Rosemary Beach Bachelorette Party

We had the BEST time at my Rosemary Beach bachelorette party! I wanted to share a little recap in case you’re planning a bachelorette party of your own (or for a friend). Rosemary Beach was the PERFECT place for the type of bachelorette weekend I was looking to have with my best girl friends!

As a little background on why I chose Rosemary Beach, I grew up going to the Florida Gulf Coast with my family. Out of all the places that I’ve traveled all over the world, the Florida panhandle holds a special place in my heart. I especially love the small towns of Seaside, Grayton, Alys Beach, Seacrest, and Rosemary, all along 30A. Rosemary Beach is in driving distance to a lot of my close friends and family, which played a big part in why I chose the destination.

The weather is ideal for beaching late-March through mid-October. We went in October. The weather was perfect when we were there, however, if you’re planning a Rosemary Beach bachelorette party, definitely keep in mind hurricane season. We were a bit limited in what we could do while on our trip because ironically, Hurricane Michael, hit nearby the week prior to our trip. There was a curfew in place when we were there, which limited our restaurant and bar outings. Just something to keep in mind!

Getting There

Rosemary Beach is located in the panhandle of Florida. It’s roughly a four hour drive from New Orleans, a five hour drive from Birmingham, and a two-hop flight from DC (where I flew from). If you’re flying, there are a few airport options. There are three airports nearby: Destin-Fort Walton airport (VPS), Pensacola airport (PNS), and Panama City Beach airport (ECP). Panama City is the closest airport. It’s only a 20 minute Lyft/Uber/Taxi ride from the airport to Rosemary. A few people from our group flew into Panama City and caught a cab to our Airbnb in Rosemary. I chose to fly into Pensacola because of the flight time options. I rented a car and made the 1.5 hour drive to Rosemary Beach.

There were three of us that flew into Pensacola. My friends at Toyota lent us the PERFECT car for our girls’ weekend! We picked up a Toyota Sequoia at the airport, put down the third row of seats, threw all of our luggage in the back, and we were on our way! The Sequoia was so spacious up front and had captain seats in the middle row, which made for a comfortable ride for everyone on our way to the beach!

Where to Stay

We stayed in the heart of Rosemary Beach in this Airbnb, fondly referred to as Coconut Castle. Use my link for $40 off of your first Airbnb stay! It was the perfect spot for our group of eleven. The house itself had 6 bedrooms (5 with king beds and 1 with full size bunk beds), a giant living area, a nice open kitchen, a laundry area, front porch, balcony, and a pool!

The location was PERFECT. The house is beach side and only a two-minute walk to the boardwalk that leads down to the beach. It is located right across the street from one of the main villages in Rosemary Beach and a five-minute walk to the village that houses The Pearl, among lots of other restaurants, bars, and shops. It’s also within walking distance to neighboring Alys Beach.

Where to Eat

We made a big grocery store run when we arrived into town. There’s a nice Publix near the Airbnb. We cooked breakfast at our house and walked across the street to Seacrest Sundries Market & Cafe for iced coffee every morning. They also had tons of groceries, wine and beer included, which was nice to have right across the street! We mostly snacked at home for lunch, but we walked down to a little beach restaurant one afternoon for frozen cocktails and food – Crabby Steves.

For dinner, our situation was a little different than most other times that you’ll likely visit Rosemary. Because of Hurricane Michael (it hit the neighboring town of Panama City two weeks before our trip), all of the restaurants in Rosemary and Alys Beach closed around 8/8:30pm in order for their employees, most of whom live in Panama City, to get home by the still-in-effect dusk to dawn curfew.

We had such a fun time at NEAT Tasting Room & Bottle Shop. It’s a great place for tapas style snacks and amazing wine. We snacked on charcuterie plates and small appetizers and enjoyed endless amounts of champagne and wine. The perfect spot for a girls’ night!

Another fantastic option is Havana Beach Bar & Grill located inside of The Pearl hotel. Everything about this spot is top notch! The service, the atmosphere, the cocktails, and the food! There’s also a beautiful bar in the restaurant too! An added bonus, there’s usually live music in the bar, especially if you’re there on a weekend night. I recommend grabbing a reservation ahead of time, especially for larger groups.

A few other restaurant recommendations: Donut Hole for breakfast, George’s at Alys Beach and Edward’s in Rosemary for dinner.

What to Do

The beauty of having a bachelorette party in Rosemary is that you don’t have to make plans outside of hanging out at the beach! We lucked out and had beautiful weather during our visit (October)! The highs were in the low 80s every afternoon and the lows were in the 60s at night. Perfect beach weather! We spent Thursday afternoon and evening on the beach, went for a long walk Friday morning along the walking paths that connect Rosemary and Alys before spending the entire day on the beach, and had a repeat beach day on Saturday!

A few other ideas of things to do in Rosemary Beach for a bachelorette party:

+ Rent a pontoon boat through 30A Pontoon Boat Rentals

+ Have an evening beach bonfire through Light Me Up 30A

+ Hire a private chef for a fun night in! Check out éclat 30A, Seagrove Beach Catering, The Polished Chef

Party Favor Gift Ideas

My sister killed it on the bachelorette party favors! She sourced everything from Etsy, including these cute beach stake cupholders with everyone’s name on them. These cute little hangover kit bags where a hit! They included things like Emergency-C, Advil, chapstick, bandaids, and gum. Must haves also include personalized koozies, fun cups, drink stirs, and cute sunglasses!

I put together a Turkish towel, under eye gels, and tube of sunscreen as an added little favor with a personalized card attached to each.

We had the best time in Rosemary Beach! I can’t recommend it as a bachelorette spot enough!