Between Destin and Panama City Beach is what many consider Florida's best-kept secret: South Walton County (or, SoWal, if you want to sound hip and local). With its emerald water and powdery white sand, the 26-mile stretch of coastline is lined with 16 beach communities that are delightfully devoid of the high rises you'll find in the beach towns on either side. Two, Miramar and Sandestin, are rather developed, sprawling resort complexes known for top-notch entertainment and golfing. The rest are small communities referred to as 30A, named for the scenic road they line. The area of 30A includes Grayton Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, Seagrove, WaterSound, Seacrest, Seascape, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Dune Allen, Gulf Place, Santa Rosa Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, and Inlet Beach. A decidedly laid-back, refined mood prevails in these parts, where vacation homes go for millions and selecting a dinner spot is usually the day's most challenging decision. You're sure to find a town to fit your vacationing personality—from sprawling megaresorts like Sandestin or WaterColor to sophisticated, new communities like Alys Beach to Old Florida cabins found in places originally discovered by locals like Grayton Beach and Inlet Beach.
Accommodations consist primarily of private-home rentals, the majority of which are managed by local real-estate firms. But there are also resorts and boutique hotels for a more hotel-like experience. Pretty much every community along Scenic Route 30A has a walkable town center with restaurants, bars, and a growing number of boutiques selling everything from fine art and unique hand-painted furniture to jewelry, gifts, and clothes. And the entire stretch of small communities is connected by a bike, walking, and running path, so you can see them all in a day or explore at your leisure. South Walton's neighborhoods connect to form a beachfront megalopolis, so your address may be in one community and look like it's in another (Grayton Beach and Santa Rosa Beach, for example, often overlap addresses). Don't confuse 30A's Santa Rosa Beach with Santa Rosa County, otherwise your GPS will take you an hour to the west, almost to Pensacola.
