Best Beaches in Northwest Florida

So, you're thinking about either moving to visiting some of the best beaches in Northwest Florida. Well, in this video, my team and I compiled the best beaches, all for different reasons here in this video and you're going to see the top 10.

TOP 10 BEACHES IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA

Alright. So, let's get on to it. What are those top 10 beaches? What is Northwest Florida out of all of Florida really known for and that's right, that's going to be the beaches. If you've been to the eastern part of Florida and you've seen those beaches, and then you went over to the western side on the Gulf Coast. Yeah, there's quite a bit of a difference. And well, we got the better one. Unbiased opinion? Nah, probably not. Alright. So, let's get into the different categories. Now these aren't necessarily in a specific order. It is more for you to see, hey, this one's best for whatever reason. So, let's get going.

1. PANAMA CITY BEACH 

The reason it's number one is, because it's probably got the best place for spring breakers. It's always been that way down there. Family vacationers, and this is mainly due because it's relatively cheap to come down here and find a condo, to find an Airbnb, VRBO, or whatever it is, and come down and enjoy it. But, the reason being is that there's tons of activities out there. You've got parks, you've got restaurants, you've got golfing, pretty much all Florida. Right? Shopping, you get to bar hop around this area. Definitely check out Pier Park if you're going to come out to Panama City Beach. Of course, got lots of dining options, hiking, biking, and of course, sunbathing. And, that's this beautiful part of the sunshine state.

2. ST. GEORGE ISLAND

Now, this is just south of Tallahassee. It's actually got a, and is best known for being a 22 mile serene secluded barrier island. The reason this is even on the list is if you've ever been to this area, it's probably got some of the best unobstructed coastline views in all of Northwest Florida. Now, if you go in through the town, it's got some charming cottages, spacious beach homes, all that you can rent out and are mainly used for a lot of vacationers. Now, if you go up to the eastern tip there, you've got Saint George State Park. Now that's just beautiful area out there. You've got lots of forest and the white sand dunes and of course you have the sandy beaches, all around that park. So, it's just it's absolutely gorgeous in there. It's really ideal for hiking, nature trails, what have you.

3. DESTIN

That is right. That's here in Destin. One of my favorite places to go to. What is known, first and foremost for is world class fishing and boating. And, it was actually named one of the luckiest fishing villages and it definitely has shown. It's got great as I said, fishing, boating, and lots of attractions out here. Now, if you haven't been to Destin, definitely want to look up what's called, Crab Island. It's not a real island. It's kind of a sandbar sort of thing. But, during the warm months, people will come out from Destin and the surrounding areas, just go ahead and put their boats there on the island. They'll link up to one another, and it's just a big big festival party. It seems like every day out there just an absolute great time. But, when you're in Destin, you have shopping, you have lots of dining. You can go out to a lot of these different places and watch the sunset while you're out there having some delicious libations or enjoying your dinner. Of course, you have the HarborWalk with Margaritaville down there. They got zip lines, live music all the time. You're looking to shop, shop till you drop. You've got the Silver Sands Premium Outlets, of course, you have the Destin Commons. And, if you're looking for something just a little bit more resort-like that pretty much anybody can get out to, definitely check out Baytowne Wharf, which is out towards Sandestin where you can go out for a sunset cruise or dinner cruise. They've got lots of just amenities inside there. It's definitely something to checkout. Alright.

4. GRAYTON BEACH

Now, Grayton Beach is actually located in this pretty 2,000 acre unspoiled land that is Grayton Beach State Park. Now, the reason people like going to this is kind of funky hip, eccentric, little beach down as you go into all these different shops. It's got a certain feel to it when you get in there and it's pretty cool. It's kind of one of those hidden gems that you can go out and find out in the, what we call, the 30A area. And, that's just known because of the highway that goes through that. And, in this area, you definitely want to check out this brackish western lake. Right? Brackish just means, it's a mix between salt water and fresh water. And, this is great for swimming, kayaking, canoeing, or little butt of stand up paddle boarding. Whatever you want to do.

5. PERDIDO KEY

Okay. Let's head on over towards Pensacola to Perdido key, which is about 20 miles or so from the actual Pensacola area. Now, this Perdido Key is best known for it being just laid back. And, really for those that are looking for kind of some tranquility and solitude is just really really chill. When people go through there, when I have personally shown people condos out there, they've all commented that it's very clean in a well kept area. And, there's lots of wildlife. I haven't really seen any, but there's lots of wildlife that's out there, where you have seabirds, sea turtles, and all sorts of great stuff. So, great area for relaxing. Just know that the Perdido in Spanish also means lost. So, it's kind of the lost key, so there's not a whole lot of stuff to do out there, but if you're looking for place to go ahead and relax and just kind of enjoy that community, this is a great place for you.

