Port Gellhorn is the faded beach town in Leonida’s northwest, and fans have matched its fishing pier and its strip of motels to Panama City Beach. The real town is one long beach, about 27 miles of white quartz sand from the Walton County line to St. Andrews State Park. Where you sleep along it decides whether the motels are outside your door or a drive away.
This page compares areas, not hotels. For a ready-made plan, use a Port Gellhorn weekend; for cars and airports, getting around.
The short answer
- The trailer look outside your door: the central strip of Front Beach Road.
- Walking to the pier and dinner: the Pier Park end.
- Snorkeling, Shell Island and an early start east: the Thomas Drive end.
- The tightest budget: an older motel on the strip, or Panama City across the bridge.
- Quiet, or a second base: the Forgotten Coast.
How the beach is laid out
The beach road, Front Beach Road for most of its length and South Thomas Drive at the east end, runs about ten miles from Pier Park to the state park. Panama City Beach Parkway (US 98, locally Back Beach Road) runs parallel inland and is the faster way across town. Pier Park and Russell-Fields Pier sit toward the west, the older strip runs east from them, and at the east end Thomas Drive links the beach to US 98 near the Hathaway Bridge, which crosses the bay to Panama City.
Condos and rental houses, not hotels, carry most of the business: in summer 2023 rental guests outspent hotel guests about three to one.
The central strip: Front Beach Road
The stretch east of Pier Park is the one fans have matched to the Port Gellhorn strip: two-story motels with walkways and pools facing the road, signs taller than the buildings, souvenir shops between the condo towers that replaced most of their neighbors. You are on the sand, a short drive from the fishing pier fans matched to the second trailer and from Pier Park.
It suits a first trip, couples on a budget, and anyone who came for the look. The older motels are the cheapest beachfront beds in town, but upkeep varies, so read recent reviews. The drawback is the road: it crawls in summer and on event weekends, and the strip is loudest in March.
The Pier Park end
Russell-Fields Pier runs about 1,500 feet into the Gulf across the street from Pier Park, the open-air mall with the SkyWheel. Around them are newer hotels and some of the biggest condo towers, a walk from the pier, the wheel and plenty of restaurants.
It suits families and first-timers who want everything close. The drawback: it is the least Port Gellhorn part of town, polished and chain-heavy, with full lots on summer nights.
Thomas Drive and the St. Andrews end
At the east end, Thomas Drive runs past Grand Lagoon, a sheltered harbor of marinas and seafood restaurants, and the beach road ends at St. Andrews State Park. The park is a travel idea here rather than a game match: rock jetties, a calm snorkeling pool and a seasonal shuttle boat to Shell Island, seven miles of undeveloped barrier island. Island boats also leave from the Grand Lagoon marinas. Beds are beachfront condos, older motels and rentals by the water.
Stay here to be at the gate at opening: on summer weekends the park can fill and close by mid-morning. Entry is about $8 a car; check before you go. This end is also closest to the Hathaway Bridge, the best start for the drive east. The drawback is that the pier and Pier Park are 20 minutes or more away. It suits snorkelers and boat people.
Panama City: downtown and St. Andrews
Across the bridge, historic St. Andrews is the old fishing village on the bay, with a marina and a waterfront park; downtown along Harrison Avenue is a few minutes east. The working port, a possible inspiration for Port Gellhorn’s docks, sits just west of St. Andrews, toward the bridge. Beds are a few small inns, rentals and chain hotels on US 98 near St. Andrews and along the highways out of town.
Rooms cost less than comparable ones on the beach, and it is the quietest base in March. The drawback is plain: no beach. The sand is 20 to 30 minutes away, every day. It suits budget trips and repeat visitors.
The Forgotten Coast
East of Tyndall Air Force Base the towers stop. The Forgotten Coast, which fans have matched to Port Gellhorn’s emptier shoreline, is three small towns on US 98.
