the beach today
Emerald Coast Guide

Panama City
Beach

World's Most Beautiful Beaches

Everything for a day on the World's Most Beautiful Beaches — conditions, parking, the pier sunset and where to eat after.

Today on the Sand

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Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, flags & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & pier lots

Pier & Sunset

Gulf sunset & live cam

Dining

Grouper, gulf shrimp & beach bars

Things to Do

Shell Island & dolphin cruises

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

PCB Front Beach

Sugar-white sand · the main strip

Lifeguards · City Pier

St. Andrews State Park

Jetties · calm kiddie pool

State park · snorkel

Shell Island

Undeveloped barrier island

Boat / shuttle only

Laguna Beach

Quieter west end · local feel

Beach access lots

Carillon Beach

Upscale · uncrowded sand

East end

Rick Seltzer Park

Small county beach park

Free parking

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Panama City

20 min east

Downtown, marina & St. Andrews

30A / Rosemary

35 min east

Seaside, Alys & scenic beach towns

Destin

50 min west

HarborWalk & emerald passes

St. Andrews

15 min east

Historic village & oyster bars

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Panama City Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at PCB, the water is 76°F, surf is running 0–1 ft and the air is 73°F. Wind is 11 mph from the NE and the UV index peaks at 6 (high) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 32 minutes right now, and the strongest stretch runs 1 PM to 2 PM. Today’s tides: Low 7:47 AM, High 9:38 PM. Whether dogs are allowed here depends on which part of the beach you are on.