The Ultimate Travel Guide to Jupiter, Florida

About thirty minutes North of West Palm Beach International Airport, you’ll find the beautiful town of Jupiter, Florida. Palm Beach’s quiet, quaint cousin. A relaxing Winter getaway. Home of the loggerhead turtle (more on this later), fine dining, beaches (of course) and golf as far as the eye can see.

Matt and I are beyond lucky to travel to Jupiter often. So, I’ve got the inside scoop on where to dine and what to do in Jupiter, Florida.

Travel

Like I said above, Jupiter is about a 30 minute car ride from Palm Beach International airport. When you land, you can take a convenient shuttle to a rental car company of your choice (Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise, etc). Uber and Lyft are also fairly convenient and easy modes of transportation to Jupiter.

For us, we were able to catch a flight from Trenton-Mercer airport in Trenton, NJ and arrive to Palm Beach in about 2 1/2 hours. If you live in the New Jersey area, I’d highly suggest the Trenton Mercer airport! It’s small, yet convenient. You (usually) are able to park right out front and walk right through the airport doors. They have two parking lots and parking costs, I believe, about $8 a day. I’m telling you, it’s like you’re parking and walking in to the grocery store.

Now, I say usually because the last time we traveled down to Jupiter, both airport lots were full. We had to park in an overflow lot about two miles away and take a shuttle back to the airport. This was a slight inconvenience. We usually don’t save ourselves much time flying out of this airport because of how convenient parking is. On our last trip, we actually almost missed our flight because we didn’t factor in having to park in overflow parking (lol sorry, Matt). All this being said, this has only happened once in the many times we’ve flown out of this airport!

Palm Beach International is just as convenient. One of the smaller airports I’ve been to and super easy to maneuver through.

Where to Stay

Although there are several hotels in Jupiter, the town is mostly residential. Check out Jupiter’s Airbnb’s here and VRBO’s here. While I wasn’t able to find any on the beach, most are close in proximity to the beach and pricing is reasonable.

If you do choose to go the hotel route, check out Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa for a beach front location, the Jupiter Reef Club for another beach front location close to several great restaurants, or the Wyndham Grand Jupiter. The Wyndham Grand is not beach front, but it’s along the intercostal where you can watch the boats come in, any time of day. It’s also right in the heart of many great shops and restaurants as well.

Where to Eat

Gosh, so many great places to eat it’s hard to keep track! If you’re a fish guy, Jupiter is the place for you, that’s for sure.

• uTiki – The above picture is the view from uTiki bar and restaurant. Head here right when your plane lands. It’s the perfect spot to defrost from the chill of the north in the Winter, put your feet in the sand and watch the boats go by. Grab a frozen drink, a sushi roll and their Shaka shrimp will not disappoint.
• jetty’s – a bit more of a sit down, yet still casual place. The place you go for a great 7 p.m. dinner after you’ve been at the beach all day. You’re showered, tanned and rocking your new tropical maxi dress or resort wear and you’re craving a salad appetizer with a meat or fish served with two sides. Maybe you order a bottle of wine for the table.

• Love Street – head a few feet over and you hit “love street.” The restaurants owned by someone named Charlie and Joe Namath, himself. I’m sure Charlie’s a great guy, but I was only familiar with the name Joe Namath (lol). Well, anyways, you have here, lucky shuck and the beacon restaurant. The Beacon is more upscale and I cannot vouch for their food, but I have eaten at Lucky Shuck and it’s delish! They’re known for the oyster selection, but the food is spectacular with a southern flavor twist.
• Guanabanas – Ok, this is your quintessential tiki hut, Bob Marley music playing restaurant. If you do have to wait for a table, grab one of their signature cocktails and sit on one of their many Adirondack chairs out front. Sometime’s they have live bands, too. Bask in the music and get into the Island spirit!

• The Woods – I will give you one good guess at who owns this place. It’s an upscale place to watch the masters while eating a fancy steak. Too many Lily Pulitzer dresses and Golf Polos to count.
• Tommy Bahama – Right along the intercostal. Sit outside and watch the boats go by. I absolutely have to recommend the malted chocolate pie for dessert. As I’m typing this, I realize the recipe is on the website…I think you know what I’m baking next!
• Calaveras Cantina – for the Mexican lovers out there. Get the table side guac! There’s also a kiss of death margarita with a pop rock rim. How fun?! Last time we went, our waitress told me all margaritas are made fresh. No mixers, at all. There’s literally someone there juicing lemons, limes and oranges for hours every day.

For breakfast or lunch, head over to the lazy loggerhead cafe. The omelets are the size of my head and the hash browns are out of this world good. If you go for lunch, get anything with blackened chicken, just trust me!

If you want a quick bite before heading to the beach, grab a coffee and bagel to go from Brooklyn Bagel.

Where to Drink

• Topside at the Beacon – A great rooftop bar overlooking the Jupiter lighthouse and inlet. Go for happy hour drinks and stay for dinner at the Beacon or Lucky Shuck restaurant below.

• Square Grouper – Yet another feet in the sand bar type place. The last time we went, they had a live cover band. Nothing more relaxing. With lots of seating areas to sit, listen to music and watch the boats go by.
• Divebar – Waterfront dining with some great bites to eat, but really, the wrap around bar is where it’s at. Packed each night and open till 1 a.m.

All this being said, some of the restaurants listed above have great bars as well. Go to Guanabanas for your tiki bar, The Woods for an upscale bar with large screen t.v.s or Calaveras for your classic margarita.

What to Do

• Beaches (of course) are free along with parking. Most beaches are also dog friendly! Bring your pup for an ultimate fetch sesh on the sand. The beaches are also clean and the water is blue. You definitely don’t want to miss a Jupiter beach.
• Loggerhead Marine Life Center – Do not miss out on this one. This marine life center rescues loggerhead turtles and cares for them until they are ready to be released back into the ocean. These turtles are HUGE and this center really is a sight to see. Side note – you may take notice that there are no street lights along the ocean in Jupiter. May – October is turtle nesting season. Lights are kept off to not confuse the turtles when they come to shore to lay their eggs.

• Jupiter Lighthouse & Museum – Although I’ve never been, I have read that if you climb to the top, it’s the best view in town.
• Busch Wildlife Sanctuary – We took Archie here one day and I’m not sure who enjoyed the wildlife sanctuary more, Archie or me. Check out the bears, alligators and many more. It’s free to get in, but they do ask for donation to help support the rehabilitations of the wildlife.

• Drive Shack – This one’s a bit further out and closer to the airport, but we spent one day at drive shack. It’s an interactive golf space. We had a blast and this place was perfect for a not-so-beach day.
• Spa Day – I really enjoy a bit of R&R on vacation and if you do too, check out the Lane Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. Check the website for their services, but you can treat yourself to a mani/pedi, massage, facial or chose one of their special packages. I had a great experience here.
• Golf – Jupiter and the areas around Jupiter are known for great golf (if Tiger Woods AND Brooks Koepka live here, I think you need to be). Take it a step further than drive shack and try out these courses: Madison Green, Sand Hill Crane and Abacoa.

• Shop – For just a few shops, check out Harbourside Place (you’ll find my fav, Lola Dre) – you can stop by on your way to dinner at the Woods, Tommy Bahama or Calaveras. You’ll find plenty at the Gardens Mall with both luxury and “middle of the road” stores. You can head a bit further out to Palm Beach Outlets, too.

All in all, Jupiter is a beautiful, family friendly vacation spot. Stay tuned next week, when I take you through our one day trip to Palm Beach!

And while you’re at it, if your traveling soon, check out my 10 Packing Tips You Need to Know.