Alright, moving on to relaxing.

6. NAVARRE BEACH

Navarre Beach was voted the most relaxing beach in all of Florida. It really doesn't need so much to it because it's just beautiful and a very naturalistic way. It also has the longest fishing pier that's out there. Obviously, you can fish, bike, hike, of course, you've got the nature trails that are out there. But, it's a little built up, but it's not condo city as a lot of people have commented to me when they're trying to move around. There's a few that are out there There's a lot of single family homes. They are building it up a little bit, but it's really nice because you can't really go too far east because that's kind of the air force base that you can't get out of. So, you have all of this open beach all around you and it's just it's just great.

7. SEASIDE

Now Seaside, if you haven't heard of that, again, down in the 30A area that we were talking about before. It is best known for its iconic architecture. What I mean by that, is that it's got peak roof, pastels, white picket fences. Everything seems to be painted white out there and it's got its own unique feel to it. Of course, you got great shops and eateries. If you go to the main part of Seaside, there's this big oval with an outdoor amphitheater, there's food trucks out there, And of course, you have this, we'll say, a boardwalk that goes for miles down either side from Seaside as well. My wife and I just went down for a staycation this past summer, and that's what we did. Just got rented some bikes and went down there and just enjoyed some of the eateries, the views, everything. It was absolutely gorgeous out there and just a great place to go visit or live.

8. FORT WALTON BEACH

Alright. Number 8 is Fort Walton Beach and this is where our team is at actually. Fort Walton Beach is best known for its really untouched accessible beaches. If you go down and look at a map on Google, you'll see we have something down towards the bottom just called Okaloosa Island. Okaloosa Island because of its proximity to Eglin Air Force Base is another reason Fort Walton Beach is known. That brings in like 15,000 people each year. Anyway, you'll see that there are six miles worth of untouched and unbuildable areas that are out there that are open to the public for the most part. And, you'll be able to get out there on these untouched, just immaculate beaches where you'll just see people going down Highway 98 and pulling up to the side. There's a couple walkways to get out there. You want to have a beautiful beach all to yourself, well, Fort Walton Beach is the best place to go for that. Not only that, but you're not going to see condos that tower over six stories tall. Mainly again, because of the air force base there, they restricted the height. So, you're not going to see these huge huge condo buildings out there. You will see an array of them, but it won't be what you'd probably be used to seeing in South Florida. Now, Fort Walton Beach also has lots of shops. They've got restaurants. There's another one on Okaloosa Island kind of on the intercoastal waterway or bayside as we call it, called the gulf. And, that actually, you can sit there on all different types of seating. It's got these old containers that they've built into just the structure that's around there. And it's the ambiance is amazing as the sun sets out there, just amazing. And of course, it's also known for the aviation armament museum. If you do got and check that out just south of Eglin Air Force Base.

9. PENSACOLA BEACH

Now, this is best known for the most lively of the beach areas and of course the nightlife that is attached to it. And what I mean by that, is there's a street that's in downtown Pensacola. Now one thing I want to tell you, is that Pensacola Beach is actually South of Gulf Breeze. So, you have to pass over two bridges to get back into Pensacola. But when you do, you're going to find the street called Palafox Street is actually named one of the ten greatest streets in America. And, it's because, this area has a very vibrant downtown scene. I personally love it. It's filled with restaurant, bars, boutiques, and just great nightlife. It was actually known best for the drink called the Bushwacker drink. Although, the first time I ever had, it wasn't in Pensacola. It was on a cruise out in the Caribbean. So, still loved it and it's still really good to get here.

Alright. Last but not least.

10. SANTA ROSA BEACH

Now, Santa Rosa Beach is named one of the best beaches on Earth according to Travel and Leisure magazine. Now, this is 26 miles of turquoise water's, it's got this coastal charm to it, and there's lots and lots of culinary options in art. So, this area is going to include a lot of this area, which we call the entire 30A area. Just go ahead and look at Scenic 30A on your Google Maps or whatever that you're using. And, you'll trace it down to some of the places that we already mentioned, which was Grayton Beach, Seaside, all the way to Rosemary Beach is where you're going to find all these area. This is also one of the most affluent areas in Northwest Florida, where you're going to see little houses going for a million dollars or more. And, it has a certain feel, a certain community to it, and it's just really cool to come visit. And, if you got enough money, you can live the life there too.

Well, that's all that we have for you for the best beaches here in Northwest Florida. If you have any questions about anything that I mentioned here, please call/text us at 850.320.7757 or email us at Admin@WhittemoreGroupRE.com