Mon, June 2, 2025 at 8:30 PM UTC
Key Takeaways
Tripadvisor has declared that Panama City Beach is the top destination in Florida for summer travel.
Tripadvisor tracks which travel destinations are trending each year with its Summer Travel Index.
Panama City Beach was followed by Key West in eighth place and Clearwater in ninth.
Travelers will be flocking to beaches all over the South this summer, and the crystal-clear waters off the coast of Florida attract lots of vacationers since there are so many great beach towns from which to choose. This year, Tripadvisor has declared that Panama City Beach is the top destination in Florida for summer travel.
Tripadvisor tracks which travel destinations are trending each year with its Summer Travel Index. Panama City Beach was the first choice for trips to Florida this year and also came in seventh for vacation destinations in the entire country. Panama City Beach was followed by Key West in eighth place and Clearwater in ninth.
Courtesy of Visit Panama City Beach
Panama City Beach boasts 27 miles of sugar-white sand, more than 50 offshore dive sites, and one of the world’s largest populations of bottlenose dolphins. We also recommend taking the ferry to nearby Shell Island for unspoiled beaches, shelling, and dolphin-spotting.
The city also hosts the biggest Fourth of July fireworks display on the Gulf coast and a summer concert series. And there’s another special summer event you can’t catch anywhere else in Florida: Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show. (The dinner theater show has two other locations in Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach.) Nearby, Panama City offers additional arts venues, culture, and shopping.
Tripadvisor named several Southern cities on the top-10 list of summer destinations, including Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at No. 3. Ocean City, Maryland came in at No. 4, and Nashville, Tennessee completes the list at No. 10.
Read the original article on Southern Living