Fort Walton Beach

Fort Walton Beach is a small city in Emerald Coast region of Florida, forty miles east of Pensacola.

Get in

By plane

• 🌍 Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS  ^IATA). Serves Fort Walton Beach and nearby Valparaiso. American Eagle, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, United Express serve the airport.  

By car

US 98 connects Fort Walton Beach with Pensacola and Panama City. It also connects with nearby Destin. Florida 85 connects the area with I-10.

Get around

Fort Walton Beach has two main arterials. The Miracle Strip Parkway (US 98) travels along the seacoast and through Eglin Air Force Base, and the Eglin Parkway (Florida SR 85) links the city with Okaloosa Regional Airport.

See

• The Gulfarium, 1010 Miracle Strip Parkway, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Admissions are open from 9AM until 4PM. Park closes at 6PM. 
• 🌍 Indian Temple Mound and Museum, 139 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE. Aug-May M-F 10AM-4:30PM; Jun-Jul M-Sa 10AM-4:30PM, Su noon-4:30PM.  
• Air Armament Museum, 100 Museum Dr (Eglin Air Force Base), ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 9:30AM-4:30PM.. Free. (updated Jul 2018)

Do

• Visit the beach.
• Billy Bowlegs Festival, pirate themed street party early each June.

Buy

• Antique stores and shops along Highway 98 / Miracle Strip Parkway across from the Indian Temple Mound.

Eat

Ft. Walton Beach has many restaurants, including:

• Anglers by the base of the pier on Okaloosa Island
• The Breakfast Club. 
• Fish Lipz, 203 Brooks St (off Highway 98 by the bridge to Okaloosa Island), ☎ [phone]. Waterfront views, good food and drink. Often have small live bands in the evenings. 
• Fudpuckers. 
• Manhattan Pizza. 
• Taj Mahal, 217 Miracle Strip Parkway, ☎ [phone]. Southwest. Indian food. The tasty food and entertaining belly-dancer compensate for rather indifferent and amateurish wait staff. 

Drink

• Fish Lipz, listed at "Eat" above

Sleep

• America's Best Inn, 100 S.W. Miracle Strip Pkwy, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Best Western Ft. Walton Beachfront Hotel, 380 Santa Rosa Boulevard, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, 573 Santa Rosa Blvd, ☎ [phone]. 
• Econo Lodge. 
• Hampton Inn. 
• Radisson Inn. 
• The Ramada Plaza Beach Resort, 1500 Miracle Strip Parkway, ☎ [phone]. 
• Super 8 Miracle Strip Parkway. Some rooms with jacuzzi tubs.

Go next

• Destin is just to the east on the other side of Okaloosa Island.
• Pensacola is about half an hour to the west.

Routes through Fort Walton Beach

Pensacola ← Navarre Beach ←

W  E

→ Panama City → Lakeland