Pensacola Beach and Boardwalk

By alantvuong on May 8, 2022

Last month a friend and I visited Pensacola, Florida for 5 days. Even though we knew Thunder Beats Music Festival was cancelled weeks ago, we went to Pensacola anyways to see what this city has to offer. One thing we knew we had to do was to visit Pensacola Beach to see the iconic pearly white sands and crystal blue waters. It has been a while since I been to any beach so I was pretty excited to visit one this trip.

Getting There

We stayed at Quality Inn & Suites University which would have been closer to the music festival grounds and never changed hotels to a better location. So it was bit far to the beach for us. We kept trying to call for a wheelchair accessible taxi but can never get a confirmation of one being available so we either relied on getting a regular taxi or Uber car to get around anywhere in the city.

can never get an accessible taxi, so have to rely on regular taxis or Uber to get around Pensacola

The beach and the very popular Pensacola Beach Boardwalk is actually located in Gulf Breeze and took about a 30 minute drive for us. We actually have to drive on The Pensacola Bay Bridge, also known locally as the Three-Mile Bridge to get to the beach and pay a toll to pass through. It costs about $45 USD for the one way taxi trip for us.

on The Pensacola Bay Bridge to get to the beach

Pensacola Beach

ramp that leads to edge of beach

It has been over 2 years since I was last on a beach and was pretty excited to check out the accessibility at Pensacola Beach. I was glad to see at one side of the beach that there was a wooden ramp that led to the beach area with a long blue wheelchair beach mat to get me closer to the water.

another ramp to a different part of the beach

Once I was at the edge of the accessible mat, my friend just tilted my wheelchair back and rolled me into the sand and almost to the water. It was a bit challenging to wheel in the sand but some guy on the beach did help with getting me closer to the water. It was nice to feel the ocean breeze and the super soft white sand on my face and I felt I could just relax like that for hours.

accessible beach mat only goes this far into the beach

I didn’t even have to leave my perfect spot as my friend brought me a burger from the nearby Crabs on the Beach Restaurant. I also enquired about free beach wheelchairs to borrow but there was none to be found. This company does offer rentals though: Access Mobility of Pensacola.

burger from Crabs on the Beach Restaurant

Pensacola Beach Boardwalk

this side of the beach seems busier

We wanted to check out the beach again since we didn’t have enough time to explore the area or visit the trendy Pensacola Beach Boardwalk. This time we went to the other side of the beach to spend our day. Arriving on a regular taxi again, we got dropped off at the nearby Circle K convenience store to get a few drinks and snacks for our beach stay.

accessible bathroom at the beach

Again, it was great to be on the white sand beach again but I was a little surprised that there wasn’t any ramps or accessible beach mats on this side of the beach. My friend just wheeled me on a nearby restaurant patio and wheeled a short distance on the sand to get closer to the water.

lower level of boardwalk and parking lot

It was great to hear music from some of the surrounding party boats and restaurants, but after a few hours at the beach, we used the accessible bathroom before actually visiting the boardwalk for dinner just a few steps from the beach.

one of several ramps to get to the upper level of the boardwalk

There actually was a wheelchair ramp at several locations to get to the second level of Pensacola Beach Boardwalk. Once we were on the upper level, we noticed how crazy busy this little area was. Seems everyone wanted to come here to shop and go for dinner.

restaurants here had wait times of 1 to 3 hours

This trendy area is a popular destination that has the Shell amphitheater, beach restaurants shops and more. Shops include Ron Jon Surf Shop, Intracoastal Outfitters, and more. There were options to do Pensacola Bay Cruises, Dolphin Cruise, Trolleys, but we arrived too late in the day to do these activities.

bought a snack to share from a kiosk… $13/lb of crawfish

The restaurants were all so packed. Wait Times ranged from at least 90 minutes to 3 hours as we tried to visit Felix’s, Hooter’s and Papa’s Pizza. We ended up getting a plate of 1 pound of crawfish for $13 to snack on before we left the boardwalk to grab some food at some place quick as I wasn’t feeling well and needed to get back to the hotel.

the Shell amphitheater

Final Thoughts

My friend and I enjoyed a relaxing 2 days at the beach. The weather was perfect with the bright sun and slight ocean breeze. The white sands and blue waters were picturesque and I would want to go on one of the cruises if I was ever to return. Might even rent a motorized beach wheelchair since there weren’t any free ones to borrow. The Boardwalk had a great atmosphere to be in too but I will remember to make reservations in advance at one of the restaurants for next time.