Pensacola, FL Road Trips

Pensacola has the nickname "The City of Five Flags". Only the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce actually uses that name, but it's a convenient short-handed way of describing the city's history. Over the past 450 years, Pensacola has been owned by five nations: Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Confederate States. It was also inhabited by various Native American tribes, but sloganeers never seem to include them. When the Panzacola Indians arrived in Pensacola thousands of years ago, they found old growth pine forests, thicketed with massive pine trees so large, it would take two or three men to wrap around the trunk. These trees provided so much shade that there was almost no undergrowth on the forest floor, and traveling through the woods was easy. Since there isn't much food to be found in pine forests, the tribes tended to live near the water, where fishing was plentiful. Not much is known about these early inhabitants of the area: they left few artifacts behind, and all of the tribes that lived in Pensacola prior to European colonization have gone extinct. European colonization began with the Spanish: Juan Ponce de León (of Fountain of Youth fame) sighted the area first, and later Spanish explorers were excited by the well-protected, deep water bay. They recommended settlement, and in 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano arrived at the bay and founded the first European settlement in the United States. He named it... Puerto de Santa Maria. It failed miserably.

1 Naval Air Station Pensacola, S. end of Navy Blvd, ☏ +1 850-452-3100. The Naval Air Station is the single largest employer in Pensacola, and is the driving force of the city's economy. Pensacola holds a high degree of respect for its military base, and NAS Pensacola returns the favor by offering attractions for the public and allowing public access. First built in 1826 as a Navy Yard, the location was chosen due to Pensacola Bay's deep waters and importance as a naval port on the Gulf of Mexico. In 1913, following the invention of the airplane, Pensacola was chosen to become the first naval aviation station in the country, and today, remains the primary training base for all Navy and Marine flight officers. Visitors to the base can get a brief glimpse of a military base in person, and can visit the many historic attractions. When you first drive into the base, a guard will ask which attractions you wish to see, and will issue you a vehicle hangtag for those destinations. Most of these attractions are on Radford Boulevard or Taylor Road; if you stray too far off the beaten path, prepare to be interrogated by a very inquisitive military police officer. 2 The Blue Angels. The elite jet-fighter pilots of the U.S. Navy are stationed at NAS Pensacola for part of the year, and if you're in the west portion of Pensacola at 8:30AM when they practice, you may be able to see them performing flight maneuvers overhead. Typically, the Blue Angels perform two public air shows a year for Pensacola; one at the beach, and one at NAS Pensacola, and these air shows are massively attended.

The beaches of Pensacola, with their famous sugar-white sand, are the city's most popular attractions. However, while the city of Pensacola is surrounded entirely by water, there are no beaches in the city limits. Instead, you'll have to travel to one of the beachside communities, which are a short drive away. Pensacola Beach is nearby, and very popular with both tourists and locals, with many restaurants, hotels, amenities and shopping, while Perdido Key is just a short drive further, and is more quiet and pristine. Diving opportunities here are mostly sunken ships, which are not only historically interesting, but provide homes for entire ecosystems. The most popular dive is the newly "reefed" aircraft carrier Oriskany approximately 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Pensacola Pass; the wreck is nearly a thousand feet long! Another dive includes the USS Massachusetts that was used as a target for artillery fire after being decommissioned in 1919. She sits in 30 feet of water near Pensacola Pass and is known to be an unpredictable dive. For spearfishers, the Russian Freighter is a popular dive, with grouper, snapper, and lobster available. Travelers interested in diving should check with one of the four dive shops in town for more information and for boat charters. 1 Dive Pros, 7203 W Hwy 98, ☏ +1 850-456-8845, fax: +1 850-456-0025, [email protected]. Summer M-F 9AM-7PM, Sa 7AM-7PM, Su 9AM-5PM; winter M-F 10AM-6PM, Sa 8AM-6PM, Su 9AM-5PM. 2 MBT Divers, 3920 Barrancas Ave, ☏ +1 850-455-7702, fax: +1 850-455-7564, [email protected]. M-Sa 8AM-6PM, Su 8AM-3PM.

