A long weekend in 30A
Before I moved to Atlanta, I would always see East Coast bloggers talking about “30A.” I was so confused. Is this a town called 30A? What a crappy name for a city. I was wrong. After doing my research, I realized this “30A” area is a place I needed to visit. I just returned from a long weekend there, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
What is 30A?
Let’s start with the question everyone asks… “what the heck is 30A?” 30A is a highway that runs along the panhandle of Florida. Destin is on the west side of the panhandle and Panama City is on the east side.
There are a bunch of cute little towns that are dotted along the 30A highway, and each town is unique and offers lots to do!
Accommodations
You can choose any of the towns along the 30A highway to stay in. We chose inlet beach because we wanted to rent a house that had great walkability and was pet friendly. We rented a home through VRBO. Even though there was only 4 of us (and the pups!), the house slept 16. Many of the rental homes down there are made for large groups so they have multiple bunk rooms. I’m happy to send anyone the link to our VRBO! It was incredible.
There are many condos you can rent also but we chose to rent a single family home because it was in a gated community with a pool, had a tram to the beach, had bikes to use, and had lots of outdoor living space!
Food and Drink
This was probably the most important thing when picking a vacation spot. We ate so well in 30A! I’ll organize this by little town.
Alys Beach
Charlie’s Donut Truck- the donuts sell out QUICK! We woke up at 7 to make sure we could get some of these. The sour cream (old fashioned) donut was amazing.
George’s- Fantastic for dinner. We got around 6 to put our names down for dinner because it gets busy. There are a few bars next door that are great to visit while you wait. Highly recommend the salt and pepper shrimp!
Rosemary Beach
Beach and Brew- A little brewery and great place to stop for drinks
Pescado- a MUST. Incredible seafood and an even better view! The lobster roll for lunch was out of this world. We also loved the crab cake app
Seaside Beach
Great Southern Cafe- Such a fun spot for lunch with lots of seating. Food was great, service was quick!
Surfing Deer- Potentially my favorite dinner spot. Quite upscale. They have the prettiest outdoor seating. We loved the crab cakes and clothesline bacon.
Activities
Rent Bikes! You can get to all the little towns on bike pretty easily (although they aren’t that close, so be prepped for that)
Shop! There are tons of small boutiques throughout all of the towns. Huck and Harlowe was a cute dog boutique we found in Rosemary!
Beach Day! A few of the beaches are private (hotel owned or pay for a lounge bed). Hanging at the beach is a must because the sand is so white. We didn’t spend too much time at the beach because the water wasn’t warm yet but if you’re heading here in the Summer, you’ll love it!
Brewery/Bar hop! We loved Grayton Beer Brew pub. We didn’t get to hit Bud and Alleys or Red Bar but those are on our list for next time.
Food trucks! If you like snacking from food trucks, head to Seaside. They have such a selection of food trucks and plenty of outdoor seating.
Parks! Seaside had the cutest little park right behind the main area. We also loved walking through the parks in Rosemary.
