Palm Beach Destination Guide

An Island That Still Keeps a Season

Palm Beach is a barrier island roughly fourteen miles long and, in places, barely three streets wide, separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway and from most of Florida by temperament. It has kept something almost nowhere else in the state has: an actual season. From November through April the island is full, Worth Avenue is busy, the clubs and charity calendar run at full pace and the restaurants need booking. From June through September a great deal of it simply closes. Understanding which Palm Beach you are booking is the single most useful thing to know before you look at a single hotel.

The planning decision: the island, the mainland, or the wider county

The island itself is the classic stay, formal, quiet, and expensive, with the ocean on one side and the Intracoastal on the other. West Palm Beach, across the bridges, has changed substantially and now holds much of the county's newer dining, the arts venues and a growing financial community, at a considerably lower price. Further out, Wellington is the equestrian center and Palm Beach Gardens the golf one. Many good itineraries here are not a single hotel at all but an island base with days spent across the bridges, and that structure is worth setting deliberately.

The season, the shoulder and the summer nobody talks about

November through April is the season, and within it January through March is the peak in every sense: perfect weather, full hotels and the highest rates of the year. The equestrian calendar in Wellington runs through those months, with the winter show circuit and Sunday polo drawing a particular crowd. Late April and May are the shoulder and genuinely lovely, warm and much thinner. June through September is hot, humid and afternoon stormy, sitting inside the Atlantic hurricane season which runs June through November and peaks from August into October. Rates in those months fall dramatically, and for travelers who mainly want a pool and an ocean it can be very good value with the storm risk understood.

Where to base, and how easy the arrival is

The oceanfront properties on the island are the reason most people come and command the premium. In town, near Worth Avenue, puts you in walking distance of the shopping and the restaurants. Manalapan and the stretch just south are quieter and more resort like. West Palm Beach gives you the arts district and the value. Palm Beach International sits about fifteen minutes from the island, which is one of the easiest arrivals in American resort travel, and Fort Lauderdale and Miami are both under an hour and a half by road when the fares are better. This is also one of the busiest private aviation corridors in the country during the season.

Stay strategy on and off the island

The Breakers is the institution, a 1926 oceanfront property with its own golf, and it remains the default for families. Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach sits further south on the island and is the quieter, more service driven alternative. The Colony is small, pink and unapologetically old Palm Beach. White Elephant Palm Beach brought a Nantucket sensibility to the island. Eau Palm Beach in Manalapan has the largest spa in the area. Across the water, The Ben and the newer West Palm properties give you a different price point entirely. Private house rentals during the season are a substantial market and often the right answer for a family staying several weeks.

When to begin

Six months for the season, and nine to twelve for the Christmas and New Year period and for the peak weeks of the equestrian circuit. The oceanfront room categories are a limited inventory and go first. Seasonal house rentals are typically committed a year ahead. Summer is the exception and can be booked at short notice. If a specific charity event, tournament or club access is part of the reason for the trip, tell us early, because that is arranged around rather than after.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Sunday polo in Wellington during the winter circuit, which is a genuine social occasion rather than a spectator novelty.
• A morning on the Lake Trail by bicycle along the Intracoastal, which is how residents actually see the island.
• The Flagler Museum in Whitehall, which explains exactly how and why this island exists in the first place.
• A boat day out to the reefs or north along the Intracoastal, arranged privately rather than on a schedule.

Who this trip suits

Palm Beach suits couples, families and multi generational groups who want an easy, warm, well serviced base with no long flight. It suits golfers and equestrian travelers particularly well. It suits executives and private offices, given the private aviation infrastructure and the concentration of business that has moved here. And it suits anyone looking for a Florida that is quieter and more formal than Miami.

When another plan may fit better

Travelers who want energy, nightlife, design and a scene should go to Miami, ninety minutes south, and we will tell you so. Those wanting a Caribbean beach and clear water will find the Atlantic here is a different proposition and St. Barths or the Bahamas the better answer. And the island in August is not the island in February.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

We are based in South Florida, which means the Palm Beach season is home rather than research. Tell us the month, who is traveling and whether golf, horses or simply the ocean is the point, and we will set the property, the room category and the days across the bridges around it. Our luxury leisure travel planning covers the seasonal rentals as well as the hotels.