Pasquale Liucci said:

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jpb1999 said:

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After reading through this thread, still confused. So this is all mostly talking about Seaside? Someone mentioned Rosemary Beach is lame... why? Why not Destin area?

I just want a place with direct beach access, at least 1 bed room but prefer 2 (it will be 4 of us including 9 and 11 year old kids) preferably with at least shared pools, and near restaurants and activities that kids can do.

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Staying in town in Rosemary in a large (sleeps 15+) house on the beach side of 30A is the way to go in my opinion. Been doing this for 5 years - big family trip with 12+ people. Have done Watercolor, Seaside, and Rosemary. None of the options are cheap so if people don't want to pay the 30A premium versus a Cinnamon Shores just exit stage left because that's what this thread is for.

Seaside and Watercolor feel very crowded and commercial. Rosemary has a quaint downtown and beautiful large houses. Any of the three you will feel incredibly safe, activities for kids, etc. really to me it's just a matter of how much do you want to be away from the crowds.

For a smaller group there are lots of carriage houses for rent in Rosemary and nice places up and down 30A - Seagrove, Watersound, Seaside, Watercolor, etc. VRBO may be your best bet BUT lots of YMMV with the new beach access rules

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We are staying in watercolor in a 6 bedroom sleeps 15 house for $11250 for 6 nights this June. A comparable house (5 bedroom sleeps 14) in cinnamon shore is $12900. Where does the idea come from that cinnamon shore is some type of bargain destination? I get access to 10 pools, beach club, etc in watercolor with my rental. Not trying to continue this debate but Port A medium to higher end rentals are no longer budget friendly...same with pointe west in galveston for that matter.

Is it worth it to bring fishing stuff on the trip or just enjoy the beach and pools?

yep...Cinnamon Shores ain't cheap at all. Beaches aren't as nice as 30A, but the 2-3.5 hour drive for most folks makes it a nice compromise.

Pasquale Liucci said:

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jpb1999 said:

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After reading through this thread, still confused. So this is all mostly talking about Seaside? Someone mentioned Rosemary Beach is lame... why? Why not Destin area?

I just want a place with direct beach access, at least 1 bed room but prefer 2 (it will be 4 of us including 9 and 11 year old kids) preferably with at least shared pools, and near restaurants and activities that kids can do.

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Staying in town in Rosemary in a large (sleeps 15+) house on the beach side of 30A is the way to go in my opinion. Been doing this for 5 years - big family trip with 12+ people. Have done Watercolor, Seaside, and Rosemary. None of the options are cheap so if people don't want to pay the 30A premium versus a Cinnamon Shores just exit stage left because that's what this thread is for.

Seaside and Watercolor feel very crowded and commercial. Rosemary has a quaint downtown and beautiful large houses. Any of the three you will feel incredibly safe, activities for kids, etc. really to me it's just a matter of how much do you want to be away from the crowds.

For a smaller group there are lots of carriage houses for rent in Rosemary and nice places up and down 30A - Seagrove, Watersound, Seaside, Watercolor, etc. VRBO may be your best bet BUT lots of YMMV with the new beach access rules

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Rosemary is probably my favorite 30a town. Has a lot of the good stuff (cool town with character, good restaurants, stuff to do, nice accommodations) and less of the drawbacks that you see in Seaside like big crowds and lots of kids/teens if you want to avoid that. It's also an easy drive to the grocery store and other restaurants that are off of 30a because it's right by hwy 98

Another place that hasn't been mentioned here is Alys beach. Definitely on the nicer end. Cool Mediterranean style houses. It's more of an adult place but has become more kid friendly in recent years. Right next door to Rosemary, so an easy bike ride if you want to swing over there to eat or something.

ugh, all this talk makes me want to go to the beach

Fair enough I hadn't quoted out any of that in years because we have our routine worked out and that's 30A. I was more just saying if you want to complain that 30A is a ripoff, overpriced, etc keep it moving because this thread was 30A

We are going mid August. Our group is our four kids, wife's parents, her two brothers and younger sister, and 3 cousins. All the kids are boys, 5 and under packed in an AirBnB in Rosemary and it's a blast. Best week of the year for all of us. We used to do Maui every summer (this was pre kids) but Covid insanity in 2020 made us look elsewhere and we couldn't be happier with our annual Rosemary pilgrimage.

Alys is where the 1% gets gentrified by the .25%. Its amazing but you have to have deep pockets in that playground!

Pasquale Liucci said:

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Fair enough I hadn't quoted out any of that in years because we have our routine worked out and that's 30A. I was more just saying if you want to complain that 30A is a ripoff, overpriced, etc keep it moving because this thread was 30A

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Yeah i hear ya....was not meant to be a dig and we are exciting for our first trip to 30A. Did Destin years ago but have not been down in this area.

I'm interested to hear how it goes for you. It's our favorite spot and with all the golf options and what not somewhere where we feel like we can continue to enjoy as the boys get older.

I will say the twist with the public vs private beach is an interesting one and glad we didn't have to figure out how to navigate that our first trip. Not an issue for us staying in Rosemary proper but just do your due diligence

We just got back from the San Juan and Sant Clara beach access area. No issues all week. No property owners kicking people out and no issues with police monitoring tent placement. Crowds were not too big. We did see a shark around the same time that three people were attacked that day this week.

Is there a Goatfeathers market at 30Avenue, 12805 US-98 East, Inlet Beach, FL 32461? Their website says there is a seafood market there, but google is taking me to Amigos Mexican Kitchen in a nicer retail area. Anyone been there or can correct the address?

Do they have the steamed shrimp there or just raw seafood?

I reading previous posts about getting steamed shrimp at Goatfeathers but it seems their other main locations are too far from Rosemary for an easy quick trip. Looking for something closer.

Thanks!

Yes Goatfeathers is around the corner from Amigos (same shopping center). Have not been there yet though the wife keeps mentioning it....

You can get steamed shrimp at Publix. Just go to seafood counter and buy the amount you want and tell them to steam it.

Full restaurant or just market?

If market do the steam shrimp?

For other poster, Asking about Goatfeathers because it was specifically mentioned as a must get. IsPublix just as good?

Goatfeathers is a seafood market and restaurant
Great po boys !

Goatfeathers seafood will be better than Publix, but it will probably also be exponentially more expensive. If you're just getting shrimp steamed to bring home then Publix to me is the best option.

But you can't go wrong going to Goatfeathers.

Bumping this back up....

Wife and I are taking the 2 yo on our first Florida vacation. Mid-June. Were thinking about Rosemary area before reading this post, sounds like that's still a good option.

Any other opinions/thoughts since this post last summer?

Thanks.