Looks like I have been put in charge for the summer family vacation. We live in Houston and keep hearing great things about Seaside, Rosemary beach, etc. We would be traveling with 6 adults and 4 kids (all under 5). I give the age because proximity to the beach is going to be important. I understand Seaside is going to be the most expensive and seems most highly referenced because of the town square, I just think our kids are going to be to young for that. Does anyone have a recommendation for where I should be searching on VRBO? I know we want to be south of 30A, but it looks like if I go a little further east I can get a house closer to the beach for about the same as a back row house in Seaside.

Thanks for any tips.

This is just me, but I like Grayton / Blue Mountain much better than Seaside / Rosemary. However, at this time of year, you will just need to take what you can get. The 30A region has exploded in popularity, and the majority of good houses are booked before Christmas. What's left in March will most likely be very expensive or far from the beach.

If anyone from the group plans on going fishing, book your trip from a Grayton guide. You can launch the boat from the beach in Grayton, and save yourself the drive into Destin.

we stay in our friends house here every year.

http://www.oldfloridabeach.com/rentals

Ours is the baithouse

I don't think it's worth staying in seaside. I'd rather be on the beach.

our group quit staying in seaside/watercolor 6 years ago and moved over to Grayton Beach.

It is nice and quiet with a much larger and much much less crowded beach but only 5 minute drive or 20 minute bike ride from Seaside.

That said, you really have to start booking almost 12 months in advance now. The best houses and summer weeks go fast.

As others have said, we love Grayton Beach. We make the trip to Seaside one day when we are there for dinner but we normally stay with the restaurants, shops and beaches West of Seaside.

We have rented this house for a few years, and we love it. Walker House

It is a 5 minute walk to the beach, but it doesn't involve crossing any major roads, it is just at the end of a dead end that doesn't have beach access. The added bonus of your own pool is nice also.

I will also add, that when our kids were younger, we would book the houses in September, after Labor Day, and the prices normally drop anywhere from 25-35%.

The wife and I are going to Grayton Beach in two weeks for a long weekend. Looking forward to it. Any recommendations? The only two things I've pulled from other threads are Picolos and Hurricane Oyster Bar.

Red Bar is good for one night. Fun place, limited menu, but they do it well. Grayt Grounds for coffee in the morning. Local Catch is a nice place for seafood. And the Great Southern Cafe is great and has a nice happy hour.

small world SNAA. We have been staying across the street from Walker House for years.
Salty Sunset for several years before it was bought and pulled off the market and now at Toulouse Mongoose.
Great location and you can't beat having your own pool.

Chip: would definitely go into Seaside for dinner one evening. Plenty of places in the thread to choose from.

Another great place for a night is The Hub

Grits a Ya Ya at Great Southern is my personal favorite.

I'd include bud & alley in the overrated list. Certainly not bad food by any means, but nothing special

Great Southern is amazing. If you're including this in the overrated group there's a strong chance your tongue is broken

VRBO Inlet Beach. Adjacent to Rosemary Beach, much cheaper.

I absolutely agree! GSC is outstanding.

We stayed in this house last year and booked it again for this year. https://www.vrbo.com/471323#

It's a walk to the beach, which is kind of a pain, but very reasonable prices for the house. We paid a service (Dillon's I think) to have our beach chairs set up every day, which limited how much we had to carry.

It has a community pool, which is nice for kids. With 5 kids under 5 this year in our group, we didn't want a private pool.

We have also stayed in two different houses in the Magnolia Cottages by the Sea subdivision and were very happy with them, but when my in-laws started making the trip, we needed a bigger house.

Agree. Seaside is very crowded and expensive IMO. We have stayed in Santa Rosa Beach 4 or 5 different times. This summer we are staying in Old Florida Beach for the second year in a row. Blue Mountain Beach may have something this late. IMO almost anything on 30A this side of Watercolor is worth the money. Gets you away from the hordes of people and cars in Destin.

