30a | DREAMIEST VACATION SPOT
One of my most favorite places on earth - the 30a in Florida! Most commonly referred to by me as “we are going to Seaside!!!!!!”
The 30a is a stretch of beautiful tree-lined highway, and all along it are the cutest, most distinct and individual little towns. Each has it’s own personality and vibe! I’ll share a little about each, and then give you the full guide to our fave places to eat and shop! We are always exploring new areas, and this is such a small sampling of the options along 30a.
This most recent time, we stayed at a GORGOUS home in Dune Allen It was about 18 minutes from Seaside and sooo peaceful & quiet. We had our family of 5, my parents, my in-laws, and my auntie and uncle with us. The home sleeps 15, has 4 king bedrooms (the beds were like sleeping on clouds) with the dreamiest bathrooms, a 4 bed bunk room, multiple hang out lounge spots, patios, and a pool area that is like swimming in a treehouse. The kitchen was a chef’s dream, we cooked nightly. Double laundry rooms, huge pantry, and comes with bikes and a 6-seater golf cart. The beach is so close, and the house came with literallllly everything you needed for a beach day - coolers, chairs, tons of beach toys for the kids, a bag to carry it all in - it just made it so simple!
30A Beach Bliss in Dune Allen (15% discount for you with code ANNIE15 for you<3)
close to the beach, could walk!
comes with 6 seater golf cart & bikes
huge comfy beds
dreamy bathrooms, lots and lots of light
massive closets (that double as rooms for your babies in cribs)
double laundry room
dreamy chef’s kitchen
pool area that is like chillin’ in a tree house
fenced yard & pet-friendly
huge outdoor dining and living area with grill
quiet & peaceful area, very picturesque. lots of walking trails. close to seaside proper.
PLACES TO EAT // from my friend Alyssa:
Stinky’s - this was so much fun! live music, good food! You can walk!
Shunk Gulley
Perfect Pig
3 Sons BBQ (very close)
Thai 30A
Mimmo’s (Italian)
Papa Surf’s (burgers)
Red Fish Taco
Blue Mountain Bakery
For the Health of It (smoothie bar)
In Grayton Beach:
Nanbu Noodle Bar
Grace Pizza
Chanticleer
Black Bear Bread Co
Crackings (breakfast/brunch)
WATERCOLOR
We typically have stayed in Watercolor, and right next door to it is Seaside. Watercolor is quiet, and has the most stunning homes. There are plenty of quiet, secluded pools, and then they also have a few bigger pools with slides, a bar, food, and all that stuff! The whole Watercolor area is gorg, but we have always stayed in the Lake District. You really can’t go wrong though. It is a quick 5 minute bike ride to Seaside! We use 360blue to rent and have never been disappointed - the houses are so beautiful and come with all the amenities. Most of the houses we’ve stayed in come with bikes to use, and some have golf carts! If you want to rent another type of bike, or the cart things to pull the kids in, it’s a quick walk to the rental spot.
One of the more secluded pools we like is called the Frog Pool, and there’s a little open space with swings too! There’s also a park in Watercolor too!
SEASIDE
Seaside is the place most people picture - there is a big green lawn, surrounded by the most precious shops and a row of Airstream food spots. The beach area is perfection in every photo.
ROSEMARY BEACH
A few minutes car ride down the road is Rosemary Beach, which is also one of our must-hit spots every time we go. It also has a few large grassy areas for the kids to run around, and it surrounded by restaurants and shops!
ALYS BEACH
Alys Beach is next door, and the architecture here is my favorite. Tall white mediterranean-ish buildings with cobblestone streets and gorg trees and greenery.
EATS + STUFF
We love this whole area, the sunsets are stunning, and the beach has the prettiest cream sand, and best of all - it’s the bestttt getaway whether you have kids or not. I think very few places can do BOTH well, and the 30a does!
Here are some of our favorite spots to eat and hang! Also, they now have a delivery service for when you don’t wanna go out - 30agrub2go 🙌🏻
WATERCOLOR
+ Pizza By The Sea - our first stop on the way to the house from the airport every single time! The pizza is SO good! Try the Spaghetti & Meatball pizza - it sounds weird but it’s delish.
+ The Publix is right here too for groceries (Instacart also delivers!) and there’s a liquor store as well.
+ Fish Out Of Water (FOOW) at the Watercolor Inn is supposed to be good!
