Panama City Beach

The 457-metre municipal pier beside Pier Park, where anglers land Spanish mackerel and bluefish while dolphins and rays pass below, and the best spot in town to watch the sunset.

💡 Go out on it in the late afternoon, then stay for dinner by the water at Pier Park. The pier is open all year round, and the day fishing permit is sold at the entrance to the pier. Price: $4, about €3, to walk on the pier, $7, about €6, with fishing.

Scott Long / CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

A 73-hectare park surrounded by water on three sides, beside Lake Powell, Florida's largest coastal dune lake, with the wooden lodge of a former mill workers' holiday camp and trails through dunes and marsh.

💡 Come at the end of the day, when the light softens over the dunes and the beach empties: there is no lifeguard and no campground, and the park closes at sunset. Price: $4, about €3, per vehicle, $2, about €2, on foot or by bike, to be slipped into the box at the entrance.

The eastern tip of the peninsula, with more than 1.5 km of undeveloped beach, sea-oat dunes, a calm natural pool between two rock jetties for snorkelling and a trail around alligator-filled Gator Lake.

💡 Arrive at opening time, at 8am, on summer days: the gate closes when the car park is full, often before noon at weekends. Bring a mask and snorkel for the jetty pool, but do not go in when the swell breaks over the rocks. Price: $8, about €7, per vehicle with two to eight people, $4, about €3, for a single driver.

Balon Greyjoy / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)

An 11 km barrier island with no roads, houses or shops, reached by shuttle boat, where a short walk through the dunes leads to an often deserted Gulf beach visited by dolphins and nesting turtles.

💡 The official shuttle leaves from the Adventures at Sea marina, on North Lagoon Drive on the edge of Grand Lagoon, every hour from 9am to 3pm in summer, for a crossing of a few minutes: bring water, a parasol and bags for your rubbish, and check the time of the last return. Price: $24.95, about €21, return for ages 13 and over, $17.95, about €15, for ages 2 to 12.

Nonrev.me / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)