Explore Florida || Pensacola Beach

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Pensacola Beach is a charming little beach town right on the Florida Panhandle. With a little bit of something to do for everyone, and being only minutes from Downtown Pensacola, Pensacola Beach is a great location for a weekend vacation.

Where to Stay:

You have your usual Hiltons, Marriotts, Hampton Inns, etc. but if you’re looking for something a bit more unique, check out Portofino. It’s on the pricy side, but within this resort you’ve got private pools, a spa, and a really cool little island water park. Other resorts, like the Holiday Inn within the area have lazy rivers to float away a Saturday afternoon, cold drink in hand.

Don’t feel like dropping a pretty penny on room and board? No problem, there’s plenty more to do and see here outside of your hotel.

Where to Eat:

Pensacola Beach has loads of restaurants to try, a few of the most popular being the Grand Marlin ($$$) for a nice romantic date night, Peg Leg Pete’s ($$) for traditional seafood lunch or dinner, The Sandbar for all the views, and Frisky Dolphin for some traditional southern cajun-creole style food.

Here’s a one-day suggestive itinerary for you trip:

Palafox St. Farmer’s Market

At some point during your stay you HAVE to come here. Local vendors from all over Florida and Alabama set up shop here every Saturday and Sunday. You’ll find things here from local artists and artisans, loads of delicious food, and my agenda: coffee.

Mrs. Jones Cold Brew is some of the best I’ve ever had, and I don’t say that lightly. I’m a massive coffee snob, and I will visit the market just for this over and over again.

Breakfast at Native Cafe

This small little breakfast/lunch nook located just off of Vie de Luna Drive offers extensive brunch and lunch menus, along with perfectly concocted mimosas to get your day started the right way. (I don’t know what the hell they use to make these, but this was literally the best mimosa I’ve had in months). I got the shrimp tacos, which were excellente. The atmosphere here is really unique and beachy. I felt like a local dining here.

Travel Tip #1: If you’re in a hurry to get to the beach, their service is quick and efficient. Since it’s on the way to the beach anyway grab your food to go and have a picnic on the beach.

Beach it the f*** up

Vie de Luna Drive takes you straight out to all of the free beaches (including Navarre) in Pensacola Beach. There’s loads of free parking lots for each portion of the strip, as well as plenty of side street parking. With the vast stretch of land this road covers, you are more than certain to find an area with little to no people, so you’ll feel just like you have the entire beach to yourself.

Towards the end of the strip (primarily in Navarre) there are snorkel reefs in the water. These seem to be relatively popular spots for local scuba divers and snorkelers alike. I’ll warn you (based on firsthand experience) that these reefs are not for the faint of heart or weak swimmer. You have to swim out a bit into the ocean until you reach the PVC pipe markers in the water.

This trip I learned that I’m not quite as strong a swimmer as I wanted to believe. We made it out just a few hundred feet short of the reef when I started to panic and had to swim back to shore. It’s deep, there’s currents, and it’s dangerous. Unfortunately I’m not even sure we would have been able to see much marine life because the water was pretty murky, and no matter how far out we swam, it didn’t become any clearer.

Is it even possible to look remotely attractive in a snorkel mask? I’m begging someone to prove me wrong. Anyway, my first and only snorkeling experience wasn’t the greatest. I truly was scared shitless, and at one point thought I was actually in some real trouble. So I highly recommend training before you head out to the reef in Navarre, unless there’s some hidden secret of an easier way to reach it not via boat or paddleboard. I’ll be damned however if this didn’t give me the motivation to improve, so I’m adding this to my list of goals for this summer. I will be back Navarre, you best believe it.

Hang out under the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier

This is a really beautiful spot. Spend at least some of your time walking around and relaxing here. You can walk on top of the pier if you wish, but my eyes were set underneath of this. It’s a truly picturesque spot and such a great place to watch the sun set.

Drive out to Downtown Pensacola

If you’re into street art and wall murals, there’s a really cool bridge located just outside of the Pensacola Beach bridge on 17th street. There’s a boat slip here as well that appeared to be pretty popular, but I was more interested in the bridge and the railroad tracks just above.

As you can see, the bridge is completely graffitied, even up to the railroad tracks above. Local police forces have tolerated graffiti artists decorating this piece of work, and it’s just great.

Visit Pensacola Bay Brewery

One of the only breweries in Downtown Pensacola is this charming little spot. Dog friendly (outside) and right across the street from a beautiful park provides great views to stop and relax for a little bit with one of the delicious beers they have on tap. I went for the stout and it was nothing short of my expectations.

Bar Hop around Downtown Pensacola

Downtown Pensacola is one of my favorite places to hang out ever since I made the move to Alabama. It’s close, offers the perfect amount of bars to walk in and out of, and is bustling with individuals of all ages. Some of my favorite bars here include:

• Seville Quarter – 7 bars in one, all holding different themes (my favorite is the piano bar, second being any of the two/three in the courtyard out back). It’s so easy to get lost in this place.
• Play – It’s like a less packed, much cooler version (in my opinion) of Dave & Busters. They’ve got arcade games, skeeball, and a photobooth I can never stay out of when I visit.
• Wild Greggs – Line dancing and bull riding your thing? Check this place out

Ultimately, Pensacola has something to offer for everyone; from Parasailing with the kiddos on the beach, to getting some me-time at the spa, to partying it up downtown. I repeat, Pensacola has been one of my favorite spots ever since I moved here, and I’m surprised I haven’t covered it earlier. I’m sure you’ll find just as much joy here as I have and will continue to. So, what’s stopping you? Go!

As mentioned before, I’m gearing up here shortly to take on some hikes, caves, and other attractions in Northern Alabama, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Make sure to subscribe to my page to stay in the know about my future travels, and follow my instagram @unfriendlyadvice to see photos updated almost daily.

Until next time,

-C