Sensational Sugar-White Sand: Fun Things to do in Panama City Beach, Florida

Panama City Beach is an excellent place for snowbirds, spring breakers, shopping, and kids: with nearly 320 days of sunshine each year, there's always a new activity to try in this wildly popular Panhandle destination. This is one of those places that's an ideal family destination yet loosens up and shows its wild side off at night, and is also known for having a bit more down to earth vibe than Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

If you have your dates nailed down and you are excitedly condo bound, here's a list of fun activities to do in one of the nation’s most unique vacation hotspots!

Gulf World Marine Park is an amazing place for the senses and animal lovers that is home to California sea lions, penguins, tropical birds, stingrays, African penguins, and more. here you can pick from a dolphin encounter, swim adventure, or royal swim, and after enjoying the experience you can leave with a mindset of eco-consciousness.

Zoo World Zoological and Botanical Conservatory is an excellent place to take a break from the beach and sample some of the coolest exotic animals on earth. They just unveiled a brand-new alligator experience area that houses 40 yearling Gators. The Madagascar lemur experience area there's also almost finished, and will provide zoo guests up close viewing and more interactive areas to enjoy their time spent here.

The Panama City Beach Winery boasts many tasty reasons to celebrate your trip with wines made from mouth-watering 100% real fruit! Amazingly enough there is no sugar added to the finish, and these wines are just as refreshing as any seasoned connoisseur could ever imagine. Since you picked the Panama City Beach for a vacation with plenty of abundant sunshine, you'll enjoy flavors such as Key Lime, coconut, mango, orange, mocha, Raspberry, Peach, and strawberry delicious wine slushes as well.

St. Andrews State Park is it perfect first destination for a family who's had a few days at the beach and is ready to fully explore the surrounding area. There's an excellent playground here, cycling trails, 60 site campground, shaded picnic tables, as well as a heron pond and gator lake. This park is also a very popular layover for many butterflies and birds that are on the migratory journey.

Russel-Fields Pier is an excellent and very popular perch to try your hand at fishing and watch the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. An excellent spot for watching dolphins, fish, and all of the fellow vacationers who are getting ready to relax here, this is the first stop for many too thoroughly enjoy a low flying birds eye view!

See the Sights From an Airboat: we love air boating around the Panama City Beach area because you feel like so much more than a tourist: these crafts powered by a gigantic fan will allow for you to channel your inner explorer. You can enjoy seeing the backwaters of West Bay, rivers, creeks, and marshlands while I'm hunting for native Florida wildlife. Airboat ships are great opportunities to spot dolphins, alligators, heron, and bald eagles in their very swampy and home-spun habitat.

Shell Island has been so very well kept in its original state and uninhabited, and here there is 7 miles of undeveloped land nestled between Saint Andrews Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. You can excitedly bring the while troupe to search for moon snails, conch shells, pin shells, olive shells, and sand dollars while making memories for a lifetime, and you can take anything you find with you home as a super cool souvenir and keepsake.

Race City Amusement Park is a go-cart lover’s paradise, as well it's an excellent location for a family or date night round of miniature golf. This massive Mecca for vacation fund is situated right on Front Beach Rd, with the opportunity to soak the whole family on an incredibly icy-cool log flume ride! No matter which horror movies you've been catching up on all year, you're still going to have to up the brave factor to get through the legendary Haunted Mansion with your wits intact! There are also awesome attractions such as the Hot Rods thrilling race experience coming soon.

A trip to Rockit Lanes will provide the ultimate pin-smashin’ family bonding over a session of bowling! There’s also a mega arcade, and you can shamelessly relive the great times (if that’s you!) growing up in 80’s with a full-on skating rink. The bowling is done of 24 Qubica AMF Synthetic MAD Lanes, with unique glow-in-the-dark features.

A Ride on the Skywheel stands magnificently 200 feet above the city’s premiere entertainment and shopping location, and gives you an entirely new perspective on the unique and overwhelming beauty the coastline boasts. The wheel is open all year round, and there are thirty fully enclosed and climate controlled gondolas. We can firmly attest that this is the scene where many vacationers realize that they want to purchase a condo here!

Cobra Adventure Park is where you can race 9 horsepower go-karts on 4 separate levels or enjoy a turn at one of the latest arcade games on site. Smuggler Cove is an 18-hole pirate mini course, where you can try to swashbuckle your way to a hole in one with ship and gallows, and fully fledged pirate town location. We love cobra adventure park for its smaller field, and air of simplicity that still offers tons of fun.

