Need to Know Info

Below are some helpful and important resources & information to help make your stay in Gulf County great!

If you have booked and paid in full with Teresa’s Beach Homes and are now ready to check-in, you should have already received your check-in document attached to your e-mailed final payment receipt. This check-in document is separate from your rental agreement and details all of the pertinent information you need to get checked-into and out of your rental home. If you cannot find this document please Contact Us prior to departing home. This will help us start your vacation off on the right foot!

For all other guests just looking for quick need to know information we hope you enjoy this collection of information and
we hope that you choose to stay in one of our Teresa’s Beach Homes soon!

If you experience an emergency call 911

CONTACT INFORMATION

Teresa’s Beach Homes Reservation Line – 850-229-1522 (Terri)
Teresa’s Beach Homes Maintenance & Service Line – 850-229-6619 (Teresa)
Non-Emergency Gulf County Sheriff/ Dispatch – 850-227-1115

BEACH FLAGS & Rip Currents

Rip currents are strong currents and sometimes deadly currents that are present in large bodies of water. Even to a trained eye these can be hard to spot. Check beach safety flags each time before entering the water and review rip current safety information. Life jackets and other flotation devices save lives! On double red flag days ankle deep is too deep. If the Gulf is too unsafe consider visiting St Joe Bay instead.

Mexico Beach does not have a beach flag system. Check online beach safety warnings before entering the water.

Helpful Links:

WEATHER, TRAFFIC AND SAFETY ALERTS

Gulf County Sheriffs Department has an outstanding app that has notifications for local weather, traffic, and safety alerts. I recommend downloading this app and turning on notifications for the duration of your stay. The best part is you can delete it when you leave! Other weather information can be found under our Tropics webpage.

Gulf County Sheriff’s Office Google Play Store App
Gulf County Sheriff’s Office Apple App

LEASH LAW

All pets must be on a handheld leash at all times. All pet waste must be bagged and disposed of in a trash can and not just covered up by sand. Please be a good steward of our beaches and follow our rules and ordinances even if those around you do not. Also, if your dog loves to swim in the ocean make sure to bring a long lead. Regardless of the leash law a dog might not know how to get out of a current and would tire quickly without proper flotation device and lead to reel them back in.

EVENTS CALENDAR

Gulf County has a plenty of wonderful events including farmers markets, sea turtle festivals, 4th of July Fireworks, crafting events, and live music among other things to experience while you are in town. Check out our Welcome Center’s Calendar Events to find something fun to do during your stay.

FIREWORKS & FIRE SAFETY

FIREWORKS– Recreational fireworks, except sparklers, are illegal in the state of Florida. Fireworks are extra dangerous in our dry beach environment! All it takes is a spark….
Apalachicola, Port St Joe, & Mexico Beach all have free community fireworks events on July 4th for your family to enjoy. Port St Joe and Mexico Beach usually also have them during New Year’s Eve celebrations, but please check local event guides to verify.

BEACH BONFIRES– When you have a fire on the beach you must be 100ft from any structure. This includes boardwalks. Dig a hole deep enough to protect the fire from winds. Make sure that the fire is completely out and remove all debris including burnt wood and ash before you leave the beach. DO NOT bury your fire debris with sand. This pollutes the beaches. Once cleaned out fill in the hole to help keep our beaches flat, dark, and clear for our wildlife.

LIGHTS OUT – May 1 thru Oct 31

Our area is home to hundreds of nesting sea turtles every year. The sea turtles are disoriented by the artificial lights coming from our homes. Please limit lights, interior and exterior, to only what is needed. Pull curtains and close blinds to limit to amount of light pollution. Flashlights or any other light used on the beaches after dark should have a red light filter so not to distrupt the nesting sea turtles.

LEAVE NO TRACE

Gulf County along with nearly every other Florida Beach participates in LEAVE NO TRACE. This means, simply, that nothing should be left on the beaches when your family leaves the beach in the evening. No trash, gear, food, debris from fires, or anything else may be left on the beaches overnight. Leave Only Footprints! Also, no glass is allowed on any Florida beaches. Please only use plastic or cans and bring in all trash at the end of the day.

FILL IN ALL HOLES- Holes left on the beaches are extremely dangerous for both wildlife and humans. We have actually had a guest who broke their femur after stepping in a hole left on the beach. Digging deep holes on the beach can also be quite dangerous due to risk of collapse. Please enjoy our beaches but do so safely. Always kick down sand structures and fill in holes at the end of every day.

Golf Carts & Gulf County

Unfortunately none of our current homes are Golf Cart friendly. You may not drive golf carts or ATVs on, next to, or across any roadway with a speed limit over 35 MPH or on an unapproved State highway. Cape San Blas Road and HWY 98 are both a state highways and 45 MPH. This is Florida law. This means if you rent a golf cart while staying at one of our homes you will not be able to drive it anywhere except on the side road of the home you have rented (if applicable.) Save your money and rent some fun beach gear or a beach wheel chair instead!

