Pensacola, Navarre or St George Island

Thinking about going to St George this summer but driving from Missouri with 2 toddlers so was wondering if we should just go to Pensacola or Navarre to save a few hours of drive time. How do they all compare?

Pensacola, Navarre or St George Island

Depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for more of a public touristy vacation spot, Pensacola and Navarre is going to be more your best bet. If you are looking for a nofrills, great place to kick back and relax, without all the hassle and tourists and traffic, then St. George is worth the extra drive, and offers more of a true, old time family vacation.

You won%26#39;t find the highrises on SGI, nor will you find the beaches as crowded as in Pensacola or Navarre.

Again, it all depends on what you are looking for and what you are expecting of a vacation.

Read some of the other posts from folks that have visited SGI, and you%26#39;ll see why so many love coming to SGI year after year.

Pensacola, Navarre or St George Island

I can tell you that it takes us 13 hours of drive time from the metro St. Louis area (IL) to St. George Island. We%26#39;ve always found it to be a pretty fast drive but I%26#39;ve not had to drive it with toddlers - just teenagers. There are several nice rest stops along the way. Pensacola or Navarre are a different type of vacation as SGIbeach stated in his response. I%26#39;m not sure trafficwise w/ Pensacola or Navarre but I can tell you we%26#39;ve been to P City and Destin and the traffic in both of those areas drove me away. It to us is worth the extra drive time.

We enjoy the area on 30-A in the Seaside/Seagrove Beach area. No crowds, great restaurants, bike paths, a nice grocery store and just relaxation. Lots of young families in the summer. We have been going there for over 20 years.

My husband and I started out 39 years ago vacationing at Panama City Beach. We got so tired of the noise and crowds we moved east to Mexico Beach then one day on a drive we found St George Island (SGI) and have never left. We go every year and now my grown and married daughter vacations there too. Its quiet, peaceful, friendly, no traffic and the best part no crowds. You might have to share your beach with a dog or two, but that is no problem for us because we always bring our own dog. If you want a wonderful vacation without all the usual distractions please take a trip to SGI one time and I believe you will also come back year after year.

I%26#39;ve never been to the other 2 places but I will say that St. George is the kind of place where you can just walk along the beach and explore- peacefully. If your kids like finding shells and things washed up they will enjoy this place. There aren%26#39;t alot of people but the ones you run into are so friendly and of course, there for the same reason as you. Very laid back and at the other end of the island, there are a number of places you can park and walk along the boardwalks to enjoy the landscape inland a little too.