Today we are visiting St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, Florida. Along with our daughter, we are going to Shell Island, which has an unspoiled beach accessible only by ferry. And afterwards we are going snorkeling by their rock jetty. Learn all you need to know about Shell Island and snorkeling in St. Andrews State Park.
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Planning St. Andrews State Park
After our trip to the Virgin Islands last year, I was looking for places to reef snorkel in Florida. Unfortunately most snorkeling spots are in South Florida or the Keys. But I found out St. Andrews State Park in the panhandle of Florida is a unique snorkeling spot. This park on the Gulf Coast in West Florida has a rock jetty that has become an artificial reef. And it’s a great place for our daughter to try snorkeling for the 1st time. You can read more about it here: Snorkeling at St. Andrews State Park | Florida State Parks.
While researching other things to do at this state park, we found out about Shell Island. This 7-mile long barrier island is part of the park, but only accessible by ferry. And since we’re visiting over Labor Day Weekend, we bought ferry tickets ahead of time in case they sell out. You can check for current prices here: Shell Island Ferry | St. Andrews State Park & Shell Island. We book the 10:00AM ferry, giving us plenty of time to get there in the morning. And we’ll pack our beach gear and a picnic lunch to take with us to the island. After a few hours, we’ll head back to the park where we’ll explore further. We’ll also bring our snorkel gear and explore the rock jetty. It’s going to be a beautiful but hot day, so we’ll also bring plenty of sunscreen and water.
Arriving at St. Andrews State Park
We got multiple text alerts that we have to be at the pier store 30 minutes before our ferry departure time. That’s because there’s a tram that leaves 15 minutes beforehand to take us to the ferry dock. And since we’re staying about 15-20 minutes away, we leave early. But arriving at the park at 9:10AM, there are already 2 lines of cars lined up at the entrance. Once to the window, we pay the $8 entrance fee per vehicle which is not included in the ferry tickets. And just past the entrance, we see a sign pointing us right toward the Pier Store.
We’re able to find a parking spot right up front, and walk into the store. And as soon as we’re inside, we see a sign for Shell Island ferry tickets. People are at the counter buying some, but we’re glad we already have ours. I walk up to check-in. They mark me off a list and tell us the tram is out the back door and leaves at 9:45AM sharp. We’ve got about 25 minutes, so we look around the store.
The store has all kinds of stuff from snacks to hats and clothing. They also have souvenirs, beach toys and snorkel gear. Yesterday, we bought a mask and snorkel for our daughter from a local Publix grocery store. And we find some fins here to complete the set. After purchasing them, we head outside to our car. The restrooms are next door, which is last chance before the ferry ride. So after a pit stop, we grab all our gear and still board the tram about 15 minutes early.
The Tram to the Shell Island Ferry
We’ve got our cooler with water and sandwiches, a beach blanket and umbrella. We also have a bag with towels and our snorkel gear just in case. And we find an open row and board the tram with all of our stuff. The tram ride is included the purchase of the ferry tickets. But board early to get good seats.
The driver comes out a few minutes early to make sure everyone and their stuff is securely onboard the tram. After a brief talk, he gets in the truck and we depart on time toward the ferry dock. We head from the Pier Store parking lot back the way we came toward the entrance. But at the 1st turn by the entrance, we head right.
On the way, there are just palmettos and pine trees on either side of the tram. But after about 5 minutes, we see another parking lot where we stop. Here is the boat ramp and the dock to the ferry. As we walk out to the dock, I see 2 beach warning flags raised. One is red for high surf and/or strong currents. And the other is purple for stinging marine life. We’ll see how this goes…
The Ferry to Shell Island
Once we get to the ferry boat, one of the crew checks us in again. And the captain helps us onboard. Once on the boat, we find some seats and stow our gear. The boat is pretty full, but there is still plenty of space for everyone and their gear.
The boat has a large flat surface to easily walk around. And there are bench seats all around with a canopy over the back. The captain goes over the safety gear onboard and talks about the trip over to Shell Island. And we depart right around 10:00AM.
As soon as we leave the dock into St. Andrews Bay, the captain spots dolphins. So he stops the boat as we see multiple dolphins breach the surface around us. Everyone on board is able to see at least a few before we head toward Shell Island.
Though it looks a little choppy out, the ferry ride is really smooth. We head out into St. Andrews Pass which heads out to the Gulf of Mexico. But we continue through the bay along the back side of Shell Island. We pass many pontoon boats parked either on a beach or just off the island before we see a dock. The captain and crew are very helpful along the way, and the ride takes about 25 minutes to the island.
Shell Island at St. Andrews State Park
Once off the ferry, we have to walk to the other side of the island to get to the beach. The good news is there is a boardwalk that takes us all the way from the dock to the beach. The bad news is it’s longer than expected, especially toting all our gear. It feels like forever, but only takes us about 5 minutes.
By the time we get to the beach it’s already after 10:30AM. And we just want to put our stuff down. Of course most people are parked right near the boardwalk. So, we walk a little down the beach to the right to get past the others.
We find a nice spot on the powdery white sand to spread out our blanket and set-up our umbrella. Ready for the beach, we head to the water. Unfortunately the surf is rougher than we had hoped. It appears to be high tide and waves are crashing on the beach.
Our daughter’s a good swimmer, but due to the waves we head in the water with her. After a nice swim, we break out our sandwiches from our cooler and have a picnic. Afterwards our daughter grabs her beach toys and starts digging. She digs up a hole in the sand to find a ghost crab we capture in a bucket.
