A family vacation for a Florida New Year’s can be a low-cost, beachside adventure. Enjoy hiking, biking and plenty of outdoor attractions by day and join holiday festivities at night. Don’t overlook the cities and quaint oceanside towns dotting Florida’s Gulf Coast.
True, they have warmer weather competition in the small towns surrounding Miami and the Keys. But there’s still plenty to do in winter from South Walton to Panama City Beach to Clearwater Beach, before ringing in the New Year.
While the pandemic is still with us, stay masked or outdoors and keep socially distant indoors to protect your family. Here are three spots to start your search for the best places to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
Find discount Florida hotels for your New Year’s or early winter escapes.
Grayton Beach, Beaches of South Walton
The Beaches of South Walton are a mystery to anyone who has not driven Scenic 30A, the meandering route along the Gulf of Mexico. This 20-mile stretch of Florida’s Panhandle is gorgeous. Squeaky white quartz sand beach reflects the sky to create the brightest turquoise water north of the Caribbean.
Grayton Beach is one of 16 distinct communities with its own style of beach cottage, microbrewery and barefoot cafes. The protected Grayton Beach State Park surrounds the very rare Western Lake, a salt marsh. It’s so unusual because this freshwater dune lake feeds into the saltwater Gulf of Mexico, attracting wildlife. Families love to park on one side of the road to swim or paddle board. Then, cross over the dunes to bird watch, sketch the gnarled pines, or kayak. This dune lake is heavenly.
There’s good hiking and biking for all ages in this flat region, and trails have a variety of surfaces. Scenic Highway 30A is a good starting point for your excursion. It provides access to other bike routes in Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, Grayton Beach State Park, and Point Washington State Forest. Your mountain bikers will find plenty of unpaved trails. We like the easy one that’s paved and follows Scenic Highway 30A for 18.6 miles. It covers a lot of territory through minimalls, neighborhoods and pristine state park lands. Rentals are easily found.
New Year’s Fun Along Route 30A
New Year’s Eve in any of South Walton’s 16 beach communities is as low key as the rest of the year. The very popular Red Bar, now known as Red Bar and Piccolo Restaurant, is the same cool place. (They recovered from a bad fire in 2020.) Count on the house band, The Red Bar Jazz Band, plus a popular local DJ to perform New Year’s Eve. Go in with kids for an early dinner — the food’s casual and very tasty — to avoid the crowds. They’re open nightly till 10pm.
For variety, try Rum Runner’s Dueling Piano Bar in Sandestin. This place is known for great music and a hot dance floor. The two pianos are fun to watch, playing with and against each other to encourage audience interaction. The barbecue lover’s John Wehner’s Village Door (with three locations) is also in Sandestin’s Baytowne Wharf shopping complex. Village Door is the only local late night scene, with a live band and DJ’s turning up the dance tunes to match the Mardi Gras theme. Drinks are free the first hour, 8:30-9:30pm by the way. Expect business as usual the New Year’s Eve. Do call ahead to check if advance reservations are required.
Families love the free nightly entertainment at the Village of Baytowne Wharf mall. On New Year’s, arrive early to enjoy the skating rink and their holiiday lights show. At 6pm, kick off the NYE fun with food, face painting, kids activities, and live music. The show on the Baytowne LIVE stage is capped off by family-friendly 8pm fireworks. Try to stay awake for the very cool light show comprising 150 choreograpehd drones that depict swimming dolphins, shooting stars and more. The public fun continues till 1am on the Events Plaza Stage with another big fireworks show at midnight. Ages 21+ after 10pm please.
Family-Friendly Clearwater Beach at New Year’s
Family comes first in Clearwater Beach, located near St. Petersburg on Florida’s northwest coast. On New Year’s Eve, don’t expect too much bubbly to flow on those gorgeous, sugar sand, alcohol-free beaches. Instead, visitors and residents alike head to Pier 60, the midpoint in their six-mile beach. On New Year’s Eve, enjoy what happens every day.
