Panama City Beach - Florida

Panama City Beach, or PCB, as it's known is the new Spring Break Capital. And they know how to pick 'em. We found over 26 miles of unbroken great white sand that extends from St. Andrews State Park to Phillips Inlet.

You'll find that on a sunny day, the vision on polar-white sand and emerald-green sea is irresistible to anyone above ground.

Panama City Beach is among the more beautiful along the Panhandle shoreline, where blinding white sheets of quartz sand meet the clear emerald water of the Gulf of Mexico. The beach is a healthy width in most places - we found thanks to the renourishment projects (necessary because of hurricanes, which did their share of stripping away in the 1990's).

Panama City Beach is not to be confused with Panama City - the larger military/industrial port that lies near Tyndall Air Force Base. From March through Easter, PCB mutates to Spring Break Haven with a half-million or so college-aged revelers calling this Party HQ.

From Easter through Labor Day, PCB is a family-friendly vacation town full of those small tourist shops and attractions. And then, from Labor Day to February, PCB goes into hibernation - becoming almost a ghost town.

Remember that Panama City Beach lies on the Panhandle, at a latitude much north of the year-round Florida subtropic meccas. Translation: it gets Cold in the winter here.

The water changes colors throughout the day - emerald to azure to coral. And we found the sand nearly 99% quartz sand - a striking contrast to the sea. But in a strange twist, the city has not done well to provide great beach access. Here are your best bets:

St. Andrews State Park is at the east end of Thomas Drive and is $4 per vehicle. You can camp there, as well - for around $15. There are concessions and restrooms, picnic tables, showers, and a nice visitor center.

Thomas Drive Park is at the 7000 block of Thomas Drive and is free. The park is open sunrise to sunset and has restrooms and showers.