Traveling can often be synonymous with exciting activities to get your adrenaline pumping, or perhaps exhausting, once-in-lifetime kind of achievements, such as visiting each continent. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t travel just to enjoy a couple of days of relaxation in a tropical destination, and so, in this occasion, we’ll explore Palm Beach, home to some of the best places to let the natural beauty of the landscape erode away your worries and stress. In this list, we´ll see a heavenly tropical island in the shape of a peanut, some of the most beautiful gardens in all of South Florida, and even a couple of places that have preserved Florida’s wilderness. So, if you need a place to let go of your worries, I’ve got three of those places ready for you to explore!
Now, before we start it’s important that we talk about transportation since moving around in South Florida can be a little challenging, as sometimes the sites can be considerably far away from each other, plus, if you really want to have a relaxing couple of days, using public transport is out of the question, as nothing worsens someone’s mood than a long trip on public transport. A great way to sort out through this transportation issue is by booking a rental car, as this gives you a comfortable way explore the city at your own pace, with the added benefit of not having to depend on any driver’s availability plus if you come with a bigger travel group you can rent bigger vehicles such as vans or SUVs.
Peanut Island
The first stop of our relaxation tour will be one of Palm beach’s most pleasant beaches: Peanut Island. This is a little a heavenly tropical paradise for you to rest among the crystalline beaches and the palm groves. You can do some beach-side camping and thanks to the water being crystal clear and there being a manmade reef nearby, this place is well known for its snorkeling.
As a fun fact, I can tell you that Peanut Island is a man-made island that was made by dredging the nearby soil. In my opinion, the island is shaped a little bit like an unshelled peanut but in reality, its name comes from the fact that, at first, this island was made with the intention to make a peanut plantation. In the end, the peanut project failed, but the island was successfully reused for touristic proposes.
To get there you can park your car at the parking lot in Riviera Beach, FL 33404 next to the American Marine services. You can take a private water taxi or a shuttle that will get you there in no time, the shuttle runs every day from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The Society of the Four Arts Gardens
If a day at the beach is not your cup of tea when it comes to relaxation, then there are other equally relaxing alternatives. Such as the Society of the Four Arts Gardens, which have been described as one of the most serene places in the whole area of Palm Beach. The gardens are extremely well maintained and divided into many themes among which you can find a chinse garden, a jungle garden, and a bromeliad garden, just to name a few. Now the “four arts” on its name are not there in vain as you can find many amazing sculptures among the serene beauty of the gardens, and the library adjacent to the gardens houses many cultural activities all year around relating to all the arts.
If you need a little bit of serenity in your life you can’t miss these beautiful gardens. You can find them at 2 Four Arts Plaza.
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
If you need to commune with nature and feel a little bit more adventurous then you should pay the locals swamps a visit at Loxahatchee National Wildlife refuge. As its name implies, Loxahatchee is a wildlife refuge where you can visit a real living swamp ecosystem. On a good day, you can see wild alligators and birds of all kinds including raptors, herons and ibis all in their natural habitat. Visitors report it to be a very quiet, beautiful and wild place. If you’re feeling extremely adventurous you can go on a canoe trail on the alligator-infested waters… which is not what you’d call relaxing… more in the line of adrenaline activities, but hey it’s optional after all.
Now as you’d expect from a natural reserve, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is not right next to the city, so you’ll have to make a 40-minute drive to get there, which is, all things considered, not that far away so again renting a car is a good idea, as it lets you explore this type sites. Plus, there’s a very decent parking lot.
An there you have it. Next time you’re in the need for some relaxation you´ll know where to find it! But don’t stop looking, I´m sure you´ll find a lot of other relaxing activities out there, so go and explore Palm Beach!