Rosemary Beach, Florida

[Anonymous]

Hi! Tell me about Rosemary Beach, Florida! Looks like a quick flight from BWI. What do you like and when’s the best time to go?

[Anonymous]

I thought dcum wasn’t traveling to red states??

[Anonymous]

I’ve gone twice to the 30a area, not exactly rosemary beach we stayed near seaside and then Santa Rosa the last time. Once in the fall and once in.. I can’t remember March or something. I really like it down there (minus the trumpy-ness as someone noted. That was an actual downer this fall when we went pre-election. So many people with Trump shirts). Like you said, super easy flight from BWI on Southwest. We pick up a Turo rental in the parking lot and it’s all easy. The sunsets are AMAZING. Plan to try to spend as many “golden hours” on the beach. Depending on where you stay most places and rosemary beach is like this are walkable and just easy. Water is pretty, beach is nice. It has a Caribbean and OBX combo feel in my opinion. If you mishmashed the two. OBX big houses and wide beach with whiter sand, bluer water, better sunsets.

Downsides- both times I’ve gone the water has been a little rough. Not the best for little kids but we had very little kids both times and still had a fantastic time. And I don’t think it’s always like that I’ve seen videos where it’s not.

I’ve heard there are some issues with beaches being “private” there. We never had an issue but make sure where you stay has decent beach access.

[Anonymous]

I should add sunrises were also pretty, somehow you can see both. It’s really nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve gone twice to the 30a area, not exactly rosemary beach we stayed near seaside and then Santa Rosa the last time. Once in the fall and once in.. I can’t remember March or something. I really like it down there (minus the trumpy-ness as someone noted. That was an actual downer this fall when we went pre-election. So many people with Trump shirts). Like you said, super easy flight from BWI on Southwest. We pick up a Turo rental in the parking lot and it’s all easy. The sunsets are AMAZING. Plan to try to spend as many “golden hours” on the beach. Depending on where you stay most places and rosemary beach is like this are walkable and just easy. Water is pretty, beach is nice. It has a Caribbean and OBX combo feel in my opinion. If you mishmashed the two. OBX big houses and wide beach with whiter sand, bluer water, better sunsets.

Downsides- both times I’ve gone the water has been a little rough. Not the best for little kids but we had very little kids both times and still had a fantastic time. And I don’t think it’s always like that I’ve seen videos where it’s not.

I’ve heard there are some issues with beaches being “private” there. We never had an issue but make sure where you stay has decent beach access.

Oh no! Heavens to Betsy, I saw someone wearing a trump shirt!!!! It ruined my vacation!!!!

Just stay home 🙄

[Anonymous]

I was acquainted with Rosemary Beach prior to its super development (over development).

I love to swim at dawn & at dusk--which are shark feeding times. Wondered why I was the only person in the water until I saw the horrified expression on spouse's face and looked around (I wasn't alone after all).

Rosemary Beach area still is attractive to sharks based on a quick Goggle search.

Nevertheless, I love the area. And, as I receive professional courtesy, I am not afraid of the sharks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought dcum wasn’t traveling to red states??

I'll help; the correct spelling is "dumb".

[Anonymous]

We came very close to buying a house in Rosemary Beach in 2020. Rosemary Beach was my happy place about 3-4 years ago. We went every summer for close to 20 years. Now, 30a has been completely overdeveloped to the point of being ruined.

You pay a fortune to rent beach chairs and have a good chance of being on the second or third row where you can’t even see the water and you’re crammed next to your neighbors and stuck listening to their music of choice. You can’t get into any restaurant unless you book before your vacation. Forget going to the nearby grocery store on a weekend. What should be a 15 minute drive to Seaside now takes a hour.

After having a couple of unenjoyable visits due to the crowding, our last trip was two years ago and we decided not to go back. It’s sad- it was a special place.

[Anonymous]

One of the preferred driveable beaches of Atlanta money.

[Anonymous]

We love 30a but prefer watercolor/seaside to rosemary. The beach is less crowded and the beach club for watercolor is great. We also love the seaside restaurants. Alys Beach is the most high end and beautiful, but the best amenities are reserved for homeowners only, not renters, so I’d avoid Alys unless you’re staying with an owner and they’re there at the same time.
If you’re in DC, you don’t need to drive to BWI. We can generally find a good deal from dca, especially if you’re flexible on which airport to fly into.

[Anonymous]

The best time to go to Rosemary is in the Fall, Sept - November are really lovely. We are there over Xmas break and lucked out with good weather, but it's more hit or miss. But make sure to check Fall break dates for Atanta and Houston public schools (mid Oct), it really does change the dynamic when thousands of teenagers are behaving badly.

30A is most enjoyable when you can walk/bike everywhere, have beach access and a pool/pool access, so it is preferable to stay in Rosemary Beach (or Seaside or Watercolor) and not try to save a few bucks by staying "near" Rosemary (you won't get beach or pool access.

Rosemary and Alys are at one end of 30A, Seaside and Watercolor at the other. If you try to go back and forth in a car, you will be miserable in the traffic with slow golf carts and monster trucks clogging a 2 lane road.

Better to stick to one end and enjoy all that that entails. Rosemary and Alys have a combined 8-10 restaurants that are very good, plus lots of free music, movie nights etc. Easy to spend a week there.

[Anonymous]

We love Rosemary! Feels like nothing else in the US- the architecture in rosemary and Alys are magical!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We came very close to buying a house in Rosemary Beach in 2020. Rosemary Beach was my happy place about 3-4 years ago. We went every summer for close to 20 years. Now, 30a has been completely overdeveloped to the point of being ruined.

You pay a fortune to rent beach chairs and have a good chance of being on the second or third row where you can’t even see the water and you’re crammed next to your neighbors and stuck listening to their music of choice. You can’t get into any restaurant unless you book before your vacation. Forget going to the nearby grocery store on a weekend. What should be a 15 minute drive to Seaside now takes a hour.

After having a couple of unenjoyable visits due to the crowding, our last trip was two years ago and we decided not to go back. It’s sad- it was a special place.

Oof, all of that sucks.

[Anonymous]

30A is now no fun in the summer. Fall is nice.

[Anonymous]

Are we not boycotting red states? DCUM can’t stick to any of these boycotts. All just a flavor of the week…