Tallahassee is an interesting place. It’s an often overlooked city which happens to be the capital of Florida (which lots of people don’t know). It also looks more like southern Georgia than it does Florida. There are some things to see in the city but one of our favorite things was to explore the Emerald Coast. Oh, and the Forgotten Coast. 😉 If you follow the route by the water, there are a lot of things to see on a road trip from Tallahassee to Destin.
How long does it take:
If you just want to get to the beach, you can get to Destin in about 2.5 hours from Tallahassee if you take I-10. We tend to take this route on the way back home, but we love taking the coastal route on the way there! There are so many cute towns and places to stop along the way. It breaks up the drive and makes for a fun day of exploring.
Obviously it will depend on how many stops you take and how long you stay there to determine how long the scenic route takes. It’s easy to spend half the day getting there if you stop in the towns and stop for lunch.
Where to stop:
When you think of the panhandle, you probably think of the tourist cities of Panama Beach, Destin and Pensacola. But before those cities is the Forgotten Coast of Florida. You can probably guess why it’s called that. It receives far less visitors and the towns are void of high rises. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t places worth exploring!
Alligator Point
If you’re looking for the closest beach to Tallahassee, head south on 319 and take a little detour on FL-30 until you get to Alligator Point. It’s by no means the best beach, but it is large, empty and a nice place to relax. We happened to go on New Year’s Day when the town was closed down and the beach covered in a creepy/cool fog. I wanted to mention it because it’s the closest beach to Tallahassee. However, I’d recommend heading on down FL-30 for your first stop at St. George Island.
St. George Island
This island is one of our favorite stops on a road trip from Tallahassee to Destin. It’s a long island, filled with colorful beach houses, a lighthouse in the middle, a cute seafood restaurant by the beach and a state park at the end! We usually try to time our trip so that we can stop on St. George island for lunch. The Blue Parrot has a large patio by the sand and it’s a great place to get a drink and a snack.
The lighthouse in the center is great to walk around and snap a few photos. You can head to the beach from there or drive down to check out the state park. The state park has a nice beach area, trails to walk and a campground. If you want to be ambitious, you can even hike through the state park where there are two primitive spots to camp by the water!
Apalachicola
When you head back across to the mainland, drive just a few minutes down 319 to Apalachicola. This small fishing town is another good option for lunch. It has historical buildings to walk around, boats by the sea and cute shops to browse. They are known for their oysters and you can get a glimpse into Florida’s fishing history by exploring this town.
Cape San Blas
Cape San Blas is the sliver of land located at the tip of the peninsula along the panhandle. It lies a little between the Emerald Coast and Forgotten Coast. So you can expect crowds to be lighter here as well. While we haven’t actually been to this part, I do think it would be a place worth checking out. It seems to have a similar feel to St. George Island. The sand is a little whiter, there’s a lighthouse nearby and a state park as well.
Panama City Beach
Panama City is a little infamous for being a rowdy spring break destination. There are high rise condos and the city itself is bigger and busier. It has more of a party reputation than Destin or Pensacola, but probably similar in terms of beach activities and tourism. We tend to drive on to the smaller towns along the Emerald Coast. But if you want a fun, lively, party place with a good beach, Panama City might be your place.
Rosemary Beach
Past Panama City Beach is where you’ll find a completely opposite town by the name of Rosemary Beach. This upscale town is filled with nice neighborhoods (read: expensive) and really cute streets to walk. The buildings looks European, with the help of a very European looking hotel called The Pearl.
You’ll fee like you’ve escaped to a European village. It’s a great place to explore, take pictures or eat outside at one of the cafes. Rocky even made it onto the Dogs of Rosemary Beach Instagram.
Seaside
Further down 30A on your way to Destin is where you’ll find Seaside. You’ll have a hard time finding a town as cute as this. It’s so picturesque that it was the location of the movie The Truman Show. The town has a cute marketplace filled with airstream food trucks and restaurants. One of my favorite things about Seaside is that there are pavilions along each walkway to the beach, each designed by a different artist.
Grayton Beach
Grayton Beach is another one of my favorite spots along the Emerald Coast. The town is small and not touristy at all–just a local beach town with art, shops and restaurants. However, the beach is one of my favorites. Head to the state park for white sand and a spot by the water. You can also kayak the dune lake and get right next to the white sand dunes.
Destin
After Grayton Beach, you’ll arrive at Miramar Beach, which then blends into Destin. The water here is turquoise and the white sand is ‘singing sand’, in that it makes a sound when you walk. It’s a tourist town with lots of shops to buy souvenirs of t-shirts and flip-flops. There are lots of chain restaurants, attractions for families and a boardwalk with lots of things to look at as well.
There are a lot of great beaches in Destin worth checking out. Henderson Beach State Park is nearby and worth visiting. A boat trip to Crab Island (which is actually a sand bar) is a fun afternoon as well!
Back to Tallahassee
After a long trip to Destin, exploring along the way, and a weekend filled with activities, we typically take the highway back. It’s a shorter, faster route and by that time, we’re ready to head home.
While our time in the capital city was short-lived (we only stayed a year), we managed to take a road trip from Tallahassee to Destin several times. We loved exploring the Emerald and Forgotten coasts. There are so many towns to explore, that we never would have even known about, had we not taken the slow route.
Check out more beautiful places to see in Florida here!
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Destin is the best of many things, beach,golf, restaurants, shopping, seafood,( because they have the best fishing in Florida) have been coming to Destin for 8 years Jan to April. The people are the greatest.
My husband and I have spent many years in Destin. It has the best beach and white sand. There is no place better than Destin and we have visited all the places you mentioned. The restaurants and shopping is endless and all the people are so friendly. Love it all!!