As a resident of Panama City Beach, located in the Florida Panhandle, I say come here! Serriously, the emerald coast between Fort Walton Beach/Destin and Panama City Beach is very interesting and is so varied that you can find something to suite your tastes. Like mikelj said, if your planning to visit the area around PCB I would avoid during spring break, however the just over the county line in the area known as the Beaches of South Walton (seaside, seagrove, rosemary beach, etc) will be even calm during that time of the year.

I would recommend looking at the following local CVB websites:
Panama City Beach: http://www.thebeachloversbeach.com/
Beaches of South Walton: http://www.thebeachloversbeach.com/
Destin/Fort Walton Beach: http://www.destin-fwb.com/

As far as getting to the panhandle you have plenty of options. Driving is fairly easy and you can arrive into Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and if you are willing to drive a bit Tallahassee (2 Hours from Panama City) and Mobile, AL (Approx 1 hour from Pensacola). Pensacola to Panama City is a 2 hour drive.

When I lived in Iowa, my family would always drive to Ocean City, NJ every summer. I have some great memories of that town and the boardwalk there was awesome. I really wish they had one somewhere near Panama City. You can see more here: http://www.oceancityvacation.com/