10 Relaxing Things to Do With Your Family at Rosemary Beach, Florida

Some vacations are full of exhausting adventures, day trips, and jam-packed days. A full, fun, exhausting vacation is fun sometimes, think Disney World. But other times, a vacation with slow, open days with little on the agenda but eating and enjoying the sunshine is just what your family needs. That’s the kind of vacation my family and I recently had when we went to Rosemary Beach, Florida.

In this post, I’m sharing 10 relaxing things to to with your family at Rosemary Beach and the areas nearby. The week we spent there was so refreshing. If you are looking for a place to vacation without a lot of busyness and running around, this might be a great pick for you.

Here are ten things you can do with your family at Rosemary Beach.

Learning Well LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links from Amazon or other programs are used on this website. For more info, please refer to our disclosure statement.

1. Go Shelling

The beaches are gorgeous in this area and the shells are too. We loved walking up and down the beach looking for unique shells. I recommend picking up a local shelling book and identifying what you found when you get back home.

2. Ditch your car for the week and rent bikes

If you find a house to rent near the popular 30A shops and restaurants, you can definitely bike everywhere you go–to the shops, out for lunch, to the beach too. If you have young kids you may want to rent a tag-along.

Get the 6 Secrets to a Simpler Mom Life

3. Head to the nearby state parks

Nearby Rosemary Beach, there are several State Parks that are a great options for an afternoon activity. They’re all really inexpensive too. Camp Helen State Park, Garden of Eden State Park, and Grayton Beach State Park are three near Rosemary Beach.

4. Have dinner at the Seaside food trucks

Seaside is a little village just down the road from Rosemary Beach. There are tons of cute little shops, but we really loved the restaurants and food trucks here. It’s great if your family has a hard time deciding what they want to eat for dinner–everyone can choose what they like!

5. Walk around the local shops at Rosemary Beach

We loved that this area had so little chain retailers. Everything was very local and unique. If you have a chilly or rainy afternoon, grab a coffee and walk around to the different shops!

6. Enjoy the Rosemary Beach white sand

On this vacation, we mostly loved just relaxing on the beach! The sand is absolutely gorgeous! Sometimes the best things are just sitting and soaking in all of God’s beauty.

7. Love architecture? Go sightseeing!

Does anyone else just driving around looking at beautiful houses? I highly recommend doing this at and around Rosemary Beach! The architecture is just stunning! Grab some ice cream and go for a drive or a long walk and check out the beautiful homes.

8. Spend the day at Shell Island

A short drive from Rosemary Beach is another State Park where you can take a boat out to Shell Island. You need to sign up for this ahead of time and I recommend going right away in the morning so you have a full day there. The boat goes between the mainland and the island about every 45-60 minutes so you can go back anytime.

Make sure you check the weather before you go. We had a great time, but it was very windy so it was pretty hard to find shells as the water was very rough. There are shelling tools at the beach stores and those are helpful for finding the best shells!

Vera found one with a live crab inside 🙂

9. Have breakfast at The Donut Hole

What a great local spot! When we arrived, the line was pretty long but it moved quickly and there were beanbags and ping pong to keep us busy while we waited.

The breakfast is excellent!

10. Enjoy a date night at The Pearl Hotel

Even on a family vacation, it’s always a good idea if you and your hubby and sneak away for a nice dinner. We had dinner at Havana, located in The Pearl hotel and it was so lovely!

Have you ever been to Rosemary Beach? Let me know in the comments!