Florida - The Panhandle (Chapter)

This is the The Panhandle chapter from Lonely Planet's Florida guidebook.

Take all the things that are great about the Deep South - friendly people, the molasses-slow pace, oak-lined country roads, fried food galore - and add sugar-white beaches, gin-clear natural springs and fresh oysters, and there you have it: the fantastic, highly underrated Florida Panhandle.

• get a wildlife thrill on a guided river cruise at Wakulla Springs State Park, where mossy cypress trees and mangroves mingle with manatees, alligators and a slew of wading birds
• maps
• marvel as the Blue Angels, the US Navy's flight demonstration squad, soar and loop-de-loop overhead in Pensacola
• transport
• go under the radar at Cedar Key, an isolated, windswept island beloved by bikers and in-the-know fishermen
• restaurants and accommodation

Coverage includes: Gulf Coast, Pensacola & Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, Destin & Fort Walton Beach, Beaches of South Walton, Panama City Beach, Cape San Blas & Port St Joe, Apalachicola, St Vincent Island & around, St George Island, Inland Panhandle, Tallahassee & The Big Bend, Tallahassee, Around Tallahassee, Steinhatchee, Manatee Springs State Park and Cedar Key.