Return to Ft. Walton Beach

The best part about Ft. Walton Beach are the pure white-sand beaches and large streches of dunes. There are all of the usual watersports and amusements, but the uncrowded beautiful beaches are the highlight.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Unless you are only going to stay at the hotel, you need a car to get around. Destin, with all of the best restaurants and shopping is six miles away, and even downtown Ft. Walton Beach (such as it is) is a mile away.

The Sheraton Four Points Ft. Walton Beach has a choice of three different areas to stay, beacfront tower, courtyard-poolside with outdoor corridors, courtyard poolside with indoor corridors. All have microwaves, refrigerators, hair dryers, ironing boards, etc. There are suites available in the beachfront tower.

Located directly on the Gulf of Mexico with an enclosed playground literally on the beach. Two pools, one on the beachfront with drinks and food available.

Buffet breakfast is included with the room and includes standard american breakfast fare. Restaurant is open for dinner only as a prime rib-seafood buffet, but there are so many good seafood restaurants, why go there?

Two double beds in the rooms, TV with HBO and cable. This year, the beds were rather uncomfortable, either because I'm getting older or they've made a change. I woke up with a back ache every morning. Fortunately, the beach is only a few steps away and a long walk cured that.

After Hurricane Opal made a near direct hit on the Sheraton five or six years ago, they have totally rebuilt and have become a very family friendly hotel. There are daily activities for kids, and families and conference attendees dominate the guests. A new convention center was opned this year, just across the street. Ft. Walton Beach is building, with new restaurants, condos etc., but it can never become quite as crowded as other parts of Florida because a large national seashore and untouched dune areas or Eglin Air Force Base take up most of the island on which the beach is located.

The Zoo in Gulf Breezes is a private organization which has done a very good job of creating an animal and people friendly environment. It's a great visit for a cloudy day or when you have had too much beach (is that possible)? The zoo is a member of the American Zoological Association and all of the enclosures were well kept and clean. The animals look healthy. There are a lot of people to animal interactive activities (feeding, petting zoo, camel rides), which some zoo purists and vegans may object to, but there are also ongoing study and education programs. The zoo is a lot of fun for people and the animals seem happy.