This post is all about a Pensacola Florida weekend itinerary.
I bet you’re trying to figure out what to do when you visit Pensacola Florida. Of course, you already know that you’ll visit the beach. But would you really only go to the beach every day that you’re here? (lol why not?)
I love going to the beach too but you should also consider trying other activities that Pensacola has to offer.
There are plenty of great activities to do around Pensacola, especially over the weekend.
You can definitely use this itinerary for any time of the year but the overall assumption is that you are visiting in the warmer months.
I love, love, LOVE, planning so I hope I can help you plan for your trip to Pensacola too. These locations that I mention can easily be visited during times outside of this itinerary. These are just my suggestions.
This post is all about a Pensacola Florida Itinerary over the weekend.
Disclaimer
The contents of this post are all my personal opinion only and should be used for informational purposes. I am not affiliated with any of the companies or organizations listed below. I just genuinely enjoy going to these places and had to share them with you. You, the reader, will read the content at your own risk and I will not be responsible for any consequences that may arise if you follow this list. (This itinerary does involve a little bit of driving.)
Where is Pensacola Florida?
Pensacola Florida is located in the panhandle of Florida and borders the Gulf of Mexico.
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Let’s begin.
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FRIDAY
Afternoon Hotel Check-In
For all the hotels that I have been to, they were afternoon check-ins.
So depending on where you are, just plan accordingly to check into your hotel as early as you possibly can.
You can definitely check in whenever you want, but I said afternoon check in to fit with the rest of the itinerary.
Dinner at The Tin Cow
After you’ve checked into your hotel and situated yourself, I’m sure you’re hungry after traveling to Pensacola.
I suggest getting dinner at The Tin Cow in Downtown Pensacola.
It’s a hamburger restaurant that lets you design your own burger. I’ve had great experiences with the place thus far.
The burgers are juicy (I get medium rare) and the fries are delicious! I thought The Tin Cow would be a nice start to your Pensacola vacation because it’s not something completely out there but it’s just above casual.
Their color schemes are more on the dark side so it really sets the mood for the evening.
Sunset at Vince J. Whines Sr. Community Maritime Park
The reason I suggested going to The Tin Cow for dinner is that the Community Maritime Park is about a 5-10 minute drive from The Tin Cow.
This park is the perfect place to watch the sunset and relax.
This park has a large open grass field, a little pier that you can walk along, and some concrete paths if you want to take a walk.
If you walk deeper into the park you’ll get to the playground. So if you have kids, they have something to do too.
If the playground isn’t your thing then you could also have a little gaming picnic with board games or throw around a frisbee. You know, the cliché picnic idea that almost everyone has.
Depending on the time of year you come, you’ll have to do your research to know when sunset is. Then based on the sunset time you can schedule your dinner accordingly.
SATURDAY
Palafox Farmers Market
I have the Palafox Farmers Market as the first thing to do in the morning after breakfast instead of the beach because the Farmers Market is only open on Saturdays.
You’d be crazy to miss out on this once-a-week event while you’re here.
There are lots of jewelry vendors, honey vendors, jam vendors, and lots of other goodies that you might want to buy.
I bought myself 3 pairs of earrings last time I went and they were all handmade. Two of them had real flowers built into the earrings too. They were beautiful.
The market is a decent size so you can plan to spend about an hour or two here. (I’m assuming you are stopping to look and talk to some of the vendors.)
This Farmer’s Market is located in Downtown Pensacola so if there was an area you didn’t get to go to the night before (after your Tin Cow dinner), this would be a good chance to walk around some more.
Lunch at The Garden at Palafox + Main
After the Farmer’s Market, or walking around downtown, you’ll be ready for lunch at The Garden at Palafox + Main.
The Garden would be a great place to eat because there are plenty of options.
There are food trucks with tacos, sandwiches, mac and cheese, all sorts of foods.
It is also primarily outdoors too so it’s a good time to enjoy nature and delicious foods.
The last time I went to The Garden, there were only food trucks with tables and umbrellas.
Now that I’ve seen pictures of it online, it looks like they remodeled it to have a cover and redecorated the area.
I can’t wait to go back and see what they did with the place.
So for lunch, I recommend you come here. You’re in the area anyway so you might as well stop by and take a look.
Cordova Mall
After lunch, there might not be anything else you could do in downtown Pensacola besides walk around some more.
But if you’re tired of that, then you can head to the Cordova mall with almost 100 retail stores. That’s a lot!!
This mall is indoors (thankfully).
There is the main mall and three more connecting stores on the outside. The connecting stores are the World Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Best Buy.
I love shopping at this mall because there are so many options to choose from.
You might be able to snag some really good clearance deals too.
If you get hungry and want a snack, there is a food court and other restaurants around the outside of the mall such as Pieology, Zoë’s Kitchen, and Chipotle.
I guess you could come here for lunch too but why would you when you could go to the, one of a kind, Garden at Palafox + Main??
Dinner at Petrella’s Italian Café
Hopefully, you aren’t staying at a hotel on Pensacola beach because this dinner recommendation is on the opposite side of Pensacola from where the beach is.
Petrella’s is a Local Italian Café that I think is a great way to wind down and have a nice dinner out.