Located on the Gulf Coast, with good harbors, Pensacola has access to a wide variety of fresh seafood, and many restaurants in the area proudly use fresh-caught fish and shellfish in their meals. Red snapper is bountiful in the waters here, but good luck finding it; most of it is shipped to New York City, where it can fetch a higher price. Locals in the know often hit the docks when the fishing ships come in, when a small bribe can net you a beautiful snapper at bargain prices. Gulf shrimp are cheap and plentiful here, and most dining establishments have it on the menu in some form or another. Mullet fish are an oily, strong-flavored species of fish, popular only because of its dirt-cheap price. It can be bought for a dollar a pound, and is always served deep-fried, like catfish; locals often eat the tails like they eat potato chips. And although Pensacola is a little late to the raw fish party, incredible sushi can be found here, made with fish caught from the docks. Being in the southern United States, Pensacola also features many restaurants that specialize in traditional southern cooking; having grits, a ground corn porridge, for breakfast is a source of pride for many Southerners. Pecans and peanuts are grown by many farmers in the Florida panhandle, and Pensacolians put them to good use in pecan pie, pecan ice cream, roasted peanuts, and especially cajun-spiced boiled peanuts.

One drink that's a Pensacola favorite is the Bushwacker. This frozen drink, made from Kahlua, rum, coconut, and ice cream, is more associated with Pensacola Beach, but every bar in town knows how to make it, and many have their own special versions. International travelers, when going out to drink, bring your passport. Doormen at some bars, Seville Quarter in particular, may not recognize an international driver's license, and will call the police after confiscating it as a fake ID! 1 McGuire's Irish Pub, 600 E Gregory St, ☏ +1 850-433-6789. 11AM-2AM. A popular Irish pub, McGuire's is the most well-known restaurant in Pensacola, loved for its quirky sense of humor, community involvement, Irish food in addition to bar food, and their award-winning in-house beer brewery. During evenings, live entertainment and music can get rowdy. They serve handmade draft beers brewed on site, in addition to a full bar, and a few oddball house specialties. By the time you've finished their infamous Irish Wake, you'll be drunk enough to kiss the stuffed moose, and possibly even enjoy the bagpipers! You also get to keep the souvenir mason jar the drink is served in. First-time visitors are expected to pin a dollar bill to the wall with their name on it, a tradition that has resulted in over a half-million dollars papering the walls and ceiling. Sunday brunch is amazing, with giant six egg omelets, bottomless Mimosa's, and good prices. See "Events" for information on McGuire's Running Club on Tuesday nights. Dinner $12-25. $5 draft.

Pensacola offers dozens of hotels, from small weathered motels to full-service resorts. Vacation rentals are also a popular option for large groups or extended stays. Since Pensacola often has a large influx of evacuees from other cities during the hurricane season, there are a large number of extended-stay hotels and suites available in the city. Outside of hurricane season, you can often find a great deal on these rooms. If you're looking to spend a lot of time on the beach, you may want to look at hotels in Pensacola Beach or Perdido Key, which will save you a lot of driving. Also, if you are military, or have a military ID, you can stay at the Navy Lodge at NAS Pensacola. Rooms are spartan, but cheap, and the location is on a bluff overlooking the beach. Many major hotel chains have a presence in Pensacola, including all the usual budget suspects. Most of these budget hotels are located along I-10 on Plantation Rd at the Davis Hwy exit, and at the Pensacola Blvd exit. The attractions of Pensacola are about a twenty-minute drive from here. Unless you're on an extreme budget, avoid the cheap motels along the portion of Hwy 90 known as Mobile Hwy; this is a high-crime area, and the motels there are rundown and unsavory. 1 Comfort Inn, 8080 North Davis Hwy (I-10 E, take exit 13, turn right onto Davis Hwy. (Hwy. 291) go north approximately 1/4 mile. Hotel is on the right side behind Beach Community Bank.), ☏ +1 850-484-8070, fax: +1 850-484-3853. Check-out: 11AM. $99-119.

