Let's say you had a week over spring break and wanted a fly south with your son -- from the Midwest to the ocean.

It would be a VFR flight.  This was kind of "what the heck, we're not doing anything that week" kind of idea.  If it had involved more planning I would have knocked out my IFR, but will likely be only about halfway done with IFR training.

The plan is to allow enough days and flexibility that I can either go where the weather is good or wait it out (no get there itis pressures).  I have no problem spending a day or two down there and coming home early if the weather is good.  I figure if we swim in the ocean once, we will have accomplished our goal.  The trip itself is going to be fun part.

That being said, I don't want to be sitting outside of an FBO at midnight trying every frequency but still locked out of the building.  I'd like a little more structure, yet still retain the ability to change plans and be very flexible.  But we will have sleeping bags so a night on a couch in a small FBO is just part of the adventure if we get stuck somewhere.

So where would you suggest going?  I am looking for an airport somewhere within a reasonable drive of a beach on the ocean or Gulf.  I am fine with renting a car or taking an Uber if we can find a hotel on a beach.  We do not intend to stay down there more than a day or two.

It seems that Florida is fully open, so that might be the logical place to go.

We cruise about 135 knots, so I can make it down to the Florida panhandle in about 6 hours of flight time.  Figure two fuel/rest stops and we can leave in the morning and be down there before dinner.

The question is, where do we go?  Know any airports near the coast and good beaches?  And what are the chances of finding a reasonably quick beach over spring break?

Don't know the first thing about it, but...

Jack Edwards National Airport

I am fond of the Siesta Key area. Best beach in the US.

Peridido Key is 2nd..

And is on the panhandle.

https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/perdido-key.html

Airports near the key.

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Nearby-Airports/Perdido-Key#:~:text=The%20nearest%20airport%20to%20Perdido-Key%20is%20Pensacola%20

That looks awesome!  It definitely gives me a starting point to look for cities, hotels, and transportation!

Looks like a great area for a beach tour flight.  There are a ton of different airspaces down there that I would have to study first though.

Might even get a chance to see the Blue Angels practicing too.

Thanks, will definitely check them out!

How crowded will they be on spring break?

Peridido key is not really a popular destination for youths, and Siesta key will be thick with families.

I flew out of NAS Pensacola for a couple of years, and quite a few students rented places on Perdido Key while they were in training.  It's a nice area.  Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Perdido Key, and that whole strip of ocean are quite similar, geographically speaking, but it's been 30 years since I lived in Pensacola, so I couldn't tell you anything about the social activities.  If you do get down there plan to make a stop at the Flora-Bama, just so you can say you've been there.

Stop by Cedar Key for lunch on the way down.

KCDK

That airport looks like a fun place to fly in to!  Might try to make it over. Is there a restaurant there?

And all of this is fun to talk about though when I am imagining a week of high ceilings and calm winds.  

There are numerous restaurants but they are a mile or so from the airport. There used to be a woman in a mini-van who is/was the island taxi service and she would monitor 122.90 and ask if you needed a ride after hearing your inbound calls. You may want to try to verify that first. I was there about three years ago and there were some golf carts that could be reserved in advance to get around.

Make sure you go over your sectionals thoroughly if flying to the FL panhandle. Lots of MOA's/military airspace, and some warning/restricted areas.

Yes I saw that. It was one of the first things I noticed. The airspace up here is really easy.

KRAS


Flew down there on spring break years ago while building time for my commercial. No car needed. Can walk to hotels and beach.

Looks awesome, thanks!

Another hour of flight time but we are in no rush.

The big thing for me at this point is deciding if I need to book a hotel or if we can pick something up a day or so out (which is my preference, because then we can go where the weather allows -- we don't care, we just want to make it to a beach).  It looks like even during spring break, if we aren't picky and are only booking for a few days that there are plenty of room available in Gulf Shores, AL.  So we might wait to make the ultimate decision until the week before, keeping tabs on Plans A, B, and C.

I have a flight to MN scheduled next week and I made the mistake of looking at the weather (I can't help it!).  Looks like it will be a beautiful day to fly -- clear skies and light winds.  But in aviation looking at the weather this far out is just a recipe for false hopes and crushed expectations.  

I gotta get off ARFCOM and ForeFlight and make some progress on my Gleim IFR study materials.  

KDTS.  Of course, I’m biased.

First post nailed it.

Was a great trip, thanks for the recommendation!

Jack Edwards is a nice airport.  They are building a tower and it will be a Class D airport this fall.

Gulf Air was really helpful as well.

If anyone is looking for a fuel stop in western Kentucky, I would suggest stopping at Mayfield (M25).  The guys that I ran into there were great.  They even pulled a fuel receipt out of the machine for me and texted me a picture.  (I didn't forget it, I just got to that part of the checklist 10 miles north of the airport.)

Why no go east and land at "First Flight" airport (KFFA), where the Wright Brothers monument is, on the NC Outer Banks?

Then make your way south along the coast and seeing the major east coast lighthouses, past Cape Hatteras and the like?

Obviously not as "warm water" as the south route, but pretty damn good flying and sightseeing out that way.

Yes I would love to make it out there.

But the trip happened last week, so I can start the list for the next one....

And the water was pretty cold in the gulf, and the weather not the best last week.