Last Updated: August 1, 2026
Panama City Beach is a spring break and vacation town for much of the southern United States, and its miles of sugar-white sand are consistently rated among the best beaches in America. The area went through a real estate boom in the mid-2000s with a wave of new construction and rising prices. Then, on October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael came ashore near Tyndall Air Force Base with 161 mph sustained winds — a Category 5 and the most powerful storm ever recorded to strike the Florida Panhandle. Driving through three years later, it was surprisingly hard to tell. Most structures had been rebuilt or repaired. What gives it away is the tree line: the downed and topped pines and oaks are still everywhere once you know to look. From Orange Beach, Alabama it was about a three-hour tow with the Airstream.
Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort, Panama City Beach
This was our first stay at Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort, and it was a good one. Full hookups, 50-amp service, cable and WiFi genuinely fast enough to stream. The resort has two heated pools, a spa, a fitness room, basketball, shuffleboard, horseshoes and pickleball. Best of all, the sites are paved — which sounds like a small thing until you have spent a month tracking sand and gravel into a trailer. Paved pads keep the inside of the RV dramatically cleaner. Note for anyone booking today: the resort is now Sun Outdoors Panama City Beach, 1957 Allison Avenue, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407, 850-235-0924. Same property, same paved sites, new name.
Jake the dog loved the huge dog park, and even more than that he loved the lake, where he spent a good part of every day happily chasing turtles into the water. The turtles were never in any real danger. The small alligator sunning on the far bank was a useful reminder that this is Florida and the lake belongs to somebody else — we kept Jake leashed near the water after that.
We came across a black swamp snake several times in the same few square feet of rock. It was almost certainly the same individual — a small, harmless, glossy semi-aquatic snake that had clearly worked out where the best afternoon sun falls. In January, on the Panhandle, that is a decision worth respecting.
Taco Tuesday with a couple of cold drafts at the Brass Tap made a perfect evening — the tacos were genuinely excellent. Since our visit: the Brass Tap at Pier Park has closed after roughly a decade in business.
Next door to the RV resort is Zoo World, and we heard it every single day — macaws and other parrots calling in the morning, and something larger and less identifiable at dusk. It is an oddly pleasant soundtrack to a campsite. Zoo World Zoological Conservatory is at 9008 Front Beach Road, open 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily with last admission at 4:00 p.m., 850-818-3823.
Pirates Cove Marina, Panama City Beach
Pirates Cove is just a working marina, but it had been raining for days and we badly wanted to get out for lunch. This was not the postcard version of Florida: night-time temperatures in the 30s, overcast, rainy, with a cold wind coming off the water. The weather shut down most of what we would normally do outdoors, which is the honest reality of a Gulf Coast January — some weeks are glorious, some weeks you find a good bar with a harbor view and wait it out.
Sisters of the Sea was exactly what we were looking for. Mermaids everywhere, fair prices, good food and a harbor view. The gumbo was the right thing on a cold, wet day — one of those meals that is better than it has any business being because of when and where you eat it. Since our visit: Sisters of the Sea has closed. We were lucky to catch it.
Historic St. Andrews, Panama City
Historic St. Andrews is a small waterfront district of Panama City, across the bay from the beach resorts — older, quieter and a good deal more interesting. It grew up as a fishing and shipping village long before Panama City existed, and the marina still works for a living.
The holiday decorations were still up in the second week of January, which felt about right for a town in no particular hurry. Oaks by the Bay Park, at Beck Avenue and West 10th Street, turned out to be the highlight — a small waterfront park with a boardwalk down to a little beach and a genuinely good view across the bay. Its centerpiece is the Sentry Oak, a live oak of roughly 300 years that came through Hurricane Michael standing. Many of the park’s other oaks did not, and rather than haul the trunks away the city had artists carve them in place. The pelican above is one of them. It is the best answer to a hurricane we have seen anywhere on the Gulf Coast.
Barefoot on the Bay had excellent fresh raw oysters at a very fair price. An oyster on a saltine with a dollop of horseradish is one of Sandy’s favorite lunches anywhere, and after the Apalachicola oysters a few weeks earlier she had become a fairly demanding critic. These passed. Boats and water on three sides, a shaded table, and Jake welcome on the patio with us. Since our visit: Barefoot on the Bay has closed. St. Andrews still has good waterfront seafood, but not this particular table.