Live in Atlanta and we've been vacationing a lot there the past number of years with sons and nephews ages 3-11. The whole area is nice. Just pay attention to how the summer and school calendars fall for the southeastern US versus yours. 30A during a shoulder week is fantastic and will give you thoughts of moving there. Peak weeks will make you think you're in Disneyland.

And FWIW, you should find yourself eating or walking around the Seaside square at least once ( the kids will love the fancy food trucks after dark). Likely Rosemary Beach as well. It's just a great area, period.

Duncan, other considerations with small kids and all of their beach stuff....

*If you want a house right on the beach where you can feed them a sandwich on the back deck before a nap, follow suggestions to stay far away from the primary areas. You will have a nice beach vacation, but may miss out on what makes the area so popular, IMO. In fact, if you're wanting the whole "beach house on a quiet, deserted stretch of sand", I'd avoid 30A altogether.

*If you want beach services where you're not lugging a cooler and chairs down to the beach every day, keep in mind that most homes in developments like Seaside and Watercolor include access to their beach club. ThIs means you park at a pool patio area and walk a boardwalk over the dunes to the beach where umbrella and drink services take over. The little kids end the day in the pool while you order food and drinks.

I had the preconceived notion that if I wasn't staying right on the beach it wouldn't feel like a beach trip. I was wrong; fully unprepared for how much I enjoyed staying in an extremely nice Watercolor home our first couple of years, with a short bike ride across the street to the beach club. The pedestrian/ bike aspect of the area is what makes it 30A. It's very clean, with no low-end condos or apartments like Panama City. No beach riff-raff at all.

We've done both versions; staying right in Watercolor and also staying a short drive away in a house on the beach; the trip is great either way but different vibes.

ya ya grits at GSC are one of the best meals ever.

We always stay at the Watercolor Inn. Very convenient, clean, and right on the water.

We stayed at Rosemary last year and loved it. We were within walking distance to the beach and it was great at night with all the festivities. We stayed at Destin before that and I was not a fan because of the crowds if that helps.

Any suggestions of where to stop to eat or stay overnight when driving from Texas to Rosemary?

Going to avoid NOLA this trip due to time constraints.

We left Dallas early afternoon and stopped in Baton Rouge with the 2 kids(we also had a delay or 2 because of construction and a wreck). On the way home we left Rosemary at 4am and drove straight back. By leaving that early we were able to beat the delay at the construction in Mobile.

Wouldn't it be faster to go through Jackson & Hattiesburg from Dallas?

best reason to avoid going through Baton Rouge if coming from Dallas is to avoid 10 West of Baton Rouge. One wreck on the bridge and it is backed up for hours.


We always stop in Mobile on our way over. Makes for an easy drive in on arrival day.

We were thinking of going from Dallas through Jackson and Hattiesburg. Didn't really consider Baton Rouge. Good to know about the bridge.

We went thru Jackson the first year and then BR on the way home and there really wasn't much difference if I recall. For some stupid reason I enjoyed the BR route more so we went that way the next time.

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Seagrove Village Market Caf is our go to. Love the place, very casual and only a few things on the menu. Angelina's is great place for pizza in Seagrove as well. I think most of the restaurants in Seaside and Rosemary are over-rated except for La Crema in Rosemary and Bud and Alley's in Seaside.

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Seagrove Village Market is permanently closed but I understand the owners are building a new location just down the street. Sucks as we are going in May and we love that place.

We like One Seagrove place condos in Seagrove, all are two bedroom units and the condo is on the beach. Good for families with little ones.

I loved the pizza at Cowgirl Kitchen at Rosemary.

We are headed to Rosemary Beach at the end of the week. I have two young kids and we're planning on leaving around 4pm and driving as far as I can make it (hopefully the whole way if the kids stay asleep). Two questions - 1) does anyone have a hotel rec in Mississippi or Alabama in the event we can't make it the whole way, and 2) last year construction was brutal on I-12 - has anyone driven it this year and know if the construction still ongoing? They had it down to one lane for miles last May and it added a good 1.5 to 2 hours to our trip.

Forgot to mention I'm leaving from Houston.