On a weekend trip to Panama City Beach, a beach town in Florida’s panhandle, I heard a recurring comment from the locals.
“Have you made it over to 30A yet?” my Lyft driver asked. “You’ve got to — it’s the up-and-coming spot around here.”
While I was purchasing tickets for the Shell Island Ferry, the cashier said, “Do you have plans to go over to 30A?” When I said no, she insisted I return to the area for a trip because it’s just that beautiful.
I live in a different Florida beach town that often gets inundated with spring breakers and summer beachgoers, so I couldn’t decide whether Panama City Beach locals were trying to run tourists out of their town or if they really meant what they said about 30A.
Eager to find out, I planned a trip to Florida’s 30A area — a roughly 24-mile stretch of beach between Destin and Panama City Beach that’s been called “the Hamptons of the South.”
Turns out, those locals were right. I agree that 30A is one of the best gems in Florida, and I liked it even more than Panama City Beach.
Panama City Beach is great for tourists, but 30A has a more luxurious feel.
Panama City Beach reminds me of the beach towns I grew up visiting in the Northeast: lots of souvenir shops, a pier for walking and fishing, and more tourist attractions than one could squeeze in during a vacation.
There’s plenty of good food in PCB, including a crepe shop adored by reviewers on Yelp, but I’d say the area’s general vibe is best described as “touristy beach town.”
The landscape changes entirely when you drive just 15 or 20 minutes to 30A. High-rise hotel chains become private rental cottages, and souvenir shops give way to luxury shopping venues.
The overall vibe seems to switch from a busy vacation spot to a place where you’d do beachfront yoga and sip freshly pressed juice before spending your day on a quiet, white-sand beach.
The beaches along 30A felt pristine.
Communities alongside 30A, like Rosemary Beach and Seaside, have some breathtaking beaches with white sand and clear blue water.
To get onto most of these, you need a wristband or beach tag — visitors can typically get one from whichever rental property they’re occupying.
I think the beaches benefit from the lack of large nearby hotels and public access. With limited visitors, there’s less of a strain on 30A’s beaches, resulting in a beautiful setting that feels more intimate.
It’s also the best spot in the area to watch the sunset.
There are some spectacular sunsets along the Gulf of Mexico, and 30A is a great place to see them.
On my trip, I especially loved watching the sunset from Bud and Alley’s, a Seaside restaurant with sweeping coastal views. Another evening, I watched the setting sun from the beach and was equally blown away by the beauty around me.
It’s easy to hop from town to town and explore 30A.
During my stay in 30A, I chose a rental property between Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach.
Fortunately, the area is very bikeable, with ample spacious sidewalks and bike lanes throughout. Lots of condos or hotels here come with bicycles, plus there are many rental companies in the area.
Often, I’d take a beach cruiser from my condo to Rosemary Beach for coffee or a meal, or I’d bike down 30A and stop to explore each town.
Since I also had a rental car, I drove to some spots farther away, such as Seaside and Santa Rosa Beach. Parking was easy to find, and the area was simple to navigate by car with my phone’s GPS.
I especially loved Seaside, which had the vibe of an upscale beach town.
My favorite spot in 30A was Seaside, a beach community where the movie “The Truman Show” was filmed.
It had beautiful beach houses, a small boardwalk area with shops and restaurants, a collection of food trucks, and an outdoor amphitheater for concerts.
I loved exploring the area. It felt relaxed and not too pretentious, but more upscale than Florida beach towns such as Fort Lauderdale, Cocoa Beach, or Panama City Beach.
It felt family-friendly, too. It’s the spot along 30A where I saw the most groups with children.
Visiting 30A’s Alys Beach felt like stepping into the Mediterranean.
If Seaside is a family-friendly upscale beach town, Alys Beach is on the opposite end of the luxury vacation spectrum.
This small community is filled with white-washed, stone vacation homes and Mediterranean-inspired architecture — it felt like a big resort.
In fact, I haven’t seen anything comparable to Alys Beach in Florida. Because of its stunning homes and high-end feel, Alys Beach feels like one of the areas least accessible to the public in 30A.
I didn’t spend much time here, especially because I saw so many residential streets with signs prohibiting the public from walking through or taking photos.
If you’re interested in vacationing in a more private area of 30A, though, Alys Beach is worth taking a look at.
Visit Rosemary Beach if you want to feel like you’re in a cute European town.
Rosemary Beach has made its rounds on TikTok, going viral for how it seems to resemble a small town in Europe.
Its downtown area is lined with cobblestone streets full of shops and al-fresco eateries, and it has a hotel complete with spires that reminded me of something I’d see in the Swiss Alps.
While there, I passed many street carts selling wares, like scarves and fresh flowers, as well as stunning homes with European-style architecture.
The area also has beautiful private beaches accessible by a key card.
There are also other unique, smaller beach communities to explore along 30A.
Seaside, Alys Beach, and Rosemary Beach are perhaps the most famous spots along 30A, but I was also impressed with the lesser-known areas I visited, such as Santa Rosa Beach.
You could make an entire day out of exploring the tiny towns and communities that make up this picturesque part of Florida.
The area has a lot of natural beauty, from its state parks to coastal dune lakes.
In addition to beaches, shopping, and dining, 30A has lots of beautiful, natural landscapes to show off.
I stopped by Eden Gardens during my visit — a 163-acre state park home to sweeping gardens, a bayou, plenty of walking trails, and centuries-old oak trees.
The area also has a collection of coastal dune lakes, a rare saltwater and freshwater phenomenon that exists in only a few places in the world.
I can’t wait to return to 30A, which is truly one of the most gorgeous destinations in Florida.
As someone who’s spent time on both the gulf and ocean side of the Sunshine State, I can say 30A is one of the most stunningly beautiful areas in all of Florida.
This means a lot coming from someone who’s lived in Florida for over a decade. Truly, few places have impressed me as much as this one.
There’s so much to see and do in the area, and it has a peaceful vibe I’ve rarely found in Florida beach towns.
I can’t wait to go back to 30A, and I think it’s the perfect destination for everything from bachelorette parties to family vacations.
This story was originally published on May 5, 2025, and most recently updated on June 17, 2026.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post So many Florida locals recommended I go to 30A. After one trip, I agree it’s one of the best destinations in the state. appeared first on Business Insider.
