In December we decided to spend Christmas in Florida. Our family adventure began on Amelia Island, a piece of paradise with pristine beaches and beautiful dunes. It reminded me of our last home in Tiny, Ontario and all of its dune paths to our favourite beaches. It was nice to feel a sense of our old home along our travels, especially over the holidays. This was our first time visiting this area of Florida. Amelia Island is part of the Sea Islands chain of barrier islands, on the state of Florida’s Atlantic coast. We were welcomed at The Ritz Carlton by the warm, kind staff and so much sunshine. Amelia Island is a very family friendly area with pirate ship parks, biking trails, farmers market, bowling and adventure golf. If you are into water sports and finish you’ll find plenty of that here too! You can find a plethora of information on Amelia Island {here} when planning your visit.
All of the staff and dining areas at this property are excellent. Our favourite restaurant at The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island was Coquina. The food was delicious, the view was epic and the environment was magical around sunset!
“Gorgeously casual, this al-fresco restaurant delights the senses with dinner served beneath lit palapas overlooking the resort’s dune-lined beaches.”
If you are looking or a quick healthy snack or a yummy latte made with locally roasted coffee, we highly recommend the First Drop cafe by the lobby.
“Amelia Island is 13 miles long and two miles wide, with preserved park lands at its northern and southern tips, making up nearly 10 percent of the entire island!”
Exploring more of Amelia Island…
If you are looking for something to do as a family on Amelia Island, bike rides are my number one recommendation. This is a great way to take in the scenery and spend quality time outside. There are also some beautiful beaches and parks as well, pack yourself a lunch or grab a luxe picnic box and fill up your water bottles and head out. If you want to eat out, this beautiful spot in Florida has so many great restaurants. We’ve shared our favourites from personal experience in this blog post.
If you like bowling, try the Duck Pinz Bowling, we had so much fun and it is very affordable! It is also right next to a great little restaurant with a fun mini pirate ship play area for the kiddos.
12 N Front St, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
At the Salty Pelican restaurant we tried the fish & chips, oysters and catch of the day. Everyone enjoyed their food and this place has a great atmosphere. Book your table ahead so you can get one with a view of the water!
21 N 3rd St, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
27 N 3rd St, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
2500 ATLANTIC AVENUE, AMELIA ISLAND, FL 32034
Picnics on the beach can be so fun, especially if you don’t have to pack the food. For this picnic we left the snack planning up to Luxe picnic boxes by Les and they were delicious! Our friends Joey, Mel & their kiddos enjoyed it too!
This was our first time visiting this area of Florida and it will not be our last, I especially recommend it around the holidays. As a Canadian, I can admit that I was worried about how I would feel missing a white Christmas, the snow and all of the beautiful lights on display. But boy, Amelia Island knows how to do Christmas! On Christmas Eve and on another evening leading up to Christmas, we drove down the most amazing street with an epic light display at every home. People were walking the neighbourhood singing carols and wishing passerby’s a Merry Christmas.
This blog post was made in partnership with Amelia Island Tourism, we are so grateful for all of our partners and all opinions and images are our own.
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