TIME ZONES

All of Teresa’s Beach Homes are in EASTERN time zone. Mexico Beach, Panama City, Panama City Beach, Wewahitchka, and White City are all CENTRAL time zone. Port St Joe, Windmark, St Joe Beach, Cape San Blas, & Indian Pass are all EASTERN time zone. To prevent your phone from changing time zones check your settings, turn off auto, and select a time zone manually.

WILDLIFE

Florida is home to a whole host of wildlife both land and sea. Among these include animals that are completely harmless and some that can be dangerous when safe practices are not observed. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Wildlife of Northwest Florida so that your family can have an informed and safe trip to our area.

If you arrive to town early…

Teresa’s Beach Homes guests are not permitted to arrive to, park, or enter their vacation homes prior to 4:00PM ET. In some circumstances check-in may be delayed. If you arrive to town prior to 4:00 PM Eastern consider visiting one of our many restaurants, shops, or public Gulf and Bay access points around town if you arrive early. For restaurants, groceries, and shops please visit our EAT-PLAY-SHOP tab. Some restaurants around town have outdoor pet friendly patios.. There are also plenty of public restrooms and places with some shade. www.VisitGulf.com/PARKS has a wonderful Park Guide that helps you search for things like Restrooms, Covered Picnic Areas, Playgrounds, & Dog Parks!

Pool Access: Rish Park is now offering a day pass for access to their pool to the public. Last I checked it was $6 for a car with up to 8 people or $2 per individual on a bike. Rish park is located on Cape San Blas/St Joseph Peninsula between the Cape Tradin’ Post and St Joseph State Park. Rish Park Website

Teresa’s Beach Homes Resource Map
Find all of these Locations on the Gulf County Parks Map

Medical Resources – Pets Too!

We hope that you do not experience a medical emergency while on vacation, however, while we vacation to its fullest sometimes things happen. Here are some resources to help you find the best care for your family. If you are having a medical emergency please call 911!

Human Care

If you or your home doctors need to set up remote contact with doctors in our area to continue medical care while you are in the area there are four hospitals to consider: Sacred Heart Gulf County, HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital- Panama City, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and HCA Capital -Tallahassee.

Pet Care

Always remember to travel with your pet’s most up-to-date shot records for ease of access to medical care or proof of rabies vaccination should the need arrive!

Helpful Tips & Information

  • SUNSCREEN You can get burnt even if it’s cloudy. The sun bounces off the water, the sand, and our metal roofs giving you a quadruple whammy. We recommend purchase before you arrive. It seems a bit cheaper outside of the coastal regions, but if you forget or need more all of our stores sell it! Even the gas stations. Apply liberally and often!
  • Pool Access: Rish Park is now offering a day pass for access to their pool to ALL guests and not just those with special mobility needs. It’s $6 for a car with up to 8 people or $2 per individual on a bike. Rish park is located on Cape San Blas/St Joseph Peninsula between the Cape Tradin’ Post and St Joseph State Park. Rish Park Website
  • BUGS Florida has bugs in every season. Black & yellow flies come and go and hopefully are gone in a day or two. LOCAL PRO TIP- Buy a bottle of Australian Gold AND/OR Cactus Juice and bring it with you. If you use Australian Gold with bronzer DO NOT wipe it off with our white towels! It ruins them. Australian Gold without bug spray will not protect you against mosquitoes or other bugs. We suggest you wear bug spray with deet or anything else you feel comfortable with starting at dusk and be aware of this when swimming at night. No See Ums are small gnat like bugs that can get through screens. Do not leave your windows or doors open at night even if they have screens. Sometimes these bites can take a day or so to show up and are very itchy. Palmetto bugs also come out in when it rains! These are large bugs that fly. They can only live outside are not infestation roaches. They come inside when you open doors or windows, but die within 24 hours of entering your home. Don’t believe me? Google it!
  • CRITTERS Florida plays host to a wide variety of critters including friendly and not so friendly. We recommend you always wear shoes when walking to and from the beaches as well as walking around our trails and homes. Ensure your dogs are always on a leash and that you have a flashlight while out and about after dark. (Red light filters for flashlights on the beach can be purchased at Scallop Cove.)
  • WIFI, TV, PHONE For outage try unplugging your router/modem for 10 seconds and plugging it back in. Wait a few minutes. If it says you have the incorrect password also try this. If that does not help please CALL 850-229-6619 to report an outage. Do not hit the reset button it will require a service call. If you’ve already done this call the service line to report.
  • TRIP PLANNING VisitGulf.com offers a concierge program that gives you 1 free hour of trip planning services! Give them a call and they can help you plan some awesome adventures.
  • WATER PRESSURE The county has recently upgraded our water system on Cape San Blas and has made great improvements in regards to water pressure. However, during peak times of the year you may experience low water pressure. The pressure should improve the lower in the home you are. If your top floor has having poor pressure, consider using the lowest floor with a water source. Unfortunately this is part of being in the middle of no where and that’s why we love Cape San Blas, right?
Teresa’s Beach Homes Reservation Line – 850-229-1522 (Terri)
Teresa’s Beach Homes Maintenance & Service Line – 850-229-6619 (Teresa)
Non-Emergency Gulf County Sheriff/ Dispatch 850-227-1115
If you experience an emergency call 911
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