Richie and I recently returned from Panama City Beach, Florida. This was our third visit and, despite the threat of Tropical Storm Debby on Sunday and Monday, it turned out to be one of our best beach vacations yet. Don’t let the rumors that Panama City Beach is a party town fool you! While this may be the case during “Spring Break” season, the rest of the year it is a PERFECT vacation spot.
Returning to the same place three times certainly has some advantages.
First off, we returned to one of the most fun hotels I have ever stayed at. The Holiday Inn Resort at Panama City Beach (HIPCB) has EVERYTHING you could want and more. It is perfect for couples but is designed as a family resort and offers some amazing amenities to families with kids. Check out my review on Trip Advisor! You can also find HIPCB on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Second, we learned which restaurants were legitimately good and didn’t waste our time in the tourist traps. We also weren’t afraid to eat “on the cheap” and even got Burger King for breakfast one morning and ate Subway for lunch twice! This helped save lots of $$ so when we did eat out we could really splurge. Our favorite spots include:
Shuckums (No Photo)
Three Brothers Pizza (Also available on the pool deck at HIPCB!)
Finally, we knew where everything was which saved us lots of time. We didn’t have to spend hours wandering up and down Front Beach Road which meant more time on the beach.
We did add one new thing to our itinerary this year. We took a Dolphin Cruise at Capt. Anderson’s Marina. At only $12 per person it was a lot of fun and a great bargain!
We’re already plotting and planning our return trip for next summer!
Note: All images found in the post are Copyright 2012: Julie Kohl. Please do not use, pin, or repost these pictures without my permission. Pinning from this page has been disabled.
Looks fabulous!! Love the photos, too, btw.