1 Pensacola International Airport (PNS IATA), 2430 Airport Blvd (5 miles (8 km) north of downtown to Exit 5 of I-110. From I-10 go south on I-110 (exit 12, of I-10) to Airport Blvd (exit 5 of I-110).), ☏ +1 850 434-1234. There are non-stop flights to Pensacola International Airport from Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Dallas-Ft Worth, Washington DC, South Florida, etc with the following airlines: American Eagle/American Airlines (Charlotte (CLT), Boston Logan (BOS), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW),Miami (MIA), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Washington Reagan) Delta/Delta Connection (Atlanta (ATL)) Frontier (Denver (DEN)) Silver Airways(Orlando, Tampa) Southwest Airlines (Chicago Midway, Denver, Kansas City, Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby, Nashville, St Louis) Spirit Airlines (Orlando, Ft Lauderdale) United (Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH); Chicago O'Hare (ORD); Denver (DEN)) Click here for list of taxi companies (and their rates), car rental companies and shuttle/Limousine companies at the airport. Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) #63 bus serves the airport from the east gate of Saufley Field (Naval Airbase) in Bellview. Passengers can transfer to 31, 43, 52 at the nearby Pensacola State College (PSC) Transit Center to reach other destinations by public transportation. Mobile Regional Airport (MOB IATA) is an hour's drive from Pensacola, in Alabama. It is usually more expensive than landing at PNS, but can occasionally save you a couple of hundred dollars on flights.

Driving is by far the best way to get around the Pensacola area. With the exception of downtown. Downtown has street parking and a few parking garages, most of which have small fees M-F 9AM-5PM. Downtown parking is free on the weekends, but may be scarce during special events. Travel through the city may be confusing for the first time driver; some of the major streets have multiple names, the most notorious of which is FL SR 296, which also goes by Bayou Boulevard, Brent Lane, Beverly Parkway, Michigan Avenue, and Saufley Field Road! In addition, many major thoroughfares curve, or run at odd diagonals. A map will come in handy. I-110 is a major interstate running north-south through Pensacola, and provides a very handy guidepost for travel through the city. There are bicycle lanes throughout town along most major roads, but they're not easily noticed unless they are actually being used; look for small lanes on the side of the road with a bicycle symbol painted on the asphalt. Downtown Pensacola is great to see from a bike, especially the old Seville area and the historic district. ECAT, 1515 W Fairfield Dr, ☏ +1 850-595-3228. M-Sa 5:30AM-7:30PM, Su closed, exact times depend on route. ECAT provides public bus service to Pensacola and the immediate area, stopping at shopping centers and hospitals. The bus service doesn't serve the entire city, budget cuts have reduced the availability of routes, service is curt, and the routes are long and slow, but the buses are almost always on time.

Tropical weather can be a hazard, especially during the Atlantic hurricane season from June 1 to November 30. In the event of an approaching hurricane or tropical storm, pay attention to television and radio news alerts, who will tell you what to do and what to expect. Typically when a hurricane is imminent, people staying at beaches, low-lying areas, and trailer homes will be asked to evacuate further inland. If your area is asked to evacuate, do so immediately, before traffic slows to a crawl; the most dangerous place to be in a hurricane is stuck in traffic. Hurricane-safe shelters, built inside public schools, will be opened to anyone who needs them. Theft and crime are minor problems in Pensacola, and you'll be safe if you stick to the main tourist areas. Avoid the area of Pensacola known as Brownsville, on Highway 90 from D Street to Mobile Highway; although the sheriff's office has tried to curb crime in this area, drugs and prostitution still make it a dangerous area to linger in. Traffic in Pensacola is tame compared to large cities, but some roads have a reputation for being especially dangerous. Be careful when driving along Gulf Beach Highway; the narrow road, with chronic speeders and blind corners, claims a half-dozen lives a year. I-110 is under heavy construction, and speeding here is not only dangerous, it's very likely to earn you a traffic ticket. I-10 through Pensacola is notorious for being a speed trap; remember that the speed limit drops to 60 MPH while in the Pensacola area, not 70 MPH like it is in neighboring counties.