by Aleister Pinkbelly

Created on: September 11, 2008   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

If you were given the option to spend your New Year's Eve in Panama City Beach, you might very well ask yourself why anyone would go to the trouble of flying halfway across the world just to waste the biggest party holiday of the year sitting by some boring canal surrounded by people in funny hats watching a bunch of rusty oil tankers float by.

But what if you were gently reminded that there's a Panama City Beach in Florida that boasts a vibrant nightlife and some of the most renowned, breathtaking beaches in the United States?Perhaps you might be persuaded.

Though daily average highs in the 60's might deter more of the faint of heart from participating in the variety of beach activities that involve actually hopping in and out of the water, there's a good reason so many whales migrate south to Florida in time for New Year's - there's a night-out option for everyone, and they can get by with a light jacket.

For the younger crowd with an appetite for booze fueled mayhem, one can bump, shake, grind, or whatever else can be thought of to do with one's booty from sundown on the emerald green Gulf of Mexico until sunrise over, well, the emerald green Gulf of Mexico at Spinnaker's Paradise Grill, the club that started it all by playing host to MTV's inaugural Spring Break broadcast (curious patrons are encouraged to ask what "it" is, exactly), or party with literally thousands at Club La Vela - the country's largest, trendiest, and apparently most respected nightclub.

Meanwhile, for those who can remember where they were when Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire, prepare to break out your flapper dresses, feather boas and Al Capone attire for a black and white 20's style affair at Schooners, known as "The Last Local Beach Club" for its classic beach style, danceworn wood floors and tin roof, or head over to the Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort to sample the buffet, sip bubbly and sing about all your old acquaintances at their formal masquerade ball.

Whatever you decide should you venture to Panama City Beach this New Year's, have fun and be safe!

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