If you're looking for a secluded, laid-back, quiet beach vacation...
...don't come here.
But if you're looking to enjoy the quintessential Florida beach culture,
this is the place for you.
Pensacola Beach RV Resort is right in the middle of all of the fun beach restaurants,
bars and shops on Pensacola Beach.
It's also literally right around the corner from a number of fun outdoor activities
like parasailing, jet ski rentals, mini golf and even charter fishing.
There's also a ropes course, rock climbing, and go-karting.
There is A LOT within walking distance,
and when I say that I mean within a couple of blocks.
But if you don't want to walk, there's also a trolley service that runs from
4 p.m to 12 a.m that is free and operates on tips for the driver.
Okay so the trolley is a little bit confusing.
Apparently you have to get off in
certain spaces and then hop back on a different one, but there's
no, like, pre-established route that you can look up. I don't know.
We're walking back now
Pensacola RV Resort is not a particularly large park,
but they've done pretty well with the limited amount of space they have available.
There's a small pool,
a laundry facility, clean bathrooms with showers,
a small shop by the office, and a gas grill and picnic tables available to guests.
Each site has full hookups including sewer,
and a pretty extensive list of clear cable channels.
All spots have a concrete pad,
though it's only slightly wider than a standard rig so
you don't have a whole lot of outside space that has a concrete pad.
If you get a deluxe spot, you'll likely be around the grassy area in the middle
which has a small playset for younger kids, and is pretty nice for playing
games or throwing a football around.
There are a couple of off-leash dog areas, one on each end of the park.
but they're not all that big. We have a larger dog that loves to run so
for us. these are kind of useless but they are there in case you need them.
It's clearly quite breezy here, so most of the time, you're not going to want to have your awning out.
To get to the beach you simply cross the road at the crosswalk,
take a paved sidewalk between the Hilton and the Holiday Inn, and you're there.
Since there's no public parking near there,
it's semi-private and not excessively crowded, which is nice.
But there's also not a spot to rinse off your feet or
shower the sand off so make sure you have a way to do that once you get back
to your camper.
One of the really fun things that makes this campground unique
is the tiki bar area on the bay side. On the weekends it can get pretty busy with
adults having "adult type fun," but in general it's a really nice extra
space to be able to hang out with your family.
The bay is very shallow in that area, and there's little-to-no current,
which can sometimes make you feel a little bit more comfortable with younger kids.
And the kids might even be able to catch a few crabs!
The tiki bar is open to the public, so it's not just for RV guests.
People anchor their boats to swim up to the bar, and there are even signs
directing people to come from the sidewalk, through the campground, to get there.
On that note, this campground is not very secure
In addition to the foot traffic that you might have going through to the tiki bar,
there's also no gate at the front entrance to govern who comes in and who doesn't.
So if you're gonna leave anything outside overnight of value
that's easy to steal -- like say a bike -- make sure that you lock it up.
Now, for the record we've been here twice, and this time it was on the 4th of July weekend...
Whoa! Hello!
Yay!
...and we haven't found any of that to be a problem,
but it's something you need to be aware of.
Also the sprinklers come on every morning!
And that's necessary to keep the grass nice and green,
and although they do try to keep them off of the sites, it's not a perfect science,
So don't leave anything outside that you wouldn't leave in the rain.
Our fishing trip actually got canceled for the second time this week
due to rough seas today, so we finally just made do,
and found a local fish market called Joe Patti's.
It's about seven miles away but absolutely worth the drive!
Huge selection, went really fast considering the crowds that were in there.
Absolutely worth it if you want to be able to cook some fresh fish while you're here,
and don't get to go fishing
Now there is a Walmart and a Publix grocery store
right over the bridge, but there's not one right on the island.
What this means is that when you need to go to the grocery store, you have to go
back over the bridge, and it's not that far, it's just that when you come back
you're going to get charged another toll. There IS however a liquor store right
across the street from the campground,
So at least they have their priorities straight!
Now regarding the toll: as of summer 2020, the toll is $1 per vehicle.
But at the moment, they don't have
attendants actually taking money at the tollbooth. You simply drive through,
it takes a picture of your license plate and then you receive a bill later.
Unfortunately this means I don't know how much our bill is going to be,
because we are a motor home towing a truck, but regardless of the toll, this is
a great place to come if you're looking to really enjoy beach culture,
and have a lot of fun on your vacation.
Hey man! How's it going Jake? What's up?
Yeah, the fam's doing pretty good pretty good. How's Elwood doing?
Well, yeah man, I know you're on a mission from God, but
now you're in a laundry room how's that working out for you?
Well, EVERYBODY hates Illinois Nazis, but what about Ohio Nazis? Or Wyoming Nazis?
Dude, I don't know how far Chicago is away from here,
but it's definitely way more than 106 miles.
I could probably come up with the Coke,
but I don't know where I'm gonna get four fried chickens right now.
It's 920 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank,
half pack of cigarettes, it's dark out and we're wearing sunglasses.
You're supposed to say "Hit it," man!
Dang!