Don’t just sit on the beach! Get active!
The emerald coast, known for its crystal clear emerald colored saltwater has much to offer the vacationer. Sunshine, blue skies, and white sand! But who wants to sit for days on the beach? If you’re looking for something other than getting baked by the sun on the beach, here are other incredible day trips in the PCB area for early September! Here is what we found for entertainment and activities found in Panama City Beach, other than lounging on the beach!
Booking a vacation rental // Plane Tickets
- First things first! Booked a condo through the AIRBNB app and Book that Condo. What a beautiful top floor condo suite with a balcony overlooking the Gulf coast! The amenities were numerous and the BookthatCondo agent was super helpful with setting us up in our suite! I was surprised to see that when you book a rental from BookthatCondo, upon arrival they at the location they have a discount flyer for various things to do around PCB! BONUS – our condo also came with 2 beach chairs and 2 umbrellas located right in the sandy shore, which turned out to be excellent!
- Plane tickets are a must; we didn’t drive down but we will next time for sure so we can bring the pups and our own vehicle!
- Rental Car – if you aren’t driving your own vehicle it would be wise to rent a car, the beach road is long and walking in the hot Florida sun sounds great but not when you’re hauling beach bags and belongings!
- NEW BEACH CLOTHES! A beach trip?! What a great excuse to buy cute new summer dresses and fishing shirts!
Landing in Panama City airport was the way to go! We had talked about flying into a larger airport but didn’t want to drive 4-6 hours to get to our reservations. In the end, it was probably the same money anyway to fly straight into PCB airport which is a smaller airport (typically more $) than to rent a car and waste valuable beach time driving!
We hitched a taxi ride from the airport to “Pier Park” and walked around some of the shops. Only trouble we had was dragging our luggage around for a couple hours till check in at the condo.
5 Things to do in Panama City Beach, Florida:
\\Rent a golf cart//
Just to save you some sanity if you were planning on ubering off season (early September)…this is more of a MUST DO activity and won’t be part of the actual FIVE things to do in Panama City Beach FLORIDA!
If you are going to be staying on the beach or off the “strip” aka Front Beach Road then a golf cart is a must. We had the intentions of walking or ubering throughout our stay. But as we found out there are hardly ANY ubers after the dinner rush that time of year ! Even if you drove your own vehicle, some of the parking lots are packed full and it was easier to park in the cart.
Outlaw Rentals has many locations along the beach, they are equipped with scooters, golf carts, and sling shots for rent! We grabbed a sweet golf cart, loaded our luggage and off we went to check in! They even have limo golf carts so you can pack a pile of people (4+) and cruise the strip. We opted for the 4 seater; this was a nice feature because we met up every day with our friends, which were just down the street from our condo. Way easier to fit everyone in a golf cart and head to dinner or cruise around the beach!
\\LOCAL ARTWORK // Paint Parties
There is a small local shop, run by an extremely sweet art couple, https://sunbeargalleryandstudio.com, on the beach! Showcasing local artist painting and driftwood carvings. In one of the many rides in the golf cart, we came across these beautiful fish sculptures! We are fish people, and HAD TO HAVE ONE for the fishing/outdoor shed at home on the river! Stunning fish carving made from driftwood found right on the beach! The fish sculptures caught our eye, but the studio gallery sells many different types of artwork, pendants, paintings, and even holds painting parties!
There were so many great carvings to choose from but we decided upon a larger piece with a stunningly sharp tail. Unfortunately, I would have loved to attend one of the beach front paint parties but we found the shop alittle late in our adventure and didn’t have enough time! Next time we head to the white sand beach, making a reservation for a paint party will be the first thing I do!
\\Gulf World Marine Park//
TIP: GET THERE EARLY to SWIM WITH A DOLPHIN! Or TWO!
It has always been on my bucket list to swim with a dolphin! On this trip I did just that.
We picked a day and made a point to go early (before they opened) to reserve a spot to swim with the dolphins. Good thing, by the time we got there (15/20 minutes early) there was already a line forming. While we were waiting for our time slot for the dolphin adventure, we explored the different animals of the marine park. From tortoises to birds, penguins to sharks, loggerhead sea turtles and sting rays we had a blast visiting with all the creatures. The mini aquarium with the sea turtles and sharks was also a highlight.
Swimming With Roux (the dolphin)
Three levels of dolphin exposure for two different species (sawtooth and/or bottlenose) ; I opted for the middle of the road which was also decently priced. The “Swim Adventure” was a deal for the 30 + minutes of shared dolphin time. This was one of the best and most exciting things I had ever done! Roux, the rescued dolphin, was so sweet and agile! He loved to show off for us, I refer to him as an “underwater puppy”! So happy and full of life!
