I live at Pensacola Beach. In my opinion, this is a great time of year to visit. The prices for rooms have dropped from the highs of summer, the sunsets are awesome due the the sun being farther south so it "sets" into the Gulf. The water is still warm enough to wade in for us natives. Some hardier souls from cooler climates will swim. Temps for the rest of the week are highs in the mid-70s, lows are mid to low 60s

I don't know room rates, since people I know who come down here stay with me, but you can check that out online. To my knowledge, none of the hotels on the beach charge for parking and most have internet. I don't know if it's free or not.

As for what to do: Besides walking the beach, watching the sunsets, and eating some tasty food on the Island and just across the first bridge, you can ride our new Observation Wheel. Think giant ferris wheel that is a London Eye wanna be. It's actually a very attractive wheel with enclosed glass cages and I hear the views and sunsets from it are gorgeous. On the far western end of the Island is Fort Pickens, in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It's a great old fort which one housed Geronimo as a prisoner.

Across the bridges from Pensacola Beach is the Naval Aviation Museum. Highly recommend it. It's on the Navy base and admission is free. They do have an IMAX theater which charges to see whatever is currently playing.

If you like art of all kinds - this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 2,3,4) is The Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival at Seville Square in downtown Pensacola. With over 200 artists - some local, most not - it's considered one of the biggest and best art festivals in the country. Free admission.

Hope this gives you some help. If you decide to come and want specific recommendations on places to eat, let me know and I'll help all I can.

Hi Sam!

I'm sorry you had to cancel your plans. Let me see of I can answer your questions.

1. Now is a great time to visit. The weather is gorgeous right now. Highs in the 70's, lows in the 50's and sunny. Should stay this way for a while.

2. Three days is fine, but more would be good, too.

3. Pensacola is pretty spread out, having a car is essential.

4. There are some great hotels on the beach. If you have four people, you may want to look into renting a condo.

5. Things to do. Are you a beach person? That is the main attraction. The water is a little chilly now, so you probably wouldn't be swimming, but it is so beautiful. Fort Pickens is a fun way to spend the day.

The National Museum of Naval Aviation on the base is excellent.

Seville Square and the historical district are nice to walk around. Plus downtown is fun with shops and restaurants.

Hope this helps! If you decide to come, I can give you restaurant ideas. If you decide to rent a condo, I have a friend who owns one on the beach and looks like it's available for your dates.

Lol, looks like we were posting at the same time!

Thanks a lot both of you. I really appreciate your comments.
It is excellent to know that it is a great time to come over there. I guess all I need to do is check out the hotel rents and we will hit the road. I will be driving down from Chicago, so quite a long way to go.

Gracie, can you please give me an idea on how much the condo will cost me each night? We are 4 adults.

It would be great if you can give some restaurants ideas. We prefer chicken, sea food and veggies. Any local delicacies that we can enjoy? We avoid red meat.

Thanks again.

And also, if you could give me any idea about some nice/decent hotels near the beach, that would be awesome.

I stayed at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott when it was brand new and loved it. Personally, I'd choose that hotel or the Hampton Inn - and I'd stay right on the beach at Pensacola Beach. Fall on the beach is one of my favorite times to be there. This website may help you shop for options. http://www.visitpensacola.com/listings/where-stay?filters[]=cPensacolaBeach|sta62

I highly recommend that you rent a condo. They will be plentiful and inexpensive this time of year. Check out Our Gulf Coast dot com. The girls that work there are awesome and will hook you up with a great place. Tell them you want Gulf front.

Best restaurants on the Beach are Grand Marlin (especially during happy hour!) and Peg Leg Pete's.

Except for a few things like downtown and the Naval Museum, forget Pensacola. Stick to Pensacola Beach and maybe take a drive down to Destin.

If you are flexible re your location you may want to consider two other options - 1) the communities outside Seaside Fl www.30a.com and 2) Cape San Blas and the Indian Pass area. Okay, 3) St. George Island Depending on where you are coming from, those may be closer. The CSB/Indian Pass area is my favorite - but that area is very quiet. (which is why I love it)

Thanks again all of you. I am interested in the idea of renting a condo, but have never done that and have heard bad stories about them. So I am a little apprehensive about them. I have no clue where to look at and whether or not it will be a scam.
I am looking at our gulf coast website now. thanks for the info austintraveler.

Definitely stay on the beach. If I were you, with 4 adults, I would just rent a condo. This time of year will probably run you $250 a night. I talked to my friend last night, and unfortunately they are doing some work on their condo this week, so it's not being rented.

Any of the hotels on the beach are good, too. There are a lot of new ones.

Restaurants: (On the beach) Grand Marlin, Flounders, Crabs, Peg Legs.

In town: Fish House, Atlas, Dharma Blue, McGuires, Jackos, lots of casual places on Palafox St. downtown.

Jo's suggestion of going to Seaside instead is also a good one.

Whether or not you should skip downtown Pensacola depends a great deal on your ages and interests.

There are a number of art galleries offering all sorts of artwork. Vinyl Music Hall usually has something interesting and varied going on. My daughter, son-in-law, and their friends are out most Friday and Saturday nights somewhere downtown. Pensacola has a lot of history to offer if you're into that sort of thing.

As for renting a condo - there are several legit companies whose signs I've seen here on the beach. Off the top of my head I remember 2 - Paradise Beach Homes and Pensacola Beach Property. You can find more at the Pensacola Beach Visitors website.

We use www.vrbo.com . Put Pensacola Beach, FL in search box and you will have more choices than you really want. Most have reviews and that might help you decide on one. Some may require a longer stay than three nights. If you find something of interest you could ask about it here and maybe get some feedback. We go to the Destin area but have visited Pensacola. Have a good trip,