Guides · Port St. Joe, Florida
Where to Stay in Port St. Joe, FL: Best Areas & Hotels
The town that wrote Florida’s first constitution was erased by fever and storm within three years of doing so. The place you can sleep in tonight carries that dead town’s name, and the choice of where to stay is a choice between two very different geographies: the rebuilt port itself, and the long, low peninsula west of it called Cape San Blas.
The Port Itself
Port St. Joe is a working waterfront town of 3,499 people, with a median age of 52.9 years. The housing stock tells the story: 2,037 total units, 473 of them vacant, and 270 held for seasonal or recreational use. This is not a resort town pretending to be a fishing village; it is a fishing village that has learned to rent out its spare rooms.
The three hotels on Monument Avenue sit within walking distance of the bayfront and the Constitution Convention Museum State Park, 14 acres outside town with a reproduction convention hall and audio-animated recreations of the 1838 delegates. If you want to be near the history, this is the block.
Hotel Saint Joseph (504 Monument Ave) carries the highest rating in town at 4.9 from 304 reviews. The Port Inn - Port St Joe, an Ascend Collection Hotel (501 Monument Ave) sits directly across the street, rated 4.4 from 296 reviews. One block further south, MainStay Suites Port Saint Joe South (3951 US-98) is rated 4.1 from 507 reviews, the most-reviewed property in town and the most utilitarian.
Cape San Blas and the Peninsula
West of town, Cape San Blas is a narrow spit of land that juts into the Gulf. The lighthouse is there, and the vacation rental market dominates. The ratings here are higher on average, but the trade-off is distance: you are 10 to 20 minutes from the grocery store, the museum, and the working docks.
The top-rated properties on the cape are small operations. Bella Coastal Vacation Rentals (116 Sailors Cove Dr) is rated 5.0 from 77 reviews. Teresa's Beach Homes (188 Avalon Dr) is also 5.0 from 76 reviews. Cape San Blas Inn (4950 Cape San Blas Rd) is an inn, not a rental agency, rated 4.9 from 106 reviews. Be Our Guest Vacation Homes (6335 County Rd 30A) is rated 4.9 from 222 reviews, and Cape Escape Vacation Rentals (128 Sabal Cir) is 4.9 from 83 reviews.
The larger agencies on the cape have more inventory but lower scores. Pristine Properties Vacation Rentals (4693 Cape San Blas Rd) is rated 3.7 from 244 reviews, the lowest in town. Cape San Blas Vacation Rentals, Inc. (4320 Cape San Blas Rd) is 4.4 from 102 reviews. 360 Blue by Natural Retreats | Cape San Blas (1147 Cape San Blas Rd) is 4.4 from 81 reviews.
The Inns and the Middle Ground
Turtle Beach Inn (140 Painted Pony Rd) is rated 4.9 from 250 reviews and sits on the bay side, not the Gulf side. It is an inn, not a rental agency, which means you get a front desk and housekeeping rather than a key code and a linen schedule.
On the rental side, Renting The Coast Property Management (420 Reid Ave Ste F #102) is rated 4.9 from 215 reviews and operates out of the town proper, not the cape. Coastline Vacation Rentals (315 Williams Ave) is 4.8 from 197 reviews, also town-based. Port St Joe Beach House w/ Pool Access! is a single property, rated 4.87 from 253 reviews. Sunshine Vacation Rentals of the Forgotten Coast (106 Trade Cir W Ste F) is 4.4 from 89 reviews.
Which Part of Town, Then
The census numbers settle the argument. Median home value is $280,600; median gross rent is $1,342. The unemployment rate is 6 percent, and 33 percent of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. These are not the numbers of a wealthy enclave. They are the numbers of a town that has been through worse and rebuilt.
If you are here for the constitution story, stay on Monument Avenue. The museum is a short drive, and you can walk to the bayfront. If you are here for the cape, stay on the cape, but understand that you are choosing sand and solitude over convenience.
For day trips, Apalachicola is 23 miles east and holds the Florida Seafood Festival. St. George Island is 31 miles further and runs a chili cook-off. Perry, Steinhatchee, Cedar Key, and New Port Richey are all beyond 120 miles; they are not day trips, they are separate vacations.
The town motto is still Birthplace of the Florida Constitution. The delegates met here from 3 December 1838 to 11 January 1839. The town they met in was gone within six years. The one that replaced it took the same name, with Port added. That is the whole story of this place, and it is also the practical question of where to sleep: in the town that came back, or on the cape that never left.
Common questions
- What happened to the original town of St. Joseph?
- The original town of St. Joseph was mostly abandoned in 1841 after a yellow fever epidemic, and a hurricane storm surge in 1844 destroyed what structures remained. The modern town carries the saint's name of the settlement that died here, with Port added.
- Where can I learn about Florida's first constitution?
- Visit Constitution Convention Museum State Park, 14 acres outside town, with a reproduction convention hall and audio-animated recreations of the 1838 delegates. Territorial delegates met at St. Joseph from 3 December 1838 to 11 January 1839 to write the state's first constitution.
- What are the best-rated places to stay in Port St Joe?
- Hotel Saint Joseph is rated 4.9 from 304 reviews, and Turtle Beach Inn is rated 4.9 from 250 reviews. The Port Inn - Port St Joe, an Ascend Collection Hotel, is rated 4.4 from 296 reviews. MainStay Suites Port Saint Joe South is rated 4.1 from 507 reviews.
- Is Port St Joe a good place for a quiet vacation?
- Yes, the median age is 52.9 years, and the population is 3,499. Many homes are for seasonal or recreational use (270 units), and the town is not overrun. It's a quiet, historic place, not a party town.
- What is there to do in Port St Joe besides the beach?
- Explore Cape San Blas and its lighthouse, west of town in Gulf County. Attend the Florida Scallop, Music & Arts Festival on Labor Day weekend at Gulf County Veterans Memorial Park on Beacon Hill, closing out the scallop season.
- How far is Port St Joe from Apalachicola?
- Apalachicola is 23 miles away, an easy day trip. It hosts the Florida Seafood Festival. Other nearby towns include St. George Island (31 miles) and Perry (121 miles).
Every business named above is one we hold a listing for, and every date traces to a source on our sources page. We do not describe menus, interiors or service we have not verified. Details change — confirm before you travel.