For: Night owls. There's plenty to do after the sun sets in this charming hamlet near Gainesville.
• Canoe: Outpost offers monthly moonlit paddles along the Santa Fe River set to the music of the night—cicadas, tree frogs, even owls. Bring wine for the ride and marshmallows for the bonfire finale.
• Don't Miss: Top off your moon dance with a midnight ambergris-scented bath in the Wellness Spa's moonlit hydrotherapy room. On the edge of High Springs (State Road 27), the spa offers the moon bath from three days before to three days after the full moon.
• Best Eats: Try the cowboy steak at the Great Outdoors restaurant and raise a toast to High Springs' own naturalist Naked Ed with an ale named in his honor.
• Stay: You'll love the historic Grady House Bed & Breakfast. Proprietor Lucie Regensdorf's famous banana-pecan-stuffed French toast with sausage and cheese mufffins is a big hit. canoeoutpost.com, gradyhouse.com, the-wellness-spa.com

8. Waccasassa Plantation, near Gainesville

• Best For: A taste of summer camp. One of the few places in Florida where the deer and antelope play alongside longhorn African Watusi cattle, red stags and boars, this 400-acre federal game reserve has about 1,500 free-range animals and offers rifle and sporting clay ranges, guided hunts and on- and off-site fishing.
• Sleep: Only the master suite in the lodge, built from cypress harvested right from the property, has a private bathroom. Rustic cabins sleep four.
• Don't Miss: Morning coffee on the lakefront porch of the main house often includes visits from deer and waterfowl—quite possibly the closest you'll get to the plantation's seven animal species. wplantation.com