After playing in the sand, we go for a walk down the beach looking for shells. But because of high tide, we don’t find really anything. However, we do see a guy run past us with a bunch of large shells. But we don’t want to go out of sight of our stuff, so we head back.
Leaving Shell Island
Back at our spot, we swim some more. There’s some sargassum seaweed floating in the water, which takes away from the green water. But, I show our daughter a trick if you scoop some up and put it in a bucket with water. After a few minutes, the creatures that live within the sargassum will come out. We see a couple very tiny shrimp and crabs before returning them to the ocean. We also let the ghost crab free to run across the sand. After almost 3 hours, we pack up our stuff.
The ferry returns from Shell Island every hour at the half hour, though the last one returns at 4:00. But we’re ready to get back and explore the rest of the park. So, we go back on the boardwalk making it for the 1:30PM ferry. But before we can board, we have to clean off our sandy feet off in some buckets of water.
The ferry ride back is quicker, though we don’t stop to see dolphins. Once back we wait a few minutes before the tram returns to take us back to the Pier Store. And we are back where we started by 2:00PM.
Ice Cream and the Pier
Once back, we notice the parking lot is completely full. So, it’s a good thing to start early. We throw our stuff back in our car, and head back into the store. After a little Sun, our daughter wants some ice cream, and I think it’s a great idea. They have a cooler inside with assorted frozen treats. And after each of us gets one, we head behind the store to find a seat.
Behind the store is plenty of seating in the shade. There’s only a few people here, and we find a nice table to sit at and enjoy our treats. Afterwards I want to see the beach here, so we go for a walk.
From the tables, we walk along a path past some picnic tables. We can walk down to the beach, but decide to walk to the end of the pier instead. There are many people fishing off the pier, though the “T” portion at the end is closed due to storm damage. However, we see a couple people enjoying catching some small fish.
The pier is also a great place to view the beach. And though the waves don’t seem as rough, there are a lot more people here than on beach at Shell Island. But, that’s okay because I don’t want to go to the beach here. I want to go snorkeling at the jetty.
The Jetty Store and Beach
From the Pier Store, we exit the parking lot and turn right. The road continues to a larger parking lot which is also packed. Though we see someone leaving and are able to grab a spot near the Jetty Store. We grab our snorkel gear and head inside. The pathway walks right through the store where you can purchase even more snorkel and beach gear.
I ask the lady at the counter where the best place to snorkel is. She says due to the rougher conditions, it’s best to go left where it’s more protected. So, we walk out the back of the store where there are multiple paths. We follow the lady’s advice and continue left.
We make it down to the beach and it’s even more packed. This seems to be a popular spot, especially for swimming. But we walk further down the beach to the left to where the jetty ends. We see a few snorkelers along the way, but not many.
We find a place to put our stuff down, but I forgot my GoPro in the car. I want to use it underwater while snorkeling. So I head back finding another path that takes me right back to the car. And once I return, we are ready to snorkel.
Snorkeling at St. Andrews State Park
At the end of the jetty are a couple of rock islands. So, we grab our snorkel gear and walk into the shallow water toward the closest one. I try to help our daughter learn how to snorkel. But she is not sealing her mouth and her snorkel keeps filling up with water. And she sees a small jellyfish and freaks out. So she heads back to shore, while I continue toward the jetty rocks.
It gets deeper toward the jetty and I’m able to swim across the lagoon to get there. Though the Sun is behind the clouds, the water is clear enough to see underwater a few feet. I continue toward the jetty and carefully avoid some small jellyfish on the way to the large rocks. But at the rocks I Instantly see some fish, so I follow the line of rocks inland. I see some bright blue reef fish that I wasn’t expecting, including a blue and yellow one.
It’s unbelievable how many fish I see here. But once I get closer to swimmers, I turn around and go back the same way. I even see a stone crab out in the open hanging on one of the rocks.
Once I swim back to the end of the jetty, I swim out toward the open water. And when I look back to my surprise I see something huge underneath me. I don’t know what the long gray thing is until I see a paddle tail and know it’s a manatee. It scared the heck out of me, but it disappeared just as quickly as I saw it. I have to go back to tell the others.
Snorkeling around the rock island
When I get back, they’re just sitting in the water looking at fish. Our daughter can still see underwater with her goggles. So, I convince her to go back out to the rock island with me. It is so shallow, I take off my fins and easily walk all the way out. And once out to the rocks, I just hold our daughter’s arm while she looks underwater between breaths.
There are lots of fish around these rocks and I’m glad she is getting to see so many. We take turns pointing out new ones we see underwater. And after going completely around the island with her, we head back to shore.
Getting to share this experience with her was great. And I hope she will try it again. We were only here about 1.5 hours, and can only imagine how it could be on a sunny day. But it’s getting late, so we decide to pack it up and walk down the beach.
On the way back to the Jetty Store, we see a large chair with about 6 kids in it. Their dad is trying to take their picture, while our daughter is itching to climb in. So, she gets her turn before we head through the Jetty Store back to the car. It’s almost 5:00PM by the time we leave the park, and it’s time to head back to our resort for dinner.
Summary of Shell Island and Snorkeling at St. Andrews State Park
We spent the full day at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach today. We were there almost 9 hours, and could have stayed longer. There really is a lot of things to do at this park. And if you forget something their stores have everything you need.
We started off taking the ferry out to Shell Island and spent a few hours there. And after beach time we came back for ice cream and checked out the pier. Then we got back in the water at the jetty and went snorkeling. If we ever get the chance to come back, we would head here 1st to beat the crowds. Snorkeling here is great for beginners like our daughter, and there’s plenty of fish to see. If you’re ever in the area, we highly recommend St. Andrews State Park!
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