Okaloosa Island, one of a series of barrier islands along Florida’s gulf coast, is the main beachfront strip of Fort Walton Beach. Hotels and condominiums dot the coastline offering views of sparkling Gulf waters. Sit on your balcony and enjoy a private water show as porpoises play in the surf. Watch spectacular sunrises and sunsets paint a masterpiece across Gulf waters. Grab a pail and go beachcombing. Build the largest sandcastle on the beach.

The Okaloosa Island Pier extends over 1/4 mile into the Gulf of Mexico providing saltwater fishing fans catches of mackerel, cobia, flounder, amberjack and other saltwater fish. The Florida Gulfarium, located adjacent to the pier, is one of the world’s oldest live marine show aquariums. When all this activity works up an appetite, feast on fresh fish and shellfish at Angler’s Beachside Bar and Grill on the pier or indulge in All You Can Eat snow crab legs at The Crab Trap at the Okaloosa Island Boardwalk.

Downtown Fort Walton Beach stretches along the Intercoastal Waterway that separates the island and the mainland. Parks and picnic areas along Choctawhatchee Bay are ideal for water sports such as parasailing, waterskiing and kiting or watching pleasure boats and massive tugboats pushing commercial barges negotiate the busy waterway. Visitors enjoy shopping for trinkets and treasures at the quaint and quirky shops in Fort Walton Beach. An annual Sprint Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival draws thousands of would-be pirates to the area each year and the annual Emerald Coast Boat Week is the largest Poker Run benefit in the country. Eglin Air Force Armament Museum is also an area must-see. Visitors get up close and personal to military aircraft and armaments such as the P-51 Mustang and the sleek SR-71 Blackbird.