Flying to Destin

Flying to Destin for your vacation? You’re not alone! Okaloosa County estimated that in 2019 more than 1.5 million passengers came through the terminal of the Destin Airport. We understand though that there are numerous options when flying to the Emerald Coast, so we wanted to write this quick guide to help you! Destin is located in the middle of three airports with airline service – VPS in Destin, PNS in Pensacola and ECP in Panama City Beach. The City of Destin and Emerald Escape/Sandpiper Cove lie just about in the middle of these geographically, so any of them work great if you are flying to town!

We’ll start with the closest – VPS in Destin. VPS is a smaller airport, with a growing number of direct flights over the last few years. Allegiant, Delta, American and United all service VPS. VPS is about a 20-minute drive from Sandpiper Cove, so makes it the easiest to & from! Car rentals are easy and there are multiple vendors there that can help you. VPS recently announced as well that Southwest Airlines would be starting service from multiple cities to VPS on May 6th, 2021! This is a game changer for SWA Companion Pass holders who love Destin!

Next are the two airports straddling Destin – PNS in Pensacola and ECP in Panama City Beach. Both are about the same distance from Destin, about the same size airport, and service about the same number of cities. When I was flying SWA with a companion pass, typically I would just look at both and pick the cheapest! You will have to allocate a little more time to travel, as these are about an hour from Emerald Escape and with summer traffic sometimes that can get stretched a little. Car rentals are simple here as well and don't take much time to go through the lines. Pro tip: use AutoSlash.com to find the cheapest car rental rates! Then you can put your price in and get a notification if anything cheaper comes up.

When you come stay with us at Emerald Escape in Destin, FL, we want your stay to be as worry free as possible. If you have any questions about travel tips or recommendations, please do not hesitate to reach out via phone or email. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy planning your next trip to the beautiful Emerald Coast!

Images from: Flyvps.com; flypensacola.com, iflybeaches.com