If you’re looking to take a trip to Rosemary Beach, or the gorgeous area known as 30A in Florida, I have the ultimate travel guide to share with you today! Our family LOVES this area and we just got home from our fourth trip to Rosemary Beach.
Traveling to Rosemary Beach / 30A:
Airports:
The nearest airport to Rosemary Beach is Panama City (ECP) Airport, which is a quick 13.9 miles away. We always fly into this airport! It’s super small and easy to navigate.
PRO TIP: ECP airport can get super busy. When you are flying home out of ECP, be sure to arrive early. Security lines usually take one hour if you’re flying out on Saturday, which is the busiest day at the airport.
Other nearby airports include Valparaiso (VPS) (35.3 miles), Pensacola (PNS) (72 miles) and Tallahassee (TLH) (100.5 miles).
Car Rental:
I definitely suggest renting a car for your trip. And reserve it early!
Where to Stay:
For Rosemary Beach, we always rent a house for our stay. I use www.rosemarybeach.com to find a place–they have everything from huge homes that sleep 20, to small condos. During the summer, which is their busy season, reservations are typically from Saturday to Saturday only. But if you travel during the off season, you should be able to rent for fewer days. 36o Blue is another popular booking option to rent a house!
Other options in Rosemary Beach:
The Pearl (but kids aren’t allowed in the pool, so keep that in mind)
The Pointe
PRO TIP: If you are renting a house or condo, keep in mind you’ll need to have household things like paper towels, soap, shampoo, etc. Most houses will provide enough for the first day or so, but if you’re staying for a whole week you’ll definitely need to buy those things when you arrive.
Where to Eat:
PRO TIP: For meals, we always get groceries at Publix immediately when we arrive. That place can get super busy on Saturdays, so we go right away and grab food for the week. We try to do at least two meals at the house to help cut down on costs.
Here’s a few of our favorite places to eat that are more budget friendly. Rosemary Beach restaurants can get super pricey, so we try to find places that aren’t crazy expensive.
The Donut Hole–they serve breakfast all day!! And the donuts are phenomenal. Lines can get long, so be prepared to wait.
Bruno’s Pizza–yummy pizza and super fast service
Cowgirl Kitchen–great spot for lunch
The Pearl Rooftop Bar–we love the wings here!
Raw and Juicy–great for healthy options
Playa Bowls–the yummiest smoothies ever
Sugar Shak–great ice cream and just a fun place. The kids love it.
Nigel’s in Seaside–hand down the best desserts you’ll ever have!
Amigas–good Mexican food
RANDOM TIPS:
Highly recommend renting bikes! Everyone cruises around on bikes in RB and it makes it easy to get to/from the beach. There’s no parking near the beach, so bikes are the way to go. Peddlers 30A is a great option. We love Bamboo Bicycle Company.
If you’re in Rosemary Beach, there are four pools you get access to with your rental. These are great for days you don’t feel like going to the beach.
Beach chairs and umbrellas are available to rent through www.rbpoabeachservice.com. You can do this in advance of your trip, which is a great idea because you’ll get a closer spot to the front row. However, the chairs are super expensive! I honestly think they are way over priced. A great alternative is to simply buy a few chairs and umbrella when you arrive, or take them with you if you’re driving. Then you can set up your own chairs behind the RB chairs. That will save you a ton of money!
Take this handy beach “blanket” with you. Highly recommend!! And an insulated bag is great to take drinks or snack down to the beach with you. These goggles are awesome for kids too!
Pay attention to the beach flags–they’ll tell you the condition of the water. Red flag means there are strong currents! Double red flag means no one is allowed in the water. You can also text “FLAG” to 31279 for current gulf conditions.
Check out my Sandestin review here! This is another great Florida vacation option in Miramar Beach.
Lovely, thank you for all the tips. Hope it was still a great place to get some rest from the daily life schedule.
I LOVE your blog!!!! I missed you while you were away. Welcome back!!!