How we research

Where our facts come from

We ask whoever is in charge. Beach rules, flags, lifeguards and parking come from the City of Panama City Beach and its code of ordinances, county rules from Bay County, the state parks from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Florida State Parks), and the airport from Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Weather comes from NOAA's National Weather Service. Prices and policies come from each hotel's, tour operator's or event organizer's own website. Some pages also show prices, ratings or booking terms from Expedia or Viator. Those pages say so and give the date we looked. For events and the official map of the beach's areas, our main source is Visit Panama City Beach, the official tourism office.

Each page gives the date we checked it and lists its sources in a short note at the end. Prices and opening times change, so confirm them with the business before you book.

When we can't confirm something

• If the source doesn't give a fact, we say so.
• If two official sources disagree, we show both values and tell you who to ask.
• If a fact only appears in local news, we say so.
• Distances and walking times are estimates from OpenStreetMap routing.
• Review scores, star ratings and other people's reviews never count as facts here. Where a tour shows a Viator rating, it is Viator's number with the date we saw it, not our own verdict.
• We list only hotels and condo complexes we can book through Expedia and that are rated at least 8.5 out of 10 there, from at least 20 reviews. The score only decides whether a place appears; what we say about it comes from its own pages.

How we make money

Some links go to Expedia Group sites such as Expedia and Vrbo, or to Viator, as affiliate links. Book through one and we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. In the page code, every link that can pay us is marked as sponsored.

No hotel, tour operator or attraction pays to be listed. We do list only hotels and condo complexes bookable through Expedia and, apart from parasailing, only tours bookable through Viator. Commissions have no say in the order we show them. Places with no booking link, such as city parking lots and public beach accesses, are chosen the same way.

Photos

Place and landscape photos come from Unsplash and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo is credited where it appears, and the image credits page lists every one with its author and license. Hotel and tour photos are the businesses' own images from Expedia or Viator, and we use them only next to links to that hotel or tour.

Corrections

If something is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] with the page and what has changed. We check it against the source, update the page and give it a new date.

Independence

This guide is independent. It is not run by the City of Panama City Beach, Bay County, the Bay County Tourist Development Council or Visit Panama City Beach (the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau), and no hotel or tour operator has a say in it. Our only business ties are the affiliate links described above. Privacy · Contact