JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents and tourists gave differing opinions after a recent study ranked Jacksonville as the worst place for a summer vacation.
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With beaches and year-round summer-like temperatures, who wouldn’t want to visit Jacksonville for a vacation?
“It’s beautiful, I love it for the sunshine,” Shandrea Olson said.
According to a recent Forbes ranking, apparently no one. Jacksonville was voted as the worst vacation spot for summer travel.
“Here they come, they litter, and you know they’re not doing anything about the homeless. If you’re going to visit, you’re going to want to be at Atlantic Beach or Daytona Beach. Panama City, Destin. Even with the sharks, it’s still better than here,” Shaun Walker said.
Locals like Walker agree with the ranking. He and his girls take to the beaches often to surf and paddleboard.
But other than that, he said there’s not much else to do.
“We want more things to do except bars. There’s a new bar built every month. Some things for families and stuff and make it safe where you can bring your family to the beach. You don’t have to worry about your stuff getting stolen or getting shot,” Walker said.
How did Jacksonville score the worst perfect grade ever, scoring 100 out of 100 for being a terrible summer vacation destination?
Jacksonville’s score: 100 out of 100
- Scores lowest for walkability and third lowest for access to public transportation.
- Jacksonville International Airport has the second-highest percentage of disrupted summer flights (28.9% on average).
- Sixth fewest parking lots and garages (1.49 per 100,000 residents).
- Eighth highest crime rate (63.99 crimes per 1,000 residents).
- Ranks eighth for fewest restaurants with four or more stars on Tripadvisor (728).
“To be honest, there’s crime everywhere,” Olsen said. I don’t care where you go. There’s crime everywhere. So I wouldn’t give Jacksonville’s thumbs down for that,” Olsen said.
Locals like Olsen find the ranking to be a little harsh.
“If we want to find something to do, we go. That’s just my take on that,” she said.
There were a handful of tourists on Jacksonville Beach who were impressed by the First Coast.
“We wanted to go to Hatteras, but it was too far away. It was like a three-day drive so we thought why not hit the Atlantic in Florida,” Caleb Colson said.
Colson and his family drove 16 hours from Fort Worth, Texas to visit Jacksonville for the first time.
“There’s tons to do here,” Colson said. “There’s a lot of restaurants, a lot of activity. So far, we’ve had a great selection of food. We love the seafood, fresh seafood. So yeah, I heard it wasn’t that great of a place to visit by a local, but I think it’s pretty cool.”
News4JAX asked Visit Jacksonville for their thoughts on the ranking.
“We do imagine it would be hard to walk all 840 square miles of the largest city by landmass in the continental United States, especially during the summer Florida temperatures. Our hotels, restaurants, small businesses, and beaches speak for themselves for the first-class visitor experience they offer,” Visit Jacksonville said.