Panhandle Beaches, Florida

Planning a Florida vacation without doing your research is likely to land you in expected destinations such as packed-to-the-gills South Florida or not-so-delightfully tacky Daytona Beach.

To experience Florida’s most pristine and beautiful beaches away from the masses, consider passing on the perpetually populated peninsula and set your sun-loving sights on the state’s loneliest region — the Panhandle — instead.

Most people associate that northernmost thin stretch of Florida, which fronts the Gulf of Mexico, with the raucous spring break crowds of Panama City. The busy resort town is the heart of an area that has long been dubbed the Redneck Riviera, much to the chagrin of marketing types, who are hard at work rebranding the beaches around Panama City as “the Emerald Coast.”