You can dress down (but not too much), you can dress up (but not too much), and still feel like it’s a good time.
I have only gone for dinner which is why I recommend it for dinner.
The interior is simple yet beautiful and you’d love the vibes in there.
You should definitely get there before 5:00 pm though because that’s when the crowd starts coming in.
Even showing up later won’t do you any good because I came around 7:00 pm once and it was a 45-minute wait.
So going before 5:00 pm is your best bet. The café is small so they can only fit so many people.
SUNDAY
Pensacola Beach
Yes, yes we finally got to the beach part of the trip.
I would understand if you don’t live near a beach (especially one that’s as pretty as Pensacola Beach) but you got to try other new things around Pensacola too!
I left the beach for Sunday because I really wanted to let you know about the Palafox Farmers Market. It is only open on Saturdays and I thought it would be such a good local experience.
But now that you’re at the beach, you can relax, swim, build sandcastles, get sunburnt, whatever you want!
I highly suggest lots of sunscreens though because the white sand is super bright and might cause some extra sun reflection. Same with the water.
You should definitely stay hydrated too because it can get hot out there.
I would say the best time to go to the beach would be EARLY. Like 7:00 am early if you can manage that.
It’ll be nice and cool and have minimal people. 8:00 am might even be enough but you want to avoid traffic as much as possible because once the parking lot is full, it stays full for a while.
Then you’ll have to park far and walk. (Ew.)
So plan accordingly and wake up early!
There is also a toll when entering Pensacola Beach.
The last time I went, it was toll by plate though so don’t worry about bringing change. (Or bring the change anyway just in case.)
Lunch at Flounder’s Chowder House
Flounder’s Chowder House is right next to Pensacola Beach so if you want to keep your parking spot, you could easily walk there and cross the street.
Flounder’s is one of those beach-themed restaurants with lots of outdoor seating by the water.
I see lots of people walking around in their swim attire and cover-ups so it’s a very casual place to eat at. Regarding the food, the presentation is amazing. The way they set up the food looks really colorful and kind of makes you not want to eat and ruin it.
Here’s a little sneak peek of the food.
I really like the tacos and the shrimp and spinach dip that they serve too.
This is a seafood restaurant so I hope you like seafood.
There are also activities in the back too such as a playground for the kids and a volleyball net if you want to play some beach volleyball.
Adventure Park: Laguna’s Beach Bar + Grill
There are other options besides Flounder’s that you could do for lunch such as Laguna’s Beach Bar + Grill.
I personally have never been here before but I would absolutely love to one day.
The main reason would be because the adventure park has fun activities such as rope courses, go-karts, zip rails, and more!
This park is aimed more towards the younger crowd but I’m sure this adventure zone can be for adults too. (Definitely, research that first.)
Another great thing about eating at the Laguna’s Beach Bar + Grill is that you’ll already be in the area to enjoy the adventure zone. If you decide to eat at Flounder’s in the end, then it’s only a couple of minutes of driving to get to the adventure park.
Frozen Yogurt at Wild Honey
One of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world is to get frozen dessert after a beach day.
Wild Honey is probably one of the BEST places to go for that.
Wild Honey is a frozen yogurt shop that has lots of different flavors, lots of different toppings, AND they even have a little divider that you can place into your cup to separate two different flavors of frozen yogurt. How cool is that??
I use it almost every time I go to Wild Honey.
Your skin is probably sun-kissed and warm so sitting in a cool frozen yogurt shop in broad daylight with the bright shiny sun is so relaxing and enjoyable.
If I were you, I’d be a little extra by going back to the hotel to wash up, dress up a little, and then go have yummy dessert. It’s never a bad time to dress up. (I normally wear a cute sundress or flowy romper.)
Obviously, you don’t have to, but it’s a suggestion.
Also, Wild Honey’s decorations are so cute. The overall theme is bees which makes sense based on the shop’s name.
I highly recommend you check Wild Honey out.
If you’re not a big frozen yogurt place, there are retail stores, Kilwin’s, or Baskin’ Robbins that are closer to Pensacola Beach for getting ice cream.
I just thought Wild Honey would be a nice change of location for frozen dessert since it is more of a local shop in Pensacola.
Ending Note
I stopped the Pensacola Florida itinerary after the frozen dessert because I thought a sweet treat was a great way to end the vacation before you had to go back to the hotel room, pack, and go home. (Unless you already have all your stuff, then you just need to go home.)
Honestly, if you really think you have time, you could try and squeeze some of these activities down to just Saturday or make your vacation longer and extend your trip into Monday.
I just wanted to give you an insight into where to go and when.
I really hope you try this Pensacola Florida itinerary and love it.
I’m expecting tweaks to my itinerary to fit your vacation and travel styles but hopefully, my itinerary is still enjoyable enough for you to follow.
Even if you’re a local and you actually live here, why not follow my itinerary anyway? It’ll save you the trouble of having to plan your weekend (because I already did it for you.)
I’d really like to know your thoughts on this itinerary about what you like and would change because I would love some new ideas around Pensacola. Good day!
This post was all about a Pensacola Florida weekend itinerary.
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