I've wanted to skydive for years!!! So blessed to be able to get to experience this! Ben was an…read moreamazing tandem diver!

My first skydiving experience was so exciting and i felt so safe thanks to these people. If it's…read moreyour first time i 100% recommend this place. Jon especially.

Pray Aviation is a flight school dedicated to the success of their students. Everything I have so…read morefar experienced here proves how skilled the staff are at creating a welcoming learning environment for students of all skill levels. Additionally, Pray is located just outside of Pensacola's airspace, allowing students to have great learning experiences in both controlled and uncontrolled airport environments!

Great flight school Felicia, Angie and the instructors make you feel right at home! No fuel…read moresurcharge so prices are as written plus tax so they are affordable. Have all the maintenance on site and can fly planes in from other facilities if needed to ensure you're not stuck waiting on aircraft.

Roughly a six hour drive from my home in North Alabama, Gulf Shores is a lovely Alabama Beach! Its…read moreless than 10 miles from Orange Beach. I've stayed in Orange Beach numerous times and enjoyed restaurants and Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores! Gulf State Park has numerous trails that make for a great hike or numerous durations and lengths! Sea-N-Suds is one of my favorite restaurants to enjoy in Gulf Shores since it's right on the Gulf (meaning it's deck extends over the Gulf waters a bit) and they have delicious oysters and Royal Reds!! I also enjoyed a round of golf with my sorority sister and her husband at Gulf Shores Golf Club! It's a nice, friendly golf course! Like Orange Beach, Gulf Shores beaches are really bright white, clean, and beautiful with silky sand! Gulf Shores beaches are renowned for being family friendly and parking is cheap for the beaches free for residents and 2-4 dollars for non-residents depending on where you part. Also, Gulf Shores beaches do have lifeguards provided seasonally from March to October. That's a nice feature since the Gulf rip tides are a real thing, ya'll! If you haven't visited Gulf Shores Beaches, do it! As Yelper Chris W., notes, it's more economical to stay in Gulf Shores proper vice Orange Beach and Destin. Get your beach on!

My last 5 year old review focused on the summer concerts, it's time for an update!…read more I am seven years into my retirement at the all-around best beach I've ever had the pleasure to sink my toes in, and I have literally been to hundreds! First of all, let me tell you a bit about the Gulf Shores beaches themselves. There is thirty-two miles of pristine, sugar-white beaches here. Unlike anywhere else, this sand is unique because it is made of quartz, formed over millions of years from the Appalachian Mountains, which gives it that brilliant color and lets it stay cool even in the heat of the summer. With over 8 million visitors each year, this community really thrives on its tourism base. What I absolutely cherish is that when I go down there in the morning, the sands look absolutely pristine, meaning there is no trash, no clutter, no mess. They smooth it out, comb it, and groom it every single day. If anybody leaves behind a chair, toy, or tent, it is picked up and donated every day. Gulf Shores really lives up to that motto of being a small town with a big beach because the calendar is packed with world-class events. Kicking off with the Hangout Music Festival in May, the white sands turn into the ultimate summer kick-off. We also love the lively Ballyhoo Festival, and the Annual National Shrimp Festival in October brings hundreds of thousands of people to the coast for four days of seafood, art, and music. Of course, you can't talk about this area without talking about the incredible food scene, especially the fresh, local seafood right off the boats. Whether you're buying it fresh to cook at home or enjoying it at a local waterfront spot, the quality of our regional fishing is just unbelievable. Getting to enjoy iconic local catches like red snapper, grouper, flounder, and speckled trout, or seasonal favorites like tripletail and triggerfish. And the shrimp, oh yeah, fresh shrimp is fantastic and with the added benefit of our local deep-water delicious royal reds, it's a big part of what makes living here so wonderful for me. Now, while I'm talking about a truly special place in my heart, it is this town's unparalleled commitment to conservation and preservation. Specifically dear are my two absolute favorite animals, the sea turtle and the manatee. From the dedicated Share the Beach efforts that monitor the annual sea turtle nesting season from the time they lay their eggs until the babies hatch, to all the practices and the marine conservation for the manatees, or the floaty potatoes or sea cows as some people call them, this is truly a sanctuary for these gentle giants. I annually adopt Bama who winters in Crystal River, FL but comes back here every year :-) I still vividly remember my first steps on my first sandy beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I was really, really young. From the beaches of my home in Los Angeles to over a decade living in Cape Cod, all those experiences, including my many sandy beaches throughout the Caribbean, from coast to coast in Mexico, the Mediterranean, and Central America, it has been an amazing journey. I now find myself in a place that I call home in many ways, just as magical as many of those moments were over these sixty-plus years throughout my life. Bottom line: Whether you are just visiting for the week or lucky enough to call this place home, the way the small-town charm blends with these expansive, pristine shores makes it the ultimate beach destination. It is the perfect blend of warmth, beauty, and almost endless possibilities, and I am proud to say this is my little slice of paradise.

