Scenic Highway 30A in the Florida Panhandle is a beautiful 18 mile stretch of road lying adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico and home to a collection of unique neighborhoods, each with their own distinct personality. This is a beach strip like you’ve never seen before. Streets that look like they belong in the southwest of France, food trucks that the whole family will crave, sand that’s as crisp and white as snow. Beautiful beach front rental properties where you can wakeup to your own private balcony view of the Gulf Coast. Follow along as I walk you through my favorite beach towns on 30A!

Rosemary Beach

Rosemary Beach was designed to bring back the notions of community, neighborhood and convenience. In other words, this slice of heaven on earth offers residents the opportunity to vacation in the tranquility of paradise. Rosemary Beach was designed by world renowned urban planners of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Their vision was to create a community that captures the spirit of a neighborhood’s activity focused on the ocean with wooden boardwalks inspired by northern seaside towns and references to historic communities in Europe and the Caribbean.

Check out some of my favorite spots in Rosemary Beach

• The Pearl Hotel Rooftop 

• Restaurant Paradis 

• The Town Hall

• Weekend Farmers Market on The Lawn

Seaside Beach

Did you watch The Truman Show and think about what it would be like to visit Seahaven? Take a visit to Seaside Beach, the real-life town where the movie was shot. With walkable, bikeable streets, all kinds of shopping, street food and cafes and a layout that means every street leads you to the beach, it's a great place to have a good morning.

Check out some of my favorite spots in Seaside

• Great Southern Cafe

• Food Trucks on The Strip

• Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant

• Pickles 

• Seaside beach and boardwalk

Alys Beach

Alys Beach reaches beyond a simple respite or retreat, it is a fully-tailored, luxury vacation experience.  A feeling of calmness and simplicity imbues the layout of this community  with its white washed buildings referencing the courtyard homes of Bermuda, and the style of Cape Dutch Architecture found in the seaside Cape Town homes of South Africa. With brilliant white sand beaches, lush vegetation, thoughtful amenities, and fine food and drink it provides space for tranquility and delight. This 30A town is a piece of paradise!

Check out some of my favorite spots in Alys Beach

• George’s at Alys Beach

• Edwards Fine Food and Wine

Grayton Beach

Grayton Beach is home to a designated Blue Wave Beach and Grayton Beach State Park. The park is a 400-acre sliver of paradise featuring pristine sugar-sand beaches, a rare coastal dune lake and a wealth of nature. Its nature trail winds through a salt marsh, steep dunes and a coastal forest thick with twisted scrub oaks and magnolias. 

Check out some of my favorite spots in Grayton Beach

• Costal Dune Lakes Trail

• Paddleboarding in the Western Lake

• Grayton Seafood Co.