Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Emerald Wake

    5.0 (3 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Emerald Wake Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Emerald Wake

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    1 year ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Hamish D.

    Hamish D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Hamish is a great instructor! Doesn't rush you and takes great video of you foiling! What a blast! HIGHLY recommend Emerald Wake and Hamish!

    Business owner information

    Photo of Hamish D.

    Hamish D.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Hamish D.

    Hamish D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Emerald Wake

    Ron Jon Surf Shop

    Ron Jon Surf Shop

    3.9(44 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    10000/10! All staff is so friendly and kind you can tell they actually love their job! The shop is…read moreso clean and organized with team members always looking to help customers out. This is definitely the best shop to get souvenirs for back home!

    Ron Jon Surf Shop is an OG of Pier Park and lines the Front Beach Road portion of the massive…read moreshopping complex. I have popped in and out of Ron Jon's many times over the years and walked out with solid apparel on numerous occasions. The store is fairly large, well kept, organized, clean and easy to navigate with sections clearly defined. In addition to a wide variety of apparel consisting of all the well known beach/outdoor brands, they have a plethora of Ron Jon specific items from shorts, shirts, hats and more. Additionally, as expected, they have a corner of the store dedicated to all things surfing and skateboarding. This area offers a solid selection of pre-fab boards along with skim boards and boogie boards. And of course all the accessories that go along with it. Prices are fair and surprisingly so given the name brand and location in Pier Park. The store offers a great photo op with surfboards at their front entrance, but if you are already in Pier Park, you can access the store via a back entrance as well. Staff are always plentiful, helpful and friendly. Overall, Ron Jon is a solid spot and always a cool place to wander through when roaming around Pier Park.

    Photos
    Ron Jon Surf Shop
    Ron Jon Surf Shop
    Ron Jon Surf Shop

    See all

    Alvin's Island

    Alvin's Island

    2.5(2 reviews)
    2.7 mi

    This Alvin's Island, which is one of many up and down the beach, is situated just east of Pier Park…read moreon Front Beach Road. Alvin's Island is a chain of souvenir shops that has just about every variety of souvenir you are after plus clothing, beach gear and wear sprinkled with a small variety of home decor and random accessories. The store is fairly large and packed with merchandise. Legit wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Most of the merchandise is clothing, shirts to be more specific. All the clothing ranges in quality, with majority being low quality at low prices...the classic "buy 3 for $20" deals. With these, you know what you are getting. A cheap Gildan shirt that has been screen pressed on premises. If you are after something a bit higher quality, they do have small pockets of well-known brands, but you are paying a premium above what you would pay in the normal retail spots for the brands. Outside of clothing, they have your classic souvenirs from shot glasses, cups, signage, towels and a wide variety of tchotchkes. Beach toys, chairs, floats and other beach accessories are available too. Lastly, they offer a small variety of suntan lotion and sunscreen. Service is always less than stellar at these locations. They are about the volume, not the service and that is felt as a customer. Overall, been swinging by Alvin's Island locations for years and have no plan to stop in the near future.

    Rude customer service. Cheap apparel, poor quality and not willing to exchange. We will not be…read morereturning here and recommend you go to a store with better quality clothing.

    Photos
    Alvin's Island
    Alvin's Island
    Alvin's Island

    See all

    Gusu Paddle & Surf - Never too young!

    Gusu Paddle & Surf

    4.4(7 reviews)
    26.8 mi
    $$

    Poor communication, tardy service, and a lackluster customer experience are low marks for this…read moreplace. I found the paddleboard rental offer online before I started on vacation, and I booked the rental online prior to my trip. I specifically booked my rental for two hours, starting at 9 am, thinking I would have enough time to learn, get my full two hours of paddleboarding done, and make a happy memory. Unfortunately, the shop didn't open until 9 a.m. and although I showed up at 8:45 a.m. thinking that I would be a bit early so I could learn a little bit before the start of the rental term, no one was on site until the owner of the shop pulled up after 9 am. She apologized, letting me know she couldn't find her keys and was running late because of that. Then, after I voiced my discontent with the tardiness, noting that I had booked a snorkeling trip to start exactly two hours later, she began to discuss how the lessons and rental are done by someone else and were out of her hands. She further described to me an argument that she and the person running the rental program had the night before, leading to the current tardiness of the instructor/rental coordinator. The rental coordinator finally showed up at about 9:10 a.m., making no apology or greeting me at all, but instead, heading straight back to the office. He then came out at about 9:15 a.m., and finally apologized for starting late, after which he grabbed some equipment, loaded it into a wagon, and directed me to follow him out the door and across the street to the dock, where the paddleboards were stored. From there, the paddleboarding experience wasn't bad. He went out onto the water with me and showed me the basics, and then left me to my own enjoyment. I was out on the water for about 45 minutes, before finally tiring in my legs due to the constant ebb and flow of the water. Overall, the experience wasn't a good one, and with the availability of many SUP rental locations throughout Destin, there's no reason to repeat this experience for anyone.

    My friend and I had such an awesome experience with GUSU and Brett. We had never gone paddle…read moreboarding before this, so we are super beginners. The price was extremely reasonable compared to other rental places. We called and set up a meeting time and location with Brett. He was sooooo courteous to call us close to our meeting time to let us know that the conditions aren't good, especially for beginners and he's willing to reschedule with us. It was apparent that he cared about our safety and level of enjoyment more than profit. We were able to reschedule later in the day when the wind and waves died down. He gave us a quick lesson and we were off into the Norregio bay ! The wind ended up picking up so we weren't able to go down the canal but we had an awesome time and Brett made the experience memorable and fun! We'll definitely be using GUSU's again if we're back in Destin. Hopefully the weather is better and we can explore more places !

    Photos
    Gusu Paddle & Surf - Logo

    Logo

    Gusu Paddle & Surf
    Gusu Paddle & Surf - Sunset paddleboard

    See all

    Sunset paddleboard

    Emerald Wake - surfschools - Updated August 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...