The “swim adventure” included a belly ride where I ACTUALLY GOT TO SWIM ON THE BELLY OF ROUX by holding his fins. I hugged and kissed him, did a handshake, while their professional photographers snapped some pictures that I uploaded after we were done in the water! My stomach was in my throat I was so excited and full of giddiness when we entered the pool! THIS WAS AN INSANE FEELING; if you ever had thought about swimming with dolphins, GO NOW and do it!
Swimming with Roux was a check off the bucket list! I do wish now I would have went for the “Royal Swim” which features TWO dolphins and they simultaneously push you out of the water! This would be have been my first pick if I would have known there was NO ONE signed up for that section! I could have spent more time with the dolphins instead of “sharing” the experience with a couple other people.
More info and pricing go to GulfWorldMarinePark.com
\\Pier Fishing//
$$ BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK $$
This was the most fun way to spend an entire day out in the sunshine on the beach! Inexpensive to say the least when it comes to fishing! From the fishing shack at one of the piers, we rented heavy action rods completely rigged with reels and tackle! We bought some squid and cut baits and down the pier we went!
All under $50 (for both of us!) for an entire day of non stop fishing action! No license needed if you are fishing from the pier, which was a delightful bonus. Each of us caught multiple Remora, hardtails and mangrove snappers.
Not only did we catch fish but saw so much marine life off of the pier, wild sea turtles, sharks, cobia, jellyfish!!! It was amazing watching the schools of baitfish, had never seen them in real life so big.
\\Cobra Adventure Park//
Arcade games, smaller rollercoasters, AND GO CARTS!!!
Through our friends getting married, we met some really great people while we were mingling before and after the actual wedding. It was decided that as a group we would race go carts!
There are multiple go cart tracks on Front Beach Road; mostly the same track just in multiple locations. We chose the Cobra Adventure Park because it had arcade games as well as a bigger outdoor go cart track. We had a blast racing!
Everyone was super competitive and had a wild time zooming around each other, trying to get the inside wall to gain the advantage for the pass! Well worth the $ for a large group to have fun, little of everything for everyone, the arcade section was a hit!
\\SkyWheel//
TIP: Go for the SUNSET ride.
When we first arrived to Pier Park after getting off the plane, the first thing we saw was a tall ferris wheel!
The SkyWheel is an awesome enclosed “ferris wheel”. If you don’t have a balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and want to get up high to look out over Panama City Beach it is the way to go!
Great sunset view over Panama City, the cabs are AIR CONDITIONED, so you are somewhat saved from the Florida heat! Right before you get on the ride they snap a quick pic of you and your group which you can purchase after you get out.
Panama City Beach was thoroughly enjoyed, we spent some time walking around the shops at Pier Park, dinners out, and enjoying the white sand and sun. We took a lot of drives in our golf cart checking out what all Panama CB had to offer! Like the Virtual Reality at Pier Park along with the cute beach front stores ! With the virtual reality glasses and seat, you can pick from a variety of different locations. Ranging from a skyscraper tall pendulum that swings you around, to being a pilot on an aircraft, rollercoaster through a jungle, and other fun endeavours all while sitting in a seat!
Panama City Beach sunsets are stunning, weather is beautiful, and not as crowded early September. This makes it a nice season to go! Beaches are relatively bare and the fish are biting.
BUT early September also has its draw backs, we would have loved to do some adventuring at the water park but being “end of season” it was CLOSED. There were some other businesses that had just closed for the season as well.
NO WORRIES! There are plenty of other fun adventures to be had! It always helps to have a cause or destination for travel, we thoroughly enjoyed watching a beautiful couple get married on the beach and spending time with them and their family.
The highlight of the trip though for us was watching the marine life from our balcony. Booking the condo “suite” on the top floor gave us a great vantage point for looking down into the Gulf water. The Gulf waters are CRYSTAL CLEAR and absolutely stunning in the early mornings, with little wind the water was like glass.
While sipping a fresh coffee, watching the sea gulls dive and fly, and waiting for the opportunity for marine life to swim by was a delight. One morning we actually saw REAL WILD DOLPHINS swimming and surfacing, chasing a bait fish school. The Gulf waters treated us so kindly with observing other marine life like sting rays, sea turtles, sharks, and jellyfish! Getting the chance to see wild stingrays gracefully glide up and down the beaches and HUGE sea turtles swim through the unknowing saltwater swimmers!
The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous too… it was hard leaving the sun, white sand, and clear blue water of the Gulf coast but we can’t wait to go back and try these other fun things to do in PCB!
Thanks for checking out what to do other than sitting on the beach in PCB Florida !
Be sure to check out some of the deliciously fresh local beach front restaurants that we ate at on our trip :
Where to Eat in Panama City Beach !!
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