Seaside Beach - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)
Seaside Beach
Seaside Beach
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles455 reviews
Excellent
298
Very good
58
Average
39
Poor
20
Terrible
40

Malcolm L
4 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Family
We have been coming to Seaside for years. Granted we rent in Watercolor and spend a pretty penny to rent a house, we always enjoyed the Seaside Beach for its convenience to the house and trailers. Well....the pandemic strikes again and now the beaches of Seaside look like a prison. We reserved a couple of chairs and an umbrella for my wife and I and usually use towels or beach chairs for the kids- they don’t sit much. We walked up to the prison gates to be told that each person going through the pearly gates must rent a chair ($35 a person) to have access and must have a wrist band. This is not a joke- we saw 18 year old workers chasing down people without wristbands and telling them to leave. The excuse was “Social Distancing” but they had no problem adding additional chairs for a fee. I have even heard that public parking is now for a fee. The good news was the beaches at Seaside are relatively empty and the trailers no longer have lines. We are going to the Watercolor beach today and will spend our $$$ in that area the rest of the week. Wonder if it is worth the $35 a person to lose all of the revenue from patrons spending at your stores and restaurants.
Written June 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tylerlu
Bella Vista, AR220 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Family
We use to enjoy coming to Seaside almost every year. We haven’t been in a couple years due to the pandemic and I was kind of shocked. Locked gate to get out into the public beach?…. Huh. Apparently during the day, you have to rent a beach chair to go that way or walk 1/4 mile away. You also have to pay about $7 an hour to park when it use to be free. But honestly the biggest problems were the completely unsupervised preteens and teenagers all over the place in huge groups. Yelling at each other, riding their bikes or gold carts around/in between people relaxing and families with small children. I have three teenagers and never in a million years would I allow my 13-16 year olds free access to run around a town in the evening everywhere acting like the were. Young teen girls with barely any clothes on and plenty of teen boys running around being obnoxious. We were in the seaside style baby store and about 5 of them came in just to throw baby toys around and be obnoxious. I can’t imagine the store owners appreciate it. Not sure what the parents are doing but they clearly aren’t watching their children. The city needs to get it together and provide supervision if the parents refuse to. Very sad that what was once a cute family oriented town is turning into a mess.
Written September 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kim S
Woodstock, GA244 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Family
We have gone to Seaside almost every year since 2011. We always book a house in Seagrove Beach but spend most of our time (and money) in Seaside proper. One of our favorite things to do was grab a pizza & beverage from town & go crabbing at dusk. Days on Seaside beach and evenings at beachside restaurants with walks on the beach we’re part of our fondest memories. They now have blocked off the beach from the public and raised their prices significantly in surrounding restaurants. We grabbed a drink from The Taco Bar and a beer was $15. We were stunned at the restrictions that a seaside has imposed. They have made it very expensive and by default very exclusive. You have to pay to go on the beach now. They will let you on the beach, but you cannot get back into the town of Seaside without a bracelet. They’ve built ugly fencing around all the beautiful public entrances making it impossible to access the town for anything without paying. What a disappointment and let down. Don’t waste your time. SeaCrest & Rosemary are beautiful & free to the public. We will be moving away from quaint Seaside. It’s not what it used to be!!!!!
Written November 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lynn
Inlet Beach, FL3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Solo
Just don’t. What used to be the most peaceful, scenic, enjoyable beach community has been fast tracked to “the Gatlinburg of the Panhandle.” It’s absolutely lost all of it’s charm and serenity. The shops aren’t the same caliber as they used to be and neither is the clientele. Famous, popular restaurants in the past are now overpriced, low quality, and the expansions have completely taken that wonderful old school beach ambiance straight to the gutters. I’ve lived in a neighboring community for about 22 years and have watched the steady, horrifying changes that have taken place. But, in their defense, what else could they have done? It’s overcrowded, overpriced, and so built up that there is not even a breeze from the once unobstructed view of the gulf. It is ruined forever. It’s heartbreaking. I heard another person call it the Disney World of the Emerald Coast. Unless you are staying ON PROPERTY… do not bother visiting. You will regret it unless it’s in February. You will have to pay to park and not get to touch the sand. The only time that residents in neighboring communities can even get close to it anymore is during the winter. Bye Seaside.
Written June 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lauren
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021
I live on Okaloosa Island but enjoy day trips out to 30A to shop, dine and spend a couple hours at the beach. Well no longer!... at least not out to Seaside. I was extremely disappointed to spend hundreds of dollars shopping in the local stores and having lunch only to then find out I could not access the main beach entrance by Bud and Alleys as I have been doing for years. Fighting the traffic to drive over for the day used to be worth it, but I will no longer go to Seaside. Why should I spend my money in your town if I can not even so much as look at the beach from the boardwalk? They put up hideous fences and hired teenagers to chase you away if you do not pay outrageous fees for chairs and umbrellas. All I need is my towel and sunscreen- I mean come on! This used to be such a cute town to visit... I was even going to plan my wedding out here. After this last experience, I'll now be following suit with the other disappointed locals and will be taking my money elsewhere. There are plenty of other beautiful towns that support the locals and still welcome public beach access. Goodbye Seaside!
Written September 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Johns23456
44 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Family
We live in Lynn Haven, an hour away, and used to come to Seaside all the time on the weekends and would spend a lot of money on food and beverages. Now, the main pinnacle beach access is blocked off by a literal fence and makes you pay $80 for 2 people to go on the beach. It has a sign that says, "public beach access 1/4 mile west", which is the Watercolor parking lot access. Go there, there's about 50 feet along the shore you can jam yourself into. The rest has signs that say, "private beach". NOT the Seaside of a few years ago. I am mad and I'll never return. If you want to hang out with rich tourists who can afford $80 beach days or tourists pretending to be rich, this is your place. Badly done, Seaside, badly done.
Written September 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TaxJanitor
Atlanta, GA66 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Family
An interesting business model Seaside has going.

