There’s something pretty special about getting your whole family together for a vacation, especially once your kids are grown, everyone has busy lives of their own, and there are grandkids in the mix!

This year, all 12 of us headed to one of our very favorite places: 30A, Florida.

If you’re not familiar with 30A, it’s a beautiful stretch of beach communities along Florida’s Gulf Coast, known for turquoise water, sugar-white sand and some of the prettiest little beach towns. It’s one of those places that immediately makes you feel like you’re on vacation.

And with grown kids, and several littles along for the trip, renting a house was absolutely the way to go. Stay tuned at the bottom where I’ll give you a code on your stay!

Why We Chose a Stay on 30A Home

Our own 30A beach house, Salty Sandbar, doesn’t quite hold all 12 of us, so for this trip we decided to rent a larger home right on the water through Stay on 30A.

There was another reason this was an easy decision for us… Stay on 30A is also the company we chose to manage our own short-term rental on 30A

When we purchased our beach home, choosing the right management company was incredibly important to us. We wanted our guests to arrive and feel like the home had been truly cared for and prepared for them… not like they were simply checking into another rental.

One of the things that impressed us about Stay on 30A is their triple-inspection system. Their homes are checked to make sure they’re exceptionally clean, fully stocked and ready to go before the next guests arrive.

But something else our guests mention again and again is how responsive the Stay on 30A team is.

And, of course… with any home or vacation rental, things can occasionally come up. An appliance may stop working, something may need attention, or you might simply have a question during your stay. To me, what matters most isn’t expecting that nothing will ever go wrong… it’s how quickly and thoughtfully it’s handled when something does.

Our guests consistently tell us that Stay on 30A is quick to respond and takes care of things right away. As a guest, that can make all the difference in your vacation. And as an owner, it gives us tremendous peace of mind knowing someone is there to take care of our guests when we can’t be.

And sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference, too.

They start you off with a packet of things you actually need… coffee, plenty of trash bags, dish soap and other essentials. Because is there anything worse than arriving at a vacation rental after a long travel day, only to wake up the next morning and realize there’s no coffee…or that you need to immediately run to the store for trash bags?

Those details matter, especially when you’re traveling with a big family.

Here’s a link to the exact home we stayed in this time with Stay on 30a

The Perfect Setup for a Big Family

For our family of 12, THIS house gave us something a hotel simply couldn’t: space to be together. (And stay tuned at the bottom, I’ll be sharing a code you can use for any stay in 2026!)

We spent mornings drinking coffee, days at the beach and evenings hanging out together at the house. We ate most of our meals at home, too.

With several little ones, going out to dinner every night can sometimes be more work than fun! Having a kitchen where we could cook, feed the kids when they were hungry and let everyone relax made the trip so much easier.

But we did make one dinner extra special.

One evening, we had a private chef come to the house and cook dinner for all of us. No getting everyone dressed, no loading up cars, no waiting for a table with tired kids… just a wonderful dinner together at the house.

The chef from Chef Jojo was great and it was such a treat and one of those vacation experiences I would absolutely do again.

Skip the Grocery Run!

An incredible convenience we did was have MorganizeIt shop, deliver and organize our groceries before we arrived. The girls and I made our list ahead of time and sent it to Morgan and everything was waiting for us at the house. SO helpful with a group of 12! No Grocery store runs, no lines…..just jump straight into the vacation!

She also does all the fun extras too! Cookie cakes, painted banners, charcuterie boards and more. Such a great resource for family vacations, girls’ trips, bachelorettes or any special celebration on 30A!

Family Photos While Everyone Was Together

One of the best things we planned for this trip was family photos on the beach. When you have all of your grown kids, spouses and grandkids together in one place, it’s the perfect opportunity to capture everyone and I’m so glad we did!

We were able to get photos of our entire family together, and then each individual family and couple had their own photos taken too. Everyone walked away with beautiful images they can frame for their homes, use for Christmas cards, or just have to remember this season of life. We have used Jackie Wren Photography for a couple years now and she is wonderful with the kids and adults alike! And we love the images captured!

And Then…We Had an Engagement!

As if having our entire family together at the beach wasn’t already special enough, this trip gave us a memory we’ll never forget.

Our daughter got engaged exactly 30 minutes after we arrived!

And yes… 30 minutes after arriving was very intentional. It was about the only way they could actually surprise her!

She had barely had time to settle in before we were celebrating a brand-new fiancé in the family.

That evening, we kept the celebration going with a beach bonfire by Big Fish Bike Rentals, which could not have been more perfect. And they are more than bonfires…..see below for other amazing things they can bring your way!

There’s just something magical about being on those beautiful white-sand beaches as the sun goes down, gathered around a bonfire with the people you love most… especially when you have something this exciting to celebrate.

One of My Biggest 30A Tips: Let Someone Else Handle the Beach Gear!

And this is one of my biggest recommendations if you’re planning a trip to 30A: don’t spend your vacation hauling beach equipment back and forth!

Big Fish can help with so many of the things you’ll want for a 30A vacation, including:

• Beach bonfires
• Stand-up paddleboards
• Beach chairs and umbrellas
• Bikes and other beach rentals

But my favorite part?

They bring everything to you.

We had our beach chairs and umbrellas set up for us early each morning and taken down every evening. We simply walked out to the beach and enjoyed them.

When you’re traveling with kids and grandkids, that is worth its weight in gold. There’s already enough to carry to the beach without adding chairs and umbrellas to the mix!

Why 30A Works So Well for a Multigenerational Family Trip

I think this trip reminded me why I love 30A so much for families.

You can make the days as busy or as slow as you want them to be.

Spend the morning at the beach. Ride bikes. Golf cart coffee runs, Walk into one of the little beach towns. Let the grandkids play in the sand. Cook dinner together. Hire a chef. Have a beach bonfire. Or simply sit outside with a glass of wine while everyone is under one roof.

At this stage of life, when our children are grown and building families and lives of their own, getting everyone together like this feels even more meaningful.

It wasn’t about having every minute of the trip planned.

It was about being together and everyone getting what they desire out of the trip! 

Why We Trust Stay on 30A

Having now experienced Stay on 30A from both sides (as guests staying in one of their homes and as owners trusting them to manage our own beach house), we feel even better about our decision to work with them.

For us, it comes down to the details.

A beautifully prepared home. Thorough inspections. The essentials waiting for you when you arrive. Local people who know the area. Connections to services that make your vacation easier. And the feeling that someone has thought through the things you might need before you even have to ask.

When you only get so many vacation days together as a family, those things matter.

Because the goal isn’t to spend your vacation worrying about the house, tracking down supplies or hauling beach chairs.

The goal is to spend it making memories.

And on this trip, we made some pretty unforgettable ones.

A house full of our grown kids and grandkids. Turquoise water and white-sand beaches. Family dinners. A private chef. A beach bonfire.

And one very big YES! 💍

I’d say this family trip to 30A will be pretty hard to top.

Great News: You can use code CINDYSWANSON10 for 10% off any stay with Stay on 30a during 2026! And Fall break is on the way! You can even use it on our home Salty Sandbar! Also you can follow along on IG for all of my favorite recommendations and experiences along 30a @saltysandbar30a! We hope we get to host you!