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Travel guide
Panama City Beach
5 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June and September to October
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Welcome
Panama City Beach, in a few days
On Florida's north-west coast, 43 km of white quartz sand line emerald-green water, between a row of holiday towers, fishing piers that reach 450 metres out into the Gulf and an untouched island reached by boat. Families from the American South have been coming here since the 1930s: dolphins in the bay, grilled fish on the quays and sunsets over the water fill the days.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 1 thing
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · The beach at Panama City Beach free · a full day43 km of continuous beach of Appalachian quartz sand that stays white and cool underfoot, with water shifting from pale green to blue and many numbered public accesses with free parking.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Holiday Inn Resort Panama City Beach ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€170 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Russell-Fields City Pier · about 1 hThe 457-metre municipal pier beside Pier Park, where anglers land Spanish mackerel and bluefish while dolphins and rays pass below, and the best spot in town to watch the sunset.
- Afternoon · Pier Park free · 2 to 3 hThe town's big open-air shopping centre around the municipal pier, with pedestrian streets of shops, restaurants with terraces, a cinema and a 57-metre SkyWheel with views along the coast to the state park.
- Late afternoon · Conservation Park free · about 2 hA restored 1,170-hectare wetland behind the town, with 39 km of flat trails through pine woods and marsh and eight boardwalks over flooded areas where herons, turtles, deer and alligators live.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Holiday Inn Resort Panama City Beach ↗€170 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Camp Helen State Park · about 2 hA 73-hectare park surrounded by water on three sides, beside Lake Powell, Florida's largest coastal dune lake, with the wooden lodge of a former mill workers' holiday camp and trails through dunes and marsh.
- Afternoon · Seaside and Route 30A free · half a dayA village laid out from 1981 with pastel wooden houses, porches and white picket fences, where The Truman Show was filmed, on a road linking similar villages, coastal lakes and cycle paths.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Holiday Inn Resort Panama City Beach ↗€170 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · St. Andrews State Park · half a dayThe eastern tip of the peninsula, with more than 1.5 km of undeveloped beach, sea-oat dunes, a calm natural pool between two rock jetties for snorkelling and a trail around alligator-filled Gator Lake.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Holiday Inn Resort Panama City Beach ↗€170 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Shell Island · half a dayAn 11 km barrier island with no roads, houses or shops, reached by shuttle boat, where a short walk through the dunes leads to an often deserted Gulf beach visited by dolphins and nesting turtles.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €140 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June and September to October
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/panama-city-beach
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.