Idea for power supply running PIC micro on Battery Voltage

[vasonline]

Hi,

I am designing a power supply for my PIC micro 16F series to connect
to my inverter (documented by manufacturer)

I wil use rs232 communication and a few led's for status.
I have around 20-30mA max power consumption at 5V

I have a 24V battery bank. (solar charged)
I would like to run it of my battery bank.
The Battery voltage can vary from 20V (on the low side) all the way to 32V (absorb).

The LM317 can handle these voltages.
But it's a big voltage drop for a linear regulator.
Should I go for a buck converter or would (another) linear regulator more appropriate?

I do like the simplicity of a linear regulator...

Greetings and thanks!