The nightly Sunsets at Pier 60 Festival is part nature / part show. The glowing solar disk descending over the Gulf of Mexico is vividly reflected in pools of water on the beach. While spectators on the sand or pier pose for selfies, others shop for crafts. Since 1995, the Sunsets at Pier 60 event has hosted 25 to 50 crafters curated for their location, talent and handmade goods.
Watch buskers perform for tips throughout the evening. The pierside entertainers include magicians, musicians, fire throwers and bucket drummers. Many of these professionals travel the world performing as they go, and love returning to Clearwater Beach.
The Sunset Festival goes on from 5pm to 9pm on winter nights. It’s all free and super kid-friendly since there’s a broad paved boardwalk and so much people-watching.
Clearwater Beach Area Nightlife
Are you wondering what you’re going to do between the afternoon and midnight? Slip off your shoes and enjoy a post-sunset (kid-friendly) drink at Tommy’s Tiki Bar. The legendary watering hole at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa is a cute barefoot-in-the-sand place. It’s totally unique, since beachfront alcohol service was only grandfathered in here before local laws changed.
Next, it’s supper at Frenchy’s Original, the ca. 1981 outpost of the city’s most popular seafood bar. There are five Frenchy’s now, plus a motel, gift shop and seafood market. Each cafe has a slightly different menu. Sample our favorites: terrific, moderately priced, super fresh beer-battered grouper, garlic fries sprinkled with crab meat, cracked conch and more. Look for gluten-free options and a growing craft beer menu, too. Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill is the “fanciest” of these if you want to start the party early.
And, keep in mind, Clearwater Beach’s many restaurants will be doing a New Year’s special meal, too. With limited seating, it’s a must to book early. Light It Up Clearwater, the annual New Year’s Eve fireworks spectacular, is back. Sand Key Park will be closed to the public to stage the fireworks, so the best viewing is along the southern part of Clearwater Beach. Watch fireworks from any spot along the beach; the reflection in the calm Gulf is a sight to see. It’s well worth keeping the kids up for!
Get a discount Florida rental car here.
The Panama City Beach New Year’s Scene
Known for its sugary white sandy beaches and turquoise waters, Panama City Beach is family central. After years of spring breakers, the fall and winter school holidays are packed with kid-oriented live entertainment and games. Live music starts at 5:35pm as the sun sets. Double your fun at the 2023-24 Panama City Beach New Year’s Eve Ball Drop and Fireworks with two fireworks shows. One’s at 8pm for the young at heart. The other one erupts at midnight, allowing plenty of time for crowds to distance themselves at great viewing points.
Pier Park will be a pedestrian only zone so you can plant your lawn chairs anywhere for the best views. From So. Pier Park Drive, watch as 10,000 beach balls rain down on the crowd.
After the early fireworks, the Will Thompson Band takes the stage. Keep your eyes on Celebration Tower as the night matures. Panama City Beach is famous for its illuminated Beach Ball. The colorful 10-foot orb descends on a pole to a 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 countdown just before midnight.
Hit the Panama City Beach for New Year’s Day
In addition to all of the organized fun, Panama City Beach has been called one of “America’s Most Beautiful Beaches.” (You may hear this claim elsewhere along the beautiful Gulf of Mexico shorline in Florida.) Did you know that Panama City Beach’s legendary pure white sand is made from quartz crystals? Over eons of time and thousands of miles of travel, the crystals were bleached, ground, smoothed and polished. Today, we appreciate how the surf of the Gulf of Mexico deposited them on the shoreline for our pleasure.
Note that Panama City Beach is chilly in the winter. Even on a rainy New Year’s, however, the weather can still be warm. Some visitors stroll the beach and take a dip. Area hotels usually have indoor pools for the less hardy. Visit game rooms and media centers to keep the kids busy during bad weather.
