Florida Panhandle

Understand

The Florida Panhandle has hung onto its Southern culture better than probably any other region in Florida, so expect traditional Southern hospitality and more conservative values. Exceptions to this trend are Tallahassee and Pensacola; while both retain a great deal of that Southern charm, they also contain pockets of the typical progressive, creative atmosphere of college towns.

It is a narrow strip lying between Alabama and Georgia to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Culturally and in terms of history and climate, the region is more closely tied to the Deep South than to peninsular Florida.

West Florida draws more than seven million visitors annually from around the world. Attractions include golf courses, zoos, world-class beaches, water sports and fine restaurants. It is second only to Orlando's Walt Disney World in terms of visitors traveling to Florida and is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country.

The Emerald Coast, which is slowly becoming the American Riviera, is an area in the southeastern United States on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, roughly bounded by Pensacola, Florida on the west and Panama City, Florida on the east. The area is known to have some of the most stunning and finest beaches in the world, famous for their sugar-white sands and warm, emerald-green waters. The beaches were also deemed to have the whitest sand in the world where it sparkled in the sun and squeaked when walked on. Contrary to popular belief, the sand is not bleached by the sun, but is comprised of Appalachian quartz that filters down to the coast from the mountains. The emerald-green color of the water is due to the sugar-white color of the sand laying beneath the clear blue water thus providing the area's namesake feature. The quartz sand on the beaches of the Panhandle is so white that some traders reportedly sold it as sugar in World War II.

The beach towns, many of which play host to college students during spring break. Popular vacation destinations include Pensacola Beach, Gulf Breeze, Navarre Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Panama City Beach, relative newcomer Destin, and Seaside, a development community whose iconic pastel-paint and tin-roof construction was made famous in the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show, filmed in the area from 1996-1997. Other communities on the Emerald Coast include Perdido Key, Navarre, Sandestin, Grayton Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, and Seagrove.

The area is known as a family drive destination, although in the past decade, its popularity has expanded greatly, leading to new construction booms and seemingly overnight changes. Many development communities similar to Seaside have sprung up in Walton County and the west end of Panama City Beach, raising property values, and some might argue, aesthetic appeal.

Deep-sea fishing is a huge draw for the area, with Destin holding the nickname "World's Luckiest Fishing Village" (and several saltwater world records) and Panama City Beach hosting the annual high-dollar Bay Point Billfish Invitational. Eating seafood is perhaps even more popular than catching it, with a seafood restaurant and/or oyster house seemingly on every other corner.

This roughly 100-mile (160 km) stretch is home to several military bases, with installations including Pensacola Naval Air Station (home of the Navy's famed Blue Angels flying squadron and the initial training site where all naval aviators earn their "wings of gold"), Hurlburt Field, Eglin Air Force Base (one of the largest military bases in America), Tyndall Air Force Base (home to the Air Force's new F-22 Raptor fighter jets), Coastal Systems Station-Naval Surface Warfare Center (home to the Navy Experimental Diving Unit and Naval Diving & Salvage Training Center), and Corry Station Naval Technical Training Center. The Florida Panhandle has been marked by upscale developments that include Seaside, Sandestin, and countless others. Development in the coastal area is so commonplace that very little beachfront property remains untouched, unless it is under the stewardship of the Federal or State Government.

Regions

Cities

• Tallahassee – the state capital and largest city in the region
• Apalachicola
• Fort Walton Beach
• Marianna
• Destin
• Panama City Beach
• Pensacola - the second largest city in the region
• Perdido Key
• Navarre - the third largest city in the region

Other destinations

• Apalachicola National Forest
• Choctawhatchee National Forest
• Gulf Islands National Seashore

Get in

By plane

• Pensacola International Airport - located in Pensacola and the gateway to western Florida. Pensacola International has many flights on many carriers to destinations across the United States, and within Florida, as well as occasional charter flights that fly internationally.

By car

• & : Interstate 10 and its scenic byways slice across the Panhandle parallel to the coast, but several miles inland. I-10 follows the route of the older Highway 90.
• : Closer to the coast, Highway 98 is the most important route. A car is really a requirement to see this area. There is local bus service in most cities, and biking is popular both for getting around town or for longer tours of the coast.

Go next

• North Central Florida
• Big Bend Coast
• Alabama