Seaside, Florida Travel Guide - Wild and Well Blog

We took a trip to 30A, Florida back in May and I wanted to put together a blog post with all of my recommendations for the area and everything that we enjoyed doing while we were there! I’ve actually been to the area three other times by myself on girls/retreat trips, but I’ve wanted to take my husband and our kids there for years so I was so excited to finally make it happen. 30A Florida is kind of a gem of a location- but it’s become very popular in recent years so it’s definitely busier than it was in the past, but we still had a great time. If you aren’t familiar- 30 A is the stretch of beach along the 30A Highway in Florida; it’s situated between Destin and Panama City Beach. I’ve been to a lot of beaches- Mexico, Southern California, Northern California, Washington, East Coast, Galveston… but the Emerald Coast (where 30A is) has my absolute favorite beaches. One, the sand is so soft and white and two, the water is this beautiful blue color and it’s so clear and clean. All the towns along 30A are also super cute places to stay and they’re right on the beach. I will break down with the different towns below, but I just love this area because everything is very family friendly, very clean, walkable, there’s really good food (see all my favorite restaurants below), and there’s lots of fun shopping! It’s just a great family friendly place for a vacation.

Where to stay:

There are multiple beach towns along 30A where you can stay. The main town that is kind of in the center of 30A is Seaside and that’s where all of the main shopping and restaurants are. It’s right along the beach but there’s also beach access and restaurants in other parts of 30A. I absolutely love seaside- it’s such a cute area but it’s a very expensive to stay there, so we prefer to stay in one of the other towns. The closer you are to seaside the more expensive it is and then the further out you go the more budget friendly, the options are.

In the past I have stayed in Santa Rosa Beach and Watercolor, but this time we stayed in Gulf Place. This was a little further out than I would have liked but it worked out because we had a great Airbnb in a great neighborhood with pool access and we were only a half mile from the beach. See our Airbnb HERE. I was very happy with our Airbnb- it was a really good size for our family of four, it was very clean and cozy, it came with a golf cart that we could use to go to the beach, and it had a full kitchen so that we can make our own food. Although, we ate out more than intended just because the food and 30A is SO good.

If we go back to 30A, I think I would try to stay and Watercolor next time. Watercolor is a community that is right next to seaside but they have a ton of amenities so they have a lots of pools a lazy river, a community center, biking, etc. and anyone who stays in Watercolor gets access to those things so I thought that was pretty cool. I say ‘IF’ because I think our next beach trip will probably be to a different location, just since I’ve been to seaside so many times and I really like to go and try out new places but I highly recommend this area I recommend everyone go at least once if you’ve never been.

Let me briefly breakdown the different neighborhoods in the 30A area for you. Honestly, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these neighborhoods, they all just have a slightly different feel and offer different things. The closer you are to Seaside, the more expensive you can expect rental properties to be- but those are also closer to all the shopping and restaurants. The closer you go away from Seaside, it’s more affordable and not as close to shopping and restaurants, but also offers less crowds and a quieter feel.

Seaside: is the neighborhood in the center of 30A with all of the shops, restaurants, ampitheatre, and food trucks.

Santa Rosa Beach: is probably the most popular place to stay in 30A. It was founded in 1910, so there are a lot of places to stay and options for rentals. There are some restaurants, just not as many as Seaside.

Seagrove: is right outside of Seaside and is a mix of older and newer rental properties. It has some local shops and restaurants, and two of South Walton’s rare dune lakes.

Watercolor: this neighborhood gives off the vibe of a whole community because in addition to rental properties and restaurants, they also have parks, pools, and so many amenities that are exclusive to the people who stay in this neighborhood.

Grayton Beach: is a laid-back and more artsy neighborhood. It also has Grayton Beach State Park which is home to a diverse ecosystem and a haven for fishermen.

Blue Mountain: is a newer neighborhood that is more ‘up and coming’ and not quite as populated as some of the other neighborhoods. It has rental properties and some of my favorite restaurants- see below for all my faves!

Gulf Place: is a little further away from Seaside and all its happenings, but also has a really cozy and quiet feel. It has a few restaurants and a lot of neighborhoods, along with beach access.

Inlet Beach: has a very laid back feel and is mainly houses and rental properties.

Rosemary Beach: is a really unique neighborhood that offers boutique shopping, high end restaurants, spa experiences, a very European feel.

