pinkygal

Hi,
I am planning a one week vacation for my extended family. I have narrowed my choices down to the Seaside/Rosemary Beach area and St George Island. Our dates are flexible. We can go May thru September 2005. We will have 6 adults and 3 children. We definitely want a house with 5 bedrooms and would prefer to be on the beach. We will spend lots of time on the beach, bike riding and walking. We will cook in some but also want to eat out a couple of times. I have read the pros and cons of each area on this message board. I would appreciate any feedback from those who know these areas well. Thanks!

Tandoori_Girl

I'm very familiar with the Seaside/Rosemary area but not so familiar with St. George Island. There are some fascinating places near St. George, such as St. Marks and Sopchoppy and Carrabelle, that harken back to a time when this part of Florida was not so desirable. They have great character and lots of characters to match. This area is being rapidly developed though, beginning with the fairly-recent bridge to St. George Island, if I'm not mistaken, and so I'd recommend if you want something more low-key, go there.

Seaside/Rosemary has become a real estate mecca (Rosemary wasn't even a town five years or so ago) and along with the buildings has come amenities that you won't find at St. George Island. I would say that's the main difference between the two places. Personally, I'd pick St. George because in five years it will be just like Seaside/Rosemary and you can then recall the good old days of yesteryear (as I too frequently do).

That said, I have no recommendations of places to stay. I always stay with family near Seaside.

pinkygal

Thanks Tandoori girl. I am definitely leaning to St George Island. I generally prefer a more low key area for vacationing.

Parker

My husband and I have been to Seaside many times starting in 1989. Several years ago, we decided to try St. George Island with two other couples (8 kids) and rented a beautiful house on the beach with five bedrooms, and a fabulous view of the ocean. While we enjoyed St. George, after that visit we always opted to return to Seaside.
Here are our positives and negatives for each:
St. George positives:
+ Houses available on the beach for much less than Seaside
+ Very quite, remote location
+ Not crammed together next to other vacationers
+ Can go shelling
St. George negatives:
- Spread out ? must drive to get everywhere: pool, tennis courts, etc. ? and too spread out to let older kids loose
- At the time, there was only one restaurant and no grocery store (I would think this had changed)
- Very remote ? to buy groceries, we had to drive back to the mainland, which is a log haul
- Beach made of crushed shells ? not too fun to walk on, especially for small kids ? and water not clear
- Have to shop around with different agencies to find the houses available

Seaside positives
+ Beautiful beach and water ? white powder sand and turquoise water
+ Park your car and never get back in until you leave ? everything is there within walking distance
+ Numerous restaurants and shops on site ? including a great little grocery store!
+ Great selection of houses for rent from one company
+ Several pools close-by including an adults-only pool in the summer
+ Older kids can safely roam the ?town? (at our kids? ages, this is a major factor)
Seaside negatives:
- Expensive! Can?t afford houses on the beach (I know - a personal problem)
- The area is getting very crowded
- You?re always very close to the neighbors
- Too much traffic on A-1

If you can go to Seaside in May or September, the weather is much better and it's not nearly as crowded. I've never been to Rosemary Beach but it looks similar to Seaside. You might also check out Grayton Beach. It's less crowded than Seaside (not all owned/managed by one company) but still has beautiful beaches, restaurants and shops. There are a number of LARGE houses for rent on vrbo website.