Untouched by development, Dog Island is known for its natural conservation, many refer to Dog Island as the Galapagos of Florida.  This island is named Dog Island for its geographic resemblance to a crouched dog.

Located in the northwestern Florida Gulf coast, Dog Island is just 3.5 miles off-shore from Carrabelle, Florida.   It’s the eastern-most part of a chain of barrier islands located off the northern panhandle of Florida (about 50 miles southwest of Tallahassee).  Other barrier islands in this chain include St.Vincent Island, St. George Island, and Cape St. George Island.

Located just offshore from where the Crooked River merges into the Carrabelle River, the island partly shelters the St. George Sound and Apalachicola Bay.

There’s only one hotel on the roughly 7-mile-long island, which is accessed only by passenger ferry from Carabelle.   You’re guaranteed quiet beaches with powdered-sugar sand, shells galore and aquamarine waters.  The only place to stay on the island is the Pelican Inn, where you can snag one of eight oceanfront studios for your own private retreat.