Panama Beach
 

My fiance's dad just traded his timeshare condo for a place in Panama Beach for our honeymoon. It looks like fun BUT after reading all the messages about it in this board I'm starting to get real skeptical. We will be there April 7-12....will there be SpringBreakers then? We're looking for fun more than romance but I don't want a nasty place either. Thanks!

I presume you mean Panama City Beach in the panhandle of Florida? If so, I doubt there will be many Spring Breakers there at that time -- 99% of college spring breaks are in March. You'll probably see families on vacation, however. <BR><BR>Don't be skeptical. PCB is a nice place, especially the Thomas Drive area. For FANTASTIC food be sure to try Canopies, just across the bridge in Panama City. The She-Crab Bisque is famous. <BR><BR>Plenty of places to have fun -- Schooner's, Spinnaker & La Vela to name a few. Spinnaker & La Vela are "mega-clubs" featured on MTV. <BR><BR>Enjoy!<BR>

I can't imagine Panama City being nasty. Spring break will be over and schools will not be out yet so there probaly won't even be many families on vacation. Parasail, you will love it!! We also rented a pontoon boat and the dolphins came right up to our boat. The beaches are white and the waters clear blue. You will have a great time.

It would help to know where you're staying in PCB. It's a long beach. (The east end (St. Thomas Drive area) tends to be nicer than the west end of the beach.)

We are staying at the Casa Blanca

Casablanca Resort, 11115 Front Beach Road. If that's correct, it's a fine location not too far west in my opinion. Most of the attractions (restaurants, nightlife, etc) will be east of you.

The CasaBlanca is just an older motel calling itself a resort, and there won't be any of the usual amenities you would expect at a "resort." If all you want is to be on the beach, then it will be fine. However, the Gulf is usually too cool for swimming in April.

Panama City beaches were voted one of the prettiest beaches. We went there and agree on the beaches. Unfortunately, Panama City is a college town with tons of body piercing places and tons of tattoo parlors. It's not a place I would go back to.

True -- the water will be VERY cold, but the beaches are beautiful.

A lot of southern schools have their spring break the first week in April, I bet you will still have some spring breakers by then. Also some high schools have their spring break then and sometimes they can be as bad. I'd check with the local hotels to see if there are any spring break activities planned and then plan your trip around them.

You say the water will be cold but it's warm enough to lay out on the beach in our suits and get some rays, right?! Thanks for all your help!

Regarding laying out, it depends. April is a tough month to predict in PCB. It can be 80 degrees, or it can be 60 degrees. If it's too cool to lay out on the ocean beach, my advice is to go to St. Andrew's State Park and find a nice spot on the bay beach. Without the cold sea breeze, it can feel much warmer. <BR>

From mid-March through mid-April, you can be assured that the Panhandle of Florida will be full of college or high school students on Spring Break. Not overwhelming, but full.<BR><BR>How cold will it be? That is obviously dependent upon the weather. But if you're coming from one of the northern states, then it will FEEL warmer to you than it will to someone heading there from Alabama, Georgia, or Mississippi. Have fun!