30A is definitely the most blogged about vacation destination on this site. For over 20 years, it’s been our favorite spot and one we visit at least once a year. It was our haven in the spring of 2020, our home away from home as we moved from Michigan to North Carolina and continues to be a very special place for our family.
30A Vacation Guide 2025
We tend to do a lot of the same when we visit – beach time, seafood boils, our favorite shops and restaurants. But we are always adding in new things, trying new food and taking time to explore the ever growing area. This year was no different, so let me break down our favorites to help you plan your next trip to 30A!
One new thing this year, was that our friends came to stay with us for the weekend! I am 99% sure this is the first time we have ever had friends stay with us at the beach and we truly had a blast. It’s so special when your family really matches up with another one and everyone just clicks!
Because our friends came for the first time, we had to make sure to hit all our favorite places to give them a true taste of 30A! Here is all the food we ate, where we explored and our favorite spots in this 30A Vacation Guide 2025! Hope it helps you plan your 2026 trip!
Where We Ate
Surfing Deer
Y’all know we love Surfing Deer and I cannot recommend it enough. If you’re the kind of people to eat in on vacation and only go out once or twice, let it be here. The food, the atmosphere, service. You can’t beat it! The Pimento Cheese Hushpuppies are a must try and they offer a kids filet mignon with fries that has been ordered by my boys more times than I can count.
Shunk Gulley
This place is always hopping and does not take reservations. But! It’s worth the wait! They have an upstairs bar, a new downstairs bar, live music and several shops around so you can kill a little time by shopping while you wait. I love the Tuna Poke appetizer and the Shunk Juice cocktail is a favorite. Insider tip: after you eat at the restaurant, take your receipt to their liquor store for 10% off your purchase! They almost always have Buffalo Trace, too. If you’re a bourbon drinker, you know this is hard to find!
Watersound Village Market
This restaurant sits on Hwy 98, just off the east end of 30A. It’s not a far drive from anywhere on the strip, but especially close to the Rosemary and Alys beach areas. If you are gluten free, you 100% have to go! They offer basically their entire menu as gluten free and I can assure you, it’s delicious. Their menu is seafood meets southern with every bite being fresh and flavorful. They have amazing hushpuppies and I dream about their grits and greens side dish.
Fish Out Of Water
This restaurant is right on the ocean with amazing views! We typically eat outside on the patio and with the ocean breeze and fans, it’s usually not too hot, even for the Summer. The walkway to the ocean is a perfect spot to grab a family picture before dinner. I love their fish tacos, the pimento cheese with bacon jam and the desserts are incredible.
Red Fish Taco
Blink and you’ll miss this hidden gym in Blue Mountain Beach. We almost always go here while we visit because it’s easy, affordable and a family favorite. They have live music many nights and an outdoor patio. You order at the counter and find a seat or it’s easy to take to go. If you like eating on the earlier side, they have a fantastic happy hour from 3-5pm!
Black Bear Bread Co.
This is the cutest coffee shop, nestled in the quaint town of Grayton Beach (There is also a Seaside location!). We love to bike here to get coffee and the most impressive, made each morning pastries. They recently opened an adjacent bar room that offers cocktails, cheese boards, oysters and small plates.
Fonville Press
We love going to walk around the idyllic Alys beach area. Fonville press has been a few different restaurants since we started going, but this one is my favorite by far. They offer frosecco, frozen espresso martinis, really fun cocktails and the most insane desserts you’ve ever seen. Their market has food basics as well as offering carryout meals to serve your whole family. The whole place is a vibe that is totally photo worthy.
Goatfeathers Seafood Market
Big disclaimer here, the seafood market, not the restaurant. To be honest it has been years since we ate at the restaurant, but it wasn’t our favorite. On the other hand, their seafood market gets at least 2 visits a trip from us. We love to do a shrimp boil and to try their new fresh catches. They will steam and season your shrimp so you can have a great appetizer ready to go while you cook. They have 3 different market locations, so you can get to them no matter where on 30A you stay.
Donut Hole
There are a few of these on 30A as well and it’s honestly a must try! The red velvet donut is my absolute favorite. You will need to get there early and be prepared to stand in line. But it is worth it! They also offer sit down breakfast and it is really good as well. Our kids just usually aren’t up to go out, so we go grab donuts and bring them home!
Blue Mountain Creamery
This one is nostalgic for me, as our boys have been eating ice cream here their entire lives. We always bike or walk here on our trips and it’s another one you might want to go to during the off hours. It’s very popular! Their selection changes daily, but you will always find me ordering banana pudding ice cream if it’s on the menu.
What We Did
The beach is definitely the top attraction on 30A. We spend a lot of time in the water for sure! We also LOVE bike riding. We took a 10 mile round trip bike ride this year that started with coffee, did some shopping in Seaside, had lunch and got home in time to relax on the beach. 30A has amazing bike paths down the entire length of the road and it is so fun to explore on bikes. We always get ours from Vacayzen and they are incredible to work with. We bike to Blue Mountain Creamery, Black Bear Coffee and all through Seaside (way easier to bike than drive here!)!
Cowgirl Kitchen is a spot we biked to this year and they have a great selection of sandwiches and wraps for lunch, plus homemade pimento cheese. They have since expanded to have breakfast and dinner and I’m excited to check it out! In the same parking lot is the cutest new shop, Stalls of 30A. They have many vendors and lots of adorable local products. We bought a 30A puzzle the last day we were there and are saving it to put together on our 2026 trip!
Another great spot we have purchased many souvenirs is the 30A Gear store. I’m currently drinking coffee out of a sunny yellow 30A mug I snagged on our trip. They have a few locations and really cute items.
Seaside
This is a no brainer and a very popular spot to visit! There are tons of shops, restaurants, food trucks and entertainment in the green. The boys always do a boys lunch at Pickles and I take a walk while they eat to shop (I love Art of Simple) and get frose at B.F.F. If you’ve seen The Truman show, you’ll recognize this town as the place they filmed it. His house is located at 31 Natchez Street and the owners have kept it the same, if you want to walk by and see it.
If you hung on through all of this, amazing! We truly love this special place and hope that this 30A vacation guide 2025 helps you plan your vacation for 2026! If you want even more 30A content, here are the travel guides from many years of the past!
Happy Vacationing!