Visiting Panama City Beach: Where to Stay and What It Costs
RV resort: Sun Outdoors Panama City Beach, formerly Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort, 1957 Allison Avenue, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407, 850-235-0924. Paved full-hookup sites with 20/30/50-amp service, two heated pools open year-round, hot tub, fitness center, pickleball and several dog parks, plus a fishing lake. It is under a mile from the Gulf and open all year. Zoo World: 9008 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, open 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily with last admission at 4:00 p.m., closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, 850-818-3823, zooworldpcb.com. Oaks by the Bay Park: Beck Avenue at West 10th Street in Historic St. Andrews, open daily, free — see the Historic St. Andrews Waterfront Partnership for the district’s other parks and events. St. Andrews State Park, the area’s best beach and snorkeling access, is open 8:00 a.m. to sundown 365 days a year; entry is $8 per vehicle for two to eight people, $4 for a single-occupant vehicle and $2 for pedestrians and cyclists, with camping at $28 per night plus a $7 nightly utility fee and a $6.70 reservation fee, 850-708-6100, floridastateparks.org.
Practical Tips for Panama City Beach
Book paved sites if you can. After months of gravel and sand pads, the paved sites here made a noticeable difference to how clean the trailer stayed inside. It is worth paying a little more for.
Pack for a real winter. January nights dropped into the 30s with cold wind and days of rain. The Panhandle is not South Florida. Bring layers, a rain shell and something to do indoors, and treat every sunny day as a gift to be spent outside immediately.
Cross the bay to St. Andrews. The beach side is where the condos and crowds are. Historic St. Andrews has the working marina, the murals, Oaks by the Bay Park and the better casual seafood, and it takes about twenty minutes to reach.
Watch the water with a dog. Resort lakes in Florida hold alligators, including small ones you will not spot until you are close. Jake chased turtles happily for a week, but we kept him leashed near the water once we saw what else lived there.
Go in the off-season for the beach itself. We had miles of sugar-white sand essentially to ourselves in January. The same beach in March during spring break is a completely different experience, and not one we would choose.
Check that restaurants still exist. Three of the places we enjoyed on this trip have since closed. The Gulf Coast dining scene turns over quickly, especially post-hurricane — call ahead rather than driving across town on the strength of a blog post, including this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Panama City Beach worth visiting in winter? Yes, with realistic expectations. January gave us empty beaches, easy parking, no crowds and low rates, but also nights in the 30s and several days of cold rain. If you want the beach to yourself and you are not counting on swimming, winter is excellent. If you want reliable warmth, come in late spring or fall instead.
Has Panama City Beach recovered from Hurricane Michael? Largely, yes. Michael made landfall on October 10, 2018 near Tyndall Air Force Base as a Category 5 with 161 mph sustained winds — the strongest storm ever recorded to hit the Florida Panhandle. Three years later most buildings had been rebuilt or repaired and the damage was easy to miss. The lasting evidence is in the trees: broken pines, missing canopy, and the carved oak sculptures in Oaks by the Bay Park.
Where should I park an RV in Panama City Beach? We stayed at what was then Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort and is now Sun Outdoors Panama City Beach — paved full-hookup sites, fast WiFi, two heated pools, dog parks and a fishing lake, under a mile from the Gulf. St. Andrews State Park also has a campground right on the water at $28 per night plus fees, which is a better setting but a much more basic facility.
What is there to do in Panama City Beach besides the beach? Zoo World is next to the RV resort, St. Andrews State Park has the area’s best snorkeling and the Shell Island shuttle, and Historic St. Andrews across the bay has the marina, murals, waterfront restaurants and Oaks by the Bay Park. Pier Park is the big shopping and dining complex on the beach side.
What is Historic St. Andrews? It is the original waterfront settlement that predates Panama City, now a small historic district about twenty minutes from the beach resorts. It has a working marina, murals and public art, several seafood restaurants, and Oaks by the Bay Park with its roughly 300-year-old Sentry Oak.
Is Panama City Beach dog friendly? Reasonably. The RV resort had several dog parks and Jake was welcome on restaurant patios throughout St. Andrews. Dogs are restricted on many of the public beaches, so check local rules — the dog-friendly beach access points are limited and specific.
Are there alligators in Panama City Beach? Yes. We watched a small one basking beside the lake inside the RV resort. Alligators are present in nearly all fresh and brackish water in this part of Florida. Keep dogs leashed and away from the water’s edge, and do not let them swim in lakes or canals.
From Panama City Beach we turned inland to the state capital and a quiet wooded campground on Lake Talquin — Tallahassee and Coe Landing — before working our way east toward the Atlantic coast.