Alys Beach: has a very hip feel with a very Mediterranean, artistic feel. They have a natural juice bar, upscale restaurants, and is very walkable.

Watersound: is a community that was really designed to create spaces for recreation and leisure. They have a gathering spot for live music, restaurants, and access to Deer Lake State Park.

Dune Allen: is kind of on the outskirts of 30A and has stunning beaches, 3 dune lakes, tons of walking trails, and some restaurants.

So where should you stay?

Honestly, it took a while for me to book our trip, simply because I was overwhelmed by all the options and didn’t know where to stay. My best advice is to decide what your priorities are- do you want to be close to the restaurants and shopping? Walking distance to the beach? Access to amentities? Think about the experiences you want to have and then figure out what your budget is. For us, I would have loved to be right on the beach but that can be very pricey. We opted to stay in Gulf Place which is a little further out than I prefer, but we had a lovely rental in a quiet neighborhood, access to a pool, and we were only 1/2 mile from the beach.

Where to eat:

When I say that I go to 30A for the beach, I do, but I also go for the food. I have not had a bad meal there. Honestly, I have loved every single restaurant I tried. I am salivating just looking at these pictures lol. We actually ate out more than we intended, because there’s just so many good options and I had major FOMO. We haven’t even scratched the surface (there are so many restaurants there!) but here are my favorite places to eat in 30A:

The Food Trucks in Seaside: these are iconic and so good! I love going to Seaside, grabbing food at the food trucks, letting the kids play by the amphitheater, doing a little shopping, and walking along the beach. You cannot go wrong with any of the food trucks, but Crepes du Soilel is my FAVORITE. They have both savory and sweet crepes and they are all so delicious. I think I’ve tried almost all of them. They do have gluten-free options, but they don’t always have the batter ready. I had to ask them to make more batter and came back the next day.

Bud & Alley’s: this is a really popular restaurant and one of the OGs of the area. They have a fairly fancy rooftop restaurant with an amazing view (make reservations), a taco bar, and a pizza bar. The pizza is amazing and they do have gluten-free options- some of the best GF pizza I’ve ever had.

Red Fish Taco: something about me is I LOVE fish tacos- they are my love language. Anytime I’m at the beach, you can count on me ordering fish tacos. Something I ran into in 30A is a lot of restaurants that make fish tacos- only offered flour tortillas. So I went on a hunt to find fish tacos with corn tortillas and I ended up trying Red Fish Taco- and let me tell you, BEST FISH TACOS I have ever had in my life. I’m literally drooling thinking about them- haha they were amazing.

Blue Mountain Creamery: right across the street from Red Fish Taco is Blue Mountain Creamery and I highly recommend stopping in here. They have really delicious homemade icecream with a variety of different flavors.

Shunk Gulley: this is another favorite, especially if you want some really good seafood. Their oysters and duck fat fries are *chef’s kiss*.

Areas for kids to play

Anywhere we travel, we love finding spots for the kids to run around and play and just be kids. Obviously, the beach is a given. But here are some other options.

Watercolor Playground: this is such a fun playground to stop at and let the kids play! It’s in the Watercolor neighborhood, but anyone can visit it.

Alys Beach Playground and Splashpad: this playground and splashpad is a dream! I really wanted to go here, but I so sad that we didn’t have time. It is also located right next to Raw & Juicy.

Seaside Ampitheatre: this is honestly one of our favorite spots. The ampitheatre is surrounded by a grassy area and is located behind the food trucks in Seaside. We loved grabbing food from the food trucks and going over here and just letting the kids run around and play.

The Hub/The Big Chill: is an indoor and outdoor gathering place with an indoor eatery, outdoor bar, stage, and shopping. It’s very kid friendly, with lots of room for children to run around.

Things to do in 30A:

If you’ve followed my other travels, then you probably know that we love to go on roadtrips packed with hiking, activities, and sightseeing. We try and pack in as much as we can because- FOMO. 30A is a different type of trip. Don’t visit Seaside to do a bunch of different activities and stay busy. This is not the place for that. I love 30A because it has such a relaxing and calm feel. I go here to chill, to relax, to not feel like I necessarily have to have a curated agenda, but just to enjoy yourself. So there isn’t a ton of touristy activities, but you don’t need them! Between going to the gorgeous emerald beaches, swimming (if you have access to a pool) doing a little shopping, walking through the towns, and enjoying the amazing array of restaurants- you’ll have plenty to do!