Not Worth It
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 9/15/08
Visit: September 11-14 2008
First, let me say that we did not visit EVERY place of interest in Jacksonville while we were there so our review is limited to the places that we did go to. However, we did spend four days there going to some of the places highlighted (Beaches, Downtown, Riverside, San Marco) in travel sites and books and it was just not worth it.
The city itself is unattractive, bordering on dirty. The highways are a nightmare - not just with the construction issues that seem to be going on EVERYWHERE but they seem disorderly and not well thought out.
The downtown area was especially dirty and filled with crumbling buildings and one PARKING DISASTER after another. The beach was pretty enough, but there are other places with prettier beaches and much better cities to back it up.
If you are looking to vacation in that area and you are on a budget I would skip Jacksonville and focus on Amelia Island (North of Jax) and Saint Augustine (South of Jax). Both cities have beautiful Beaches and interesting cities to visit between dips in the water.