Mexico Beach is about 40 miles and an hour from Pier Park. Hurricane Michael came ashore near here at Category 5 on October 10, 2018 and destroyed most of the town. It has largely rebuilt, so what you find is mostly new: houses raised on columns, a renourished beach, a few rebuilt motels and inns, and plenty of rentals, pricier than what the storm took. Its replacement pier had federal funding but was not built at last check.
Port St. Joe, about 50 miles out, is a small marina town and the turnoff for the rental houses of Cape San Blas. Apalachicola, about 75 miles and up to two hours away, has the historic inns and walkable streets. Both are on Eastern time, an hour ahead of Mexico Beach and Panama City Beach.
It suits a second base or a slow trip. The drawback is distance: an hour or two each way to the pier, and few late dinners. Many Cape San Blas houses rent only by the week in summer, Saturday to Saturday.
When to go, and what it does to prices
Spring break, March. This is still one of the South’s big spring break towns. The city has banned alcohol on the sand for all of March since 2016, bars stop serving at 2am that month, and during spring break 2026 only guests 21 and older could book a vacation rental. Rates climb and the strip is loud; families should wait for April.
Late spring. April and May are the best weeks: the water at NOAA’s Panama City Beach gauge averaged 73 degrees in April 2025 and 80 in May. The Thunder Beach motorcycle rallies, around the turn of May and again in late October, draw big crowds, so check their dates.
Summer, June to August. Peak family season and peak prices. Highs average about 90 degrees with lows near 75, and July and August are the wettest months, mostly afternoon storms. Hurricane season starts June 1.
The autumn shoulder, September to November. The water averaged 84 degrees in September 2025 and 79 in October, and rates fall once school starts. This is also the heart of hurricane season, which peaks from mid-August to mid-October, so book refundable rates.
Winter, December to February. January highs average about 64 degrees with lows in the 40s, and the water, about 59 degrees in January 2025, is too cold for most swimmers. Hotel occupancy was about 35 percent in January 2025, and rates are the year’s lowest. When to visit has the rest.
What a night costs, by area
A rough guide to a standard double or one-bedroom condo, per night, before tax and fees. Booking sites’ own averages put a July night at two to three times a winter one.
| Base | Dec to Feb | Mar to May | June to Aug | Sept to Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central strip motels | $50-110 | $100-220 | $130-250 | $70-160 |
| Pier Park end | $100-180 | $160-320 | $230-420 | $120-250 |
| Thomas Drive end | $70-150 | $120-260 | $160-330 | $90-200 |
| Downtown and St. Andrews | $80-140 | $100-180 | $120-230 | $90-170 |
| Forgotten Coast | $100-170 | $130-230 | $150-260 | $130-260 |
Tax in Bay County adds about 12 percent, 7 percent sales tax plus the county’s 5 percent tourist tax, and Panama City charges a further 1 percent merchant fee. Since May 2025 a federal rule has required hotels and rental sites to show the total price, mandatory fees included, so compare totals. Rates move fast; check before you go, and see what a Leonida trip costs.
Getting there and getting around
Flying. Northwest Florida Beaches International (ECP) is about 15 miles north of Pier Park. The airport quotes 20 minutes; allow 25 to 35, more to the Thomas Drive end. American, Delta, Southwest and United fly nonstop to hubs including Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Houston, and the list changes, so check current routes. Six rental car companies operate at the airport. Destin-Fort Walton Beach (VPS, about 55 miles west) and Tallahassee (TLH, about 110 miles east) are the fallbacks.
Driving from the south. Orlando is about 370 miles and roughly six hours without stops, Tampa about 400 miles and six to six and a half, Miami about 590 miles and nine to eleven. Your clock goes back an hour at the Apalachicola River on I-10. The full Leonida road trip breaks the drive up.
Getting around. Rent a car. Bayway, the county bus that used to be the Bay Town Trolley, runs along Front Beach Road for $1.50 a ride or $4 a day, but about once an hour at last check, and Sunday buses run only from March to November. The Forgotten Coast is car-only.
Updated November 9, 2026. All guides