We grew up calling the Panama City Beach (or "PCB" for short) part of the Gulf Coast "The Redneck…read moreRiviera!" Some folks know it as the "Emerald Coast" which is a much fancier name. For me there is still a certain charm about "Redneck Riviera!" The region encompasses the coastal area of northern Florida along the Gulf of America and includes Pensacola, Navarre Beach, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and PCB. Some Alabama coastal communities including Orange Beach, Fort Morgan, and Gulf Shores are also included! Of these, I've spent the most time in Fort Walton, Panama City Beach, Orange Beach, and Gulf Shores. These are all well within a day's drive of my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. I'm really impressed by my long time Yelper Friend's, Barrett O.'s review of the Redneck Riviera! Great job (per usual) Barrett! Read his review to get the Redneck Riviera song history and the geological description he wisely provides! The white sands are especially lovely in this region! And the deep sea fishing (especially on the charter, "The Distraction" out of Orange Beach- see my review!) is incredible and beyond fun! There's apparently a Redneck Riviera in Nashville which is a sizeable venue on Boardwalk; a Redneck Riviera whisky blend; and various lines of Redneck Riviera clothing. Come on and let your inner Redneck loose at the beautiful Redneck Riviera! As Barrett notes, the folks really are friendly down there!

I live on the Redneck Riviera, and I'm getting so sick & tired of the ineptocracy nuking my review…read moreabout my beautiful and beloved area. Now I don't get a nastygram that it's been deleted, seriously!?!?!! I mean somehow the machinating of the ineptocracy is intent on "moderating" or nuking honest an honest review despite an expository of the origins, history and evolutionary trek of the location and its name, it's just dumb. This review is not about the smooth honey vanilla & honey whiskey or the 8000 sq ft night club in Nashville, the BBQ sauce, or the realty TV show that bears the name Redneck Riviera, it's all about the place described by the Huffington Post article "Why the Redneck Riviera Is an American Paradise" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-redneck-riviera-i_b_9167956/ Indeed moderators, this is my very personal and first hand tale of my experience of this place referred to as "The Redneck Riviera". While I will admit that many parts of the Emerald Coast could technically qualify and claim the name it's always been right here in my backyard in my opinion. As a matter of fact, the first published reference to "Redneck Riviera" I've found is from a song. It's actually a song title from a great storyteller that I'd heard in my youth. "Redneck Riviera" is the title of a song by Tom T. Hall (from his 1996 album Songs from Sopchoppy) about my region which was once refered to as part of the Forgotten Coast. The song's lyrics includes these words: "Gulf Shores up through Apalachicola They got beaches of the whitest sand Nobody cares if Grandma's got a tattoo Or Bubba's got a hot wing in his hand" Then there's the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's song by the same name that includes: On a weekend holiday We don't parlez vous francais Turnin' it up from a sunny day Then we dance the night away On the redneck riviera On the red-ed neck riviera On the redneck riviera It's a paradise, oh yeah (Oh) yeah The Gulf Coast's white sand beaches, the geologic diversity, ecosystems, biodiversity, beautiful weather and some of the finest folks on the planet make up this place I call home. Botom line: I live here in the Redneck Riviera, and am blessed to be a part of such a beautiful community, with these amazing beaches and fabulously friendly people! There's over 32 miles of sugar-white sand beaches here that attracts nearly 7 million visitors every year, so I'm not the only one who think it's pretty special.

this was the third year we have used Ryan and his company. They have been so great and…read moreaccommodating! Tent set up when we arrived and chairs ready to go! So convenient! look forward to next year already!

This was our first visit to the Gulf Shores area and we decided on a beach home rental. Instead of…read moretrying to figure out daily set up and tear downs of umbrellas, canopies or a pop-up shelter we thought a beach tent and beach chair rental from Beach Bum Services would be a good decision. This turned out to be one of the best decisions of our vacation. We ordered our rental several months in advance and I was shocked at the price - in a good way. Super, super family friendly prices. Everything was set up when we arrived. No issues at all. The tent stayed up the entire week. The rain and wind didn't move it at all. Unlike our neighbors canopies and sun shades. They needed to take them down nightly (yuck) AND they also broke completely when a wind storm blew through. Our Beach Bum tent? Ready to use and good to go!!! The neighboring houses all commented that they wish they had "one of our's"... I can't recommend Beach Bum Services enough. If you're renting a beach home in the Gulf Shores area DEFINITELY call them and rent a tent, chairs and everything else. Budget friendly, high level of customer service and quality products. Don't think twice about renting from Ryan and Beach Bum Services. Just do it. My only complaint? We wish we ordered a bigger tent and more chairs!