Sebastian sits on the Indian River Lagoon, just inland from the Atlantic cut at Sebastian Inlet State Park. It is a small Treasure Coast town, but it has a stronger travel case than its size suggests: surf, fishing, old shipwreck stories, and the first national wildlife refuge in the United States.
The best day here starts at the inlet. The jetties pull in surfers and anglers, while the park's two small museums explain the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet and the fishing culture that grew around the lagoon. South of the inlet, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge protects the rookery that pushed Theodore Roosevelt to create the national refuge system in 1903.
Sebastian is not polished beach-resort Florida. The useful parts are spread along US 1, the lagoon, and the barrier island, so a car helps. But if you are already on the Treasure Coast or the Space Coast and want a day of birds, water, and local history, Sebastian easily beats another afternoon indoors.