PHOTO BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM/HJ
When planning a “Florida” vacation, a specific image comes to mind—crowded beaches offering limited real estate, with music blaring to the left and someone smoking too close to your kids on the right. Not exactly a relaxing oasis for a family vacation. A series of cities on the Gulf side of Florida, otherwise known as the “Forgotten Coast,” offer an alternative. The quiet and sparely populated communities, which include Alligator Point, Apalachicola, Cape San Blas, Carrabelle, Eastpoint, Lanark Village, Mexico Beach, Panacea, Port St. Joe, Shell Point, St. George Island, and St. Marks, make for a perfect family vacation that includes all of the fun of a typical beach vacation, but none of the fuss.
Photo buy Alexandra Frost
The Condo
Start vacation off stress-free with a quick 1.5 hour flight to Panama City, followed by an hour drive to Mexico Beach, avoiding that otherwise 12–15 hour drive to Florida with little kids. We drive an hour or so to our beach house, a Cape & Coast rental property.
The beach house itself is a multi-family vacation home perfect for an extended family reunion or a fun week away with your closest family friends and their kids. The “game room” is an instant hit, with arcade-style games, including Pac-Man. Each room is thoughtfully planned and beautifully decorated, though we spend most of the time in the deck pool, which boasts a gulf view and a built-in hot tub. The home was built for many people, and there are washers and dryers on each floor, multiple fridges, and enough seating for three or four entire families.
I also discovered Babyquip, a kids’ equipment rental service that meets you at the airport with car seats, Pack ‘n Plays, and strollers, but picks up right from your porch on the other end of the trip.
The Coast
When they say “Forgotten Coast,” they aren’t kidding. Not only is the closest store nearly 30 minutes away, but not a single other person passes by the beach outside our condo until the third day of our trip. There is so little to do by way of day excursions that we’re able to actually take in what we came for: the beautiful white sand beach (“angel poop,” the locals teach my kids to call it).
Just minutes into our first family beach trip, my kids find sand dollars, multi-colored shells, and a large crab. Later, near the pool, they chase frogs and lizards, and at night, learn not to bother the sea turtles’ area on the dune.
Photo courtesy The Italian Kitchen
The Calendar
Aside from a few excellent restaurants, the only outing most days of the week is down the street to Caribbean Coffee & Café. The quaint coffee shop sells massive muffins and creative beverages, and provides outdoor seating and a boardwalk to other nearby shops.
While we don’t often go out to eat with five kids, KrazyFish Grille seems kid-friendly enough to give a shot, complete with massive picnic tables and a nearby patio area for the kids to run and play. This is our moment to have a beach-themed beverage before heading back to the beach for an epic sunset. About a half-hour down the coast, The Italian Kitchen makes the best “old world” Italian, for takeout or delivery only. After the kids get a whiff of it, we arrive back to the condo with one less pizza.
Photo courtesy Visit Panama City Beach
Side Trip
Don’t succumb to the Disney World crowds—make a stop at Pier Park instead.
If you’re coming through the Panama City airport on your trip to the Forgotten Coast, be sure to make time in your schedule for a pit stop at Pier Park in Panama City Beach. Families can easily spend the entire day at the park, which includes venues for food, shopping, and even a honky-tonk bar for some twangy country music. Kids will be entertained for hours with all its activities.
Take a trip up the Skywheel—a 187-foot tall Ferris wheel with mile-long views of Panama City Beach—then pencil in a game of 18-hole mini golf back on ground level, or check out a movie at the Grand IMAX theater. If you want to get some energy out of your kids before a flight, strap on a vest and get ready to run at the Emerald Coast Mirror Maze and Laser Tag, which features an 1,800-square-foot arena.
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