Florida Winter Lodging Bargains
This region of Florida is generally a bargain during the week of New Year’s. For example, Priceline shows small hotels, not beachfront but with swimming pools, from just $69. Several sites feature bargain prices on two-bedroom condos in the Panama City Beach area during New Year’s.
Multi-generational travelers and families looking to spread out also have lots of options throughout Florida. Research Airbnb, Wyndham vacation rentals, Residence Inn or Towne Place Suites by Marriott, and Microtel Inn & Suites to name a few. Save up to 25% at Booking.com on beachfront Florida hotels for your winter vacation.
Looking for holiday light celebrations in Florida and beyond?
Wherever you decide to celebrate New Year’s Eve this year, make it a memorable event for the kids. You can ring in 2024 at 8pm or midnight and the kids will still remember it for the record books.
Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.
3 Replies to “3 Great Florida Beach Towns to Celebrate New Year’s Eve”
Comment on this article
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hola! I’ve been following your weblog for some time now
and finally got the courage to go ahead
and give you a shout out from Atascocita Tx! Just wanted to
mention keep up the great job!
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article.
I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info.
Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly return.
I Loved the article!
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this post and the rest
of the website is also really good.
Saved as a favorite, I love your blog!
I did a private layover tour from the new airport with realistanbul-tours.com and it worked very well. The new airport is a little bit far from the city center and there is no metro. You can take a taxi and join a walking tour or asked them to pick you and drop you back to the airport too.
Thanks for your publication on the travel industry. I might also like contribute that if you are a senior considering traveling, it can be absolutely imperative that you buy travel cover for older persons. When traveling, older persons are at biggest risk of experiencing a professional medical emergency. Obtaining right insurance policy package to your age group can look after your health and provide you with peace of mind.
Music is really the universal language
Thanks for finally writing about > Best Places to Go Apple
Picking With Your Family < Liked it!
Now in the world, there is a big problem with the coronavirus pandemic. I hope when coronavirus will be controlled then we will traveling around where we want you this day I don’t think so. thank you for sharing an awesome post.
Awesome article.
I really like your post.
you describe every post in great way.
Thanks for sharing..
Ahh what a great article! We love your blog..
Hi, I do believe this is an excellent web site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I’m going to come back once again since I bookmarked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
You illustrate some solid arguments.
I am genuinely pleased to glance at this website posts which includes tons of valuable data, thanks for
providing these information.
For some of the countries represented by the International Food Allergy Anaphylaxis Alliance (IFAAA), FARE and our partner organizations have provided helpful travel tip sheets.
Most of the parents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder avoid traveling altogether. Thank you so much for this useful information about traveling with a child with Autism. Thanks for sharing tips, planning, help, and resources for parents.
Good post. I am going through some of these issues as well..
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful article. Many thanks for providing this information.
Wow, there are some incredibly skilled artists
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with us. Loved your blog!
I enjoyed reading this post so much! Thanks for sharing this tips
I really like the way you describe the post..
Touche. Great arguments. Keep up the good effort.
Reposting here for reader TravelTrackers:
“Ashville is [full] of mosquitos as are most grass beach areas such as Outer Banks area. I was just there Disney in Orlando has outbreak of West Nile virus in the camping areas. Encourage hotel stays that have sanitization protocols as well as mosquito repellent or lots of garlic in the diet.? Havent had a bite in years”
Reposting here for reader TravelTrackers: “The air and sea museum is in Chantilly 20 miles outside DC.”
Powerful positive words
very nice thanks so much for sharing
This has to be one of my favorite posts! And on top of thats its also very helpful topic for newbies. nice one a lot for the information!
Wonderful line up. We will be linking to this wonderful article on our website. Maintain up the very good writing.
Excellent write-up. I absolutely love this site. Thanks!
Wow…really amazing blog.
I really like the way you describe the post..
Nice post.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with us. Loved your blog!
Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break. I love the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, very good site!
this is so cool
very informative
Reposted for reader A.P. who shared this with our e-newsletter team:
CAMPING!! We just returned from Lakewood Campground & Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC. All indoor spaces required masks and their retail shields were permanent and well-made. Perks: wristbands for touchless purchases, FREE access to private beach, waterpark, mini golf, paddle boats, etc., controlled entry for guests only, daily trash pickup at site, residence rentals for those who don’t want to ‘Glamp’. They also had a huge fleet of golf carts and bicycles available for rent. We REALLY enjoyed ourselves in our self-contained abode on wheels!!
Hi Kyle,
Nice work! After reading your article I found an outdated link. It’s at the very bottom of the post under the “camping checklist” link. I did some search and found an updated list. May I recommend updating it to https://www.smartcamper.eco/camping-checklist-camping-essentials-list/ . I think this will be a better experience for your readers.
Cheers,
Bob
Thanks for finally writing about > Resources For Family Camping
Vacations < Loved it!
bookmarked!!, I really like your web site!
Awesome website you have here but I was curious if you kew of aany message boards that
cover the same topics tzlked about here? I’d really lik to be a part of group where I
can get responses from other experienced individuals that share the
same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Bless you!
nice article for camping
Appreciate the recommendation. Will try it out.
the nice written article, thanks for sharing.
Awesome info
Great article, exactly what I needed.
WONDERFUL post. Thanks for sharing.. 🙂
I am not one that comments frequently on blog posts. Nevertheless, this subject as well as your input on it, has made me really feel that I should. I am so impressed with the amount of research you put into it. Absolutely among the very best things I’ve found on the net lately. Thank you.
You need to determine the biggest quantity of campers who will be sharing the tent.
Although it isn’t an important a part of your back country camping
gear, a machete is something that you might consider packing according
to what your location is going. Although your camping accessories
may be somewhat limited, with the outdoor stove you have a pretty
good chance of completing your culinary task.
Outdoor camping Soon? Use These Recommendations To Have The Very best Time. Individuals spanning various ages take pleasure in the enjoyment and fun of camping out. Read on to get some great assistance so you will end up prepared for your experience. Pack further outfits when you are heading camping outdoors. Camping outdoors can get really untidy event. Youngsters are seriously attracted to soil. This means that your young ones as well as their outfits could be very dirty.While this are unable to generally be eliminated, you may have some additional apparel in the event. Do not think twice to bring along excessive information for your kids. Camping outdoors could get really untidy situation. Kids are significantly drawn to dirt. Which means you need to put together to obtain unclean throughout the day. You could possibly not be able to place them thoroughly clean, however, you can pack additional outfits. You should set it up in your house before you go in your outdoor camping journey in case you have purchased a whole new tent when preparing for your personal camping out journey. This helps you to receive the practical experience essential for erecting your tent and make certain there aren’t missing parts.This too assists you to to not be discouraged when you’re trying to set up your tent. Provide a bandanna or a bandanna with you. These can be used a number of things, cloth or even one thing to transport a product in. You should use clothes dryer lint like a basic fabric. Just before your camping outdoors venture, begin getting the lint regarding a month before your vacation from your filtration with your tumble clothes dryer several weeks. Keep a plastic material bag correct near the clothes dryer to produce gathering less difficult. This is an excellent strategy to have kindling completely ready when you’re prepared. Constantly load up enough of the best form.Food poisoning can destroy your nice getaway. Put together all of your current food items correctly and investigation any measures you have to acquire. You need to camping in close proximity to your property when you are not a expert camper. You could encounter things that will require you to reduce your holiday. Alternatively, you could body that you might want to reduce your camping trip quick. You might know there is no need sufficient outfits or meals. There are several unforeseen problems you could encounter the 1st time you are going outdoor camping, so trying to keep the first vacation in close proximity to residence can save plenty of head aches. Reading this post you have to be ready to prepare that camping outdoors journey. Your organizing procedure should remain about the same irrespective of the duration of your trip. Utilize the research and begin planning for your camping outdoors vacation nowadays.
nice explanation of 11 tips, thanks for sharing the information.