They market their beaches as a wonderful destination, but then deny you access to the beaches once you get here… unless you want to pay the mandatory $80/umbrella rental fee to get on the beach, then you will not be getting on the beach without a mile walk to the nearest “public access point” to the public beaches.

No, thank you. We will not be back. Ever.

Purely a capitalist decision. Seaside is not providing what it says it is, while charging an arm and a leg on top of the already high prices. There are thousands of miles of beaches within the same driving range from our house. We will find a destination that enjoys tourists relaxing in their town and on their beaches… while we spend our money there.

Don’t waste your time and money being frustrated with this nonsense.
Written July 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Liv W.
Germantown, TN2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Solo
Charging $15 dollars for parking alone, not to mention the $35 dollars you have to pay for a beach chair to even get ACCESS to the PUBLIC BEACH. Everything is gated with coded locks, and guarded by eighteen year old cabana boys who are all too happy to literally chase you down if you set foot in the “seaside” area. If you do happen to get a beach chair, they’re nearly three rows deep, with barely any room to actually access the water. I’m really disappointed by the changes that seaside has made, and most definitely won’t be coming back.
Written August 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mister B
Atlanta, GA3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Couples
This area is essentially a private theme park for the rich enabled by Florida's insane beach access laws. You can't access the beach unless you pay, and rent-a-cops shoo people away from areas of the beach deemed private. Yeah, it looks nice in pictures but the gall it takes to claim "ownership" of the beach is appalling.
Written June 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tarra
Freeport, FL352 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020 • Couples
So the greedy community of Seaside will let you spend money in the business but not allow you to walk on the beautiful white sand beach. Seaside along with many 30A community have decided that the beach are for the wealthy and privileged. They want our tourism and our money but we cannot walk or use the beach. The only beach you can us an every day person is the public beach and that is massively packed and overcrowded. There are other places to go that will treat you better.
Written December 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Seaside Beach - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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