Lagoon Pontoons provides a unique way to check out dolphins enjoying the calm waters near Shell Island, with a huge selection to choose from. There are 70-hosrepower rentals for groups under ten, or 90-horsepower options with a 12-passenger capacity and top speed of 25 mph. Don’t forget to check out the Double Deckers: they are the most popular, likely due to the twin water slides you can enjoy for a memorable family outing!

The Todd Herendeen Theatre is a place where you can catch something a bit different than the usual beachgoers fare for entertainment. There are many very different tribute shows here, and this is the ultimate place to pay homage to the king of the islands himself, Elvis Presley! There are no age restrictions or dress code, and dinner is free with purchase of a ticket. The space here is intimate, and allows for you to really see and hear the performers so close that it will resonate with you during each sunset during your stay!

Panama Beach Helicopter tours offer an exhilarating and scenic option that are guaranteed to quickly put a smile on your entire family's face. Their most popular tour is the miracle strip which allows you to see both city and county peers, and the Birds Eye view of all the places to stay in abundant beach life here. A true passenger favorite is the journey to shell island, where you fly over 24 miles of coast and view segments of the beach that are only accessible by air.

The Holiday Golf Club is the area’s championship grade course that will give golfers with even the most professional skills a well-rounded challenge. Here you'll find a well-lit driving range, extensive practice facilities, executive course, and Bar and Grill. The family that owns this course has always emphasized that golf can't always be perfect but involves a lot of comebacks, and is full of excellent life skills such as determination.

Skydive Panama City offers a one-of-a-kind and safe northwest Florida Panhandle skydiving experience that also accommodates tandem dives. Here they offer jumps up to 14,000 feet, and can accommodate groups of up to 40 as long as there is prior notice given. Come explore Florida’s blue skies firsthand with an entity that has 2000 plus 5-star recommendations! This is an excellent place for beginners to get their chops and they are a full-service skydiving center with proper training and certification courses.

The Bear Creek Feline Center offers a very caring and permanent home to displaced Florida Panthers, African servals, Bobcats, Jagarndi and Siberian Lynx. This facility is licensed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it offers an educational and inspiring experience to learn more about the necessary and loving act of conservation.

The Man in the Sea Museum provides the glimpse that many developing and bright minds dream about before they come here of teeming life beneath the waves. Ancient shipwrecks, dazzling deep sea exploration, and the illustrated history of submarines are all on display here. Illustrating up close the most recent developments in technology and science underwater, this is an amazing place to check out the artifacts found in the seas that have some answers to questions both from the past and the future!

The Grand Theatre 16 is a primo destination for those after some air conditioning in a pinch or looking to take in a recent blockbuster! After a few days of high activity and some of the other excellent vacation spots on this list, many families find that it's perfect to take in an excellent film to be ready for the sun and sand again the next day. If you’re on a singles trip, the Grand Theater is an ideal and cool oasis to inspire a first date.

Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is hands down the premier music destination in Panama City Beach. Here you'll get a true southern and hospitable vibe while checking out acts with a true Nashville flair, and sample some great eats while you’re at it. Tootsie’s has most definitely made a name for themselves by creating an atmosphere that it's a living breathing honkytonk memoir that you can step into directly off the beach. Willie Nelson himself even got his first official songwriting gig after performing here!

The Science and Discovery Center of Northwest Florida is where your restless young ones can try their hands at building a rocket, a comprehensive intro to robotics, and experiences to learn about dinosaurs. There are exhibits here such as the USS Discovery Pirate ship, the Sensory Room, Reptile Encounters, Medical Arena, Beam Interactive, an Art Lab, and Air & Space room. This is an excellent place for those who love the indoors to attend a fun summer camp as well!

Shipwreck Island Waterpark is a premiere attraction and one of the most talked about frequent visits here in Panama City Beach! Here visitors of all ages can enjoy 3,000,000 gallons of water keeping vacationers cool across 15 acres. The tree top drop, the freefall, and the pirates plunge racing slide are more of the daring thrills here, but there's also an extensive Kitty area with shallow tadpole holes and a tipping bucket.

The Mandatory Ripley’s Believe it or Not visit allows you to experience hundreds of zany and rare findings from around the globe, and participate in unbelievable interactives. You can also choose to conquer the myriad of miraculous mirror illusion, and enjoy the thrill of the Moving Theater experience where you have a sensory experience and be completely caught off guard at times in the seven-dimension motion simulator!