SEASIDE
Eats:
+ Pickles - Oh my gosh one of our faves! Their corn dogs (i know lol but trust me), burgers, smoothies, and obvi the giant pickles are sooo good. We end up here a few times each trip!
+ Taco30A - they deliver! Such good food!
+ Bud and Alleys - both the Pizza Bar their Taco place are good!
+ Great Southern - YOU MUST EAT HERE. Preferably once for dinner and once for brunch. Get the lobster eggs bennie.
+ Sushi - we did 45 Central and also VKI! There are a few more we want to try !
+ Amavida Coffee - really great lattes!
+ Frost Bites (Snow cones! One of the Airstreams!)
+ Heavenly Ice Cream
+ Airstream row - honestly everything is good here. All of it. Get one thing from each lol.
+ Frose Truck - I would make Chris and Grey take the golf cart and bring me a Frose pretty much nightly 🤪 They also had a Mojito one 🙌🏻
+ Modica Market (for groceries!)
Shopping:
+ Pop up shops, open air market, super cute clothes and accessories
+ Art of Simple - great kitchen & home decor, awesome for gifts
+ Mercantile - my fave women’s shop!
+ Seaside Style - gotta get your Seaside sweatshirt lol
+ Sun Dog Books
+ Central Square Records
+ Cabana - dreamy resortware and gifts
+ Bump & Baby - baby and pregnancy store
+ Artful Eye - sunnies galore!
+ Duckies = super fun toy store (If you’re looking for a kid’s shop, I LOVE Gigi’s Fab Kids in Rosemary Beach to any in Seaside! Gigi’s staff are SO kind, were so sweet to my kids, and they respect freedom ❤️)
ALYS BEACH
+ Charlie's - BEST DONUTS OF YOUR LIFE. Eat them while playing on the splash pad!
+ Fonville Press - great coffee. great desserts. yummy sandwiches. cute little market. the vibe here is my favvvorite.
+ Splash Pad
+ Raw & Juicy - smoothies!!! and healthy eats. SO GOOD! And it’s got a gorgeous outdoor sitting space and connects to the COOLEST park. Very contemporary and cool architecture the kids can play on, plus a slide and rock wall to climb, and hills to run up and down!
Here are some places I’ve been told are amazing but I haven’t gotten there or done them yet!
+ George’s - said to be the best food on the 30A!
+ Piper’s Kitchen (fish tacos)
+ Caliza Pool
+ Nature Trail
ROSEMARY BEACH
+ Gigi’s Fab Kids - The best kids shop!! They love freedom! We let the kids go wild here bc we wanted to support them ❤️)
+ Sugar Shack (old school candy store)
+ The Hidden Lantern Bookstore (very cool and they also love freedom. 🙌🏻 Buy a lot of books here, k?)
+ Shopping (Willow, Tracery)
+ Amavida Coffee
+ I’m sure there are TONS of good restaurants here! We just didn’t get to them this trip! La Crema and Pescado were two I have on my list to try, and also Cowgirl Kitchen for breakfast!
SANTA ROSA BEACH
+ Donut Hole - we go here for donuts a LOT. Also a yummy breakfast spot! But the donuts 😍
+ Goatfeathers Seafood Market - there is also a restaurant and we get takeout there at least twice. It’s a fave of ours! Just make sure you’re going to the right place to pickup bc we’ve made that mistake and gone to the market when we meant to go to the restaurant lol
+ Perfect Pig for BBQ is on our list to try, as well as Blue Mountain Bakery for breakfast or lunch, and Mabels Blue Mountain!
INLET BEACH
+ Hub 30A - super cool spot with tons of shops and food places, would be great to watch a game if you like sports lol
GRAYTON BEACH
+ Black Bear Bread Co. - SO SO GOOD. Lattes, baked goods, eats - just all around delish!
We haven’t been to either of these but plenty of people have raved about them!
The Red Bar
Borago
I’ve also heard Chanticleer Eatery for their cobb salad!
SEAGROVE
Angelina’s Pizzeria - good pasta!
We haven’t been here but have heard good things: Cafe Thirty-A
Village MarketCafe
Also this was a SUPER fun spot to take the kids!!
+ Baytowne Wharf (ziplinging, playground, little kids adventure stuff, rock climbing, fun for all ages of kids!)
I hope this little guide to 30a makes you wanna go there STAT 🤣🤣🤣 We go back in May and i literally cannot wait 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Lemme know what spots I need to add!
