Seagrove Beach Florida

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Welcome! I’m sharing everything you should know before heading to Seagrove Beach Florida! We recently visited 30a for the first time ever and I learned so much that I want to share with you to make your next trip the BEST EVER.

Our first Spring Break vacation to the Gulf of Mexico was in Seagrove Beach, FL. It’s been on our bucket list to visit for a while and we finally braved the road trip with 4 kids from West Michigan. For full clarity, we actually booked this trip while still living in Bluffton, SC when the trip would have taken 7 hours… from Michigan it took 15!

Outside of the trip, we learned so much about 30a. We’ve seen it on Instagram and Youtube but you really don’t fully understand what it’s like until you arrive. Most of our experience was amazing but there were a couple bumps in the road that we could have avoided… and that brings me to the point of this post! I’m sharing everything I think you should know about Seagrove Beach Florida before you go!

What To Know Before Heading to Seagrove Beach Florida

Okay, here we go! I’m sharing everything I can to make your trip to Seagrove Beach Florida the best it possibly can be! If I don’t answer your question below, please send it to me on here, on Instagram or leave a comment and I will answer to the best of my abilities.

1. Where To Stay

Seagrove Beach isn’t a huge area but there are quite a few places to stay. When looking for the perfect fit you have to decide what’s most important. Price, view, space, pool, privacy and distance to the beach are a couple of top considerations. From there, you can search for the perfect space! We found our rental on VRBO. We knew we wanted a beautiful oceanfront view with easy beach access away from crowds.

We found the perfect condo at The Palms and loved every minute of it. Our space was a bit dated but for the price, the view and the privacy it was something we were willing to deal with. If you’re interested in our exact rental you can find it here. It was stocked with everything you could need…. dishes, towels, coffee makers, crockpot, games, books, boogie boards, hand soap and more!

2. What To Bring

I won’t go through the laundry list of packing items here although I do *highly* suggest writing down everything you want to bring and crossing it off as you pack. I’m going to share less commonly planned for necessities.

Meals

If you are staying for an extended period of time you should plan to make meals in your rental. As I mentioned above, ours came with everything we needed to make home cooked meals but it’s worth mentioning to bring as much food/ingredients from home as you can! There is a Publix a short distance from Seagrove Beach but prices were a bit high compared to home. You also don’t want to buy a full spice rack to make 3 dinners so plan accordingly. Tupperware also comes in handy here for leftovers!

Beach Cups

Okay, this is one thing my rental didn’t have… Insulated cups for our beverages! If you plan to have a mixed drink on the beach bring a cup to keep your drink cold. That is even true for coffees and waters. Something with a lid to keep the sand out is a must-have.

Extra Paper Products

Our condo came fully stocked with toilet paper & paper towels but it’s something I meant to grab before we left. Throw a couple rolls in your luggage just to make sure you don’t need to take a special trip to the store to stock up.

Beach Chairs & Umbrella

Yes, you can rent beach chairs and umbrellas but they run around $50/day for 2 people. It’s a pain to pack these in the car but I promise it’s worth it. If nothing else you can stop at the Walmart I mentioned above and grab some to use on vacation and leave them behind when you go! I guarantee this will save you money.

Rainy Day Entertainment

We honestly had bad luck with weather almost our entire trip. Thank goodness we planned for this and brought tons of board games, crafts and electronics to keep the kids busy. You can go out to eat and shop to beat the weather but all those trips add up quickly. Having fun activities to do indoors will help pass the time when the weather isn’t cooperating.

3. Know Where You’re Going

Whewww… this is one we learned the hard way! Seagrove Beach is East of Seaside which is a hub of traffic. This is the place that has the food trucks and is the home of the movie The Truman Show. If you are traveling East (we did multiple times to go to Hurricane Oyster Bar in Grayton Beach) plan accordingly. The pedestrian and bike traffic through Seaside was insane which caused vehicle traffic to back up quickly. We expected Spring Break to be a crazy time but oh my goodness, it was crazy!

I do think its worth pointing out most of the pedestrians and people on bikes were pods of highschool/college age kids riding in the road and crossing outside of cross walks. We were all that age at one point… but be ready to deal with it! You can go up and around to get around Seaside if you wish. Honestly, the passengers in my car had fun people watching as we drove through.

If Seaside is on your destination list know that parking was extremely hard to find. We ended up going twice, once right before noon and again in the late evening. The first time we had to park about a 15 minute walk away from the food trucks and in the late evening we were able to find close parking. Honestly, it’s not bad overall but kind of a pain with little kids!

4. The Weather is Unpredictable

This was probably the most frustrating part of our trip. A week before our trip the weather looked amazing. The week of our trip it took a turn for the worst. Once we were finally down there it varied day to day. I think we got one good beach day where it didn’t rain and it wasn’t cold. Just know the weather changes quickly… prepare for the worst so the best is a welcomed surprise!

5. Research Where To Eat

I’m a big fan of not planning out everyday of vacation. It’s less stressful and more fun to just go with the flow. That being said, we knew of two places we wanted to hit up during our trip – one being Nigels Fancy Bananas and the other being Hurricane Oyster Bar for happy hour. I think this is super important because some places like Cafe 30A are super pricy and other places like Bud and Alleys fill up quick. It’s better to know what you’re getting yourself into before you go especially if you’ve got hungry kids with you. Also, most places aren’t walkable from Seagrove. You’ll need to drive, uber or ride bikes.

This post was all about what you should know before going to Seagrove Beach Florida on your next vacation! Be sure to check out my highlight on Instagram for more insights into our trip!