We started with a little live music and a round of oysters at Indian Pass Raw Bar then indulged in a nice sit-down at The White Marlin and a stay at the Hotel St Joseph. We woke up Sunday with a slow morning, picked up coffee at Sweet Bunz and spent time at the pool before checking out and heading back home. Highly recommend doing something out of the ordinary just because!
Some of the best trips start with almost no plan at all. About 3 PM on a Saturday, we looked at each other and said “let’s just go.” Two hours later we were checking into a hotel in a town that still feels like a secret.
That town is Port St. Joe, and if you’ve never made the drive, you need to.
The 30A You Remember
Port St. Joe is less than two hours from 30A, but it feels like a different coast entirely. Where our stretch has gotten busier and glossier every year (I say that with love, I make my living here), Port St. Joe still moves at its own pace. No valet lines. No wait for a table you booked three weeks ago. Just a working waterfront town that hasn’t been repositioned for anybody.
That word, repositioned, is a marketing term for changing how a place is perceived so it appeals to a bigger, fancier crowd. It’s basically what’s happened to parts of 30A over the last decade. Port St. Joe hasn’t gone through that yet, and honestly, that’s the whole appeal.
This isn’t a new discovery for us. Our family has been coming here for years, scalloping in the summer, sneaking away for laid-back weekends, and yes, this is even where Hunter and I escaped to when we were dating. It’s a place that holds a lot of memories, and every time we go back, it reminds me what 30A used to feel like before it exploded into what it is today.
Oysters, Live Music, and a Very Good Reason to Stay Late
We kicked off the night at Indian Pass Raw Bar with live music and a round of oysters. If you know, you know. It’s the kind of unfussy, screen-door, feet-on-the-floor kind of place that doesn’t exist much anymore, and it’s exactly right for a Saturday that started with zero plans.
From there we headed to The White Marlin for a proper sit-down dinner. It was the perfect bridge between “we just decided this three hours ago” and “actually, this feels fancy.”
Where We Slept It Off
We stayed at the Hotel Saint Joseph, which made the whole spontaneous plan feel a lot more put-together than it actually was. (Book here.)
Sunday morning was slow on purpose. Coffee from Sweet Bunz, a lazy stretch by the pool, and no agenda until checkout. That’s the whole trick to a trip like this: leave enough room for nothing to happen.
Do the Thing That’s Not on the Itinerary
We didn’t plan this trip. We didn’t need to. Sometimes the best move is booking a hotel at 3 PM on a Saturday and just going. If you live anywhere near 30A, Port St. Joe is close enough to be a whim and far enough to feel like a full reset.
Highly recommend doing something out of the ordinary, just because.
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