Most of us are only lucky enough to get one Panama City Beach vacation each year.
It’s probably not for as long as you’d like. Between bills, your job and your kid’s School holidays; your time is limited.
There’s no magic wand that you can wave to get rid of these constraints. But the next best thing is to minimize any stress and wasted time, and maximize the precious vacation time you do have.
Stay Somewhere With Lots To Do
If you do only one of these tricks, then staying at a Resort offering lots of planned activities and fun amenities included in the price is easily the best.
The reasons this is the best way to maximize your Panama City Beach vacation time is threefold;
- Firstly, the more fun you are having; the better your Panama City Beach vacation is! Alternatively, the more fun the kid’s are having, then the more mom and dad can actually relax. Places without planned activities, games and contests with prizes, a lazy river / mini golf / waterslides / multiple pools just aren’t as much fun.
- Secondly, this gives you a bigger bang for your buck. Why spend the same amount of money to stay somewhere without all those fun things, when for around the same price, you could get it all?
- Finally, if you have so much to do at your Resort, then you are spending less time deciding which attractions to go to / driving to them / waiting in line / paying extra to do them. If there’s nothing fun to do where you are staying; trust us, the troops will get restless and they will let you know about it.
If you can have a perfect vacation day by staying right at your Resort and not leaving, then why deal with traffic or having to spend more money? Just stay put, relax, and have a blast!
Potential savings: 40 minutes of driving, 5 minutes parking, 15 minutes stuck in line, $250 admission for the whole family.
Avoid Being Stuck in Traffic
The two best ways to suck all the fun out of a family Panama City Beach vacation are waiting in long lines, and traffic jams.
Fortunately, Panama City Beach doesn’t have anywhere with waits that are too unbearable. However, we do get our fair share of traffic during busy times of the year.
Traffic is the worst around the heavily congested East-End of Panama City Beach. The frequent (and long) traffic lights combined with single lane traffic slow you right down.
There may be an attraction or restaurant that you just have to visit on the East end. So you’ll have to time it as best you can, and hope for the best.
However, avoiding traffic as much as possible will mean less time stuck in the car with bored / hangry kids or crying infants.
Which leads us neatly into the final way to maximize your vacation time… Staying on the West-end, where there is much less traffic
Stay at the Preferred West End of Panama City Beach
If you were to split Panama City Beach into two halves; East and West, then the West end would be the more exclusive (and less congested) half.
New construction is all taking place towards the West.
It’s closer to the International Airport, Frank Brown Park sports complex, and Pier Park entertainment complex.
It’s also closer to the exclusive communities surrounding the 30A corridor; which are just a short drive away (and no traffic).
Conclusion
While you might not be able to visit Panama City Beach for as long as you wish, the next best thing is to make the most of the time you do have here.
These three simple ‘vacation hacks’ can really add up, and make it feel like you had an extra day at the beach.
And who doesn’t like the idea of extra days at the beach?! 🙂
See just how many fun amenities, activities and entertainment you can expect from your next family vacation to Panama City Beach here: www.sandpiperbeacon.com and click on ‘Why Stay Here‘.
