Navarre, Florida: The Old-Florida Beach Town We Keep Coming Back To

We stayed in Navarre, Florida, in January 2026, during our first winter as full-time RVers on our Gulf Coast RV road trip.

There’s a moment at a new stop when you stop feeling like a visitor. In Navarre, it happened on the little fishing pier at our campground. It didn’t take long before walking out there between work sessions felt like the most normal thing in the world.

We were brand new to full-time RV life and still getting our bearings. So when we planned our first winter on the road, the wish list was short: stay warm, find somewhere pretty, keep running, and ease into working from the road without a million must-see items pulling at us. Navarre checked every box. After Biloxi, it was an easy 150 miles east on I-10.

Navarre was our first real working stop after moving into the RV full time, and those early weeks were all about finding a routine. We’re both very disciplined when it comes to work, but working from separate offices in a 3,000-plus-square-foot house is completely different from working in an RV. We’d talked about it and planned for it, but nothing comes close to actually living it.

If I had to pick the moment it clicked, it was a sunrise walk on that pier. We were looking out over the water, surrounded by scenery straight out of a vacation, talking about the simplest things: the workday ahead, the pets’ vaccinations that were due, what to grab at Publix that night. That’s when we thought: OK, this is pretty cool. And it’s working.

Why We Liked Navarre

Navarre is a fun little beach town that still has some of that old Florida feeling, and it isn’t massively touristy. Think low-rise buildings and mom-and-pop shops instead of big chains on the beach. It all felt a bit more homegrown than the chain-heavy, glitzy stretches of Florida beach farther south. The town sits on Santa Rosa Sound, between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach, and Navarre Beach is just across the bridge on Santa Rosa Island.

Navarre has a sound, too. In winter the crowd skews retired and Gen X snowbird, and the RV park neighbors and beach bars play it accordingly: the music from our late-’90s high school days, drifting out over the sand. It was too cold for us to sit at the outdoor bars after work this time. We made up for it when we came back.

Then there’s the other sound. Every so often military planes would fly over, and now and then low thumps rolled in from somewhere in the distance. We figured someone was building something. It took us a moment to realize it was artillery fire from the military ranges nearby. Welcome to the Panhandle.

We know the neighboring towns, too. Back in 2017, we rode out Hurricane Irma as evacuees in Destin (that whole saga is here: Our Hurricane Irma Story), and this time we only went back for an afternoon to get the pets their vaccinations. Later, on our way back up the Gulf, we stayed in Pensacola. Both are fun, but Navarre is the one that felt like our speed.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at Emerald Beach RV Park, and it’s about as Florida as you can get: right on the Sound, with its own white-sand beach and a little fishing pier. We loved this park. Walking out on that pier during breaks in the workday made it feel like vacation every time we stepped away from the laptop. Here’s our full Emerald Beach RV Park review.

A Typical Workday in Navarre

Our days fell into an easy rhythm. The dog went first: a slow loop around the campground, since the park sits on a busy road with no sidewalks and our Great Dane isn’t a long-distance walker anyway. Then breakfast, and then the pier, minus the dog. Some mornings there were dolphins. Some mornings it was people fishing and a boat or two heading out. Then the laptops opened, and every time one of us needed a break, we walked back out. After work, the to-do list was short: see something, run an errand, refill the propane.

The dog, meanwhile, mostly chilled at home. The park has a dog beach, but our Great Dane is scared of water and wouldn’t even get close. Groceries came from the Publix near the campground.

Fixing the Little Things

Staying put for a while also gave us time to tackle a few RV projects. You know the kind: little annoyances you tolerate on a trip but start to hate once you’re living in the rig full time.

Exhibit A: the weird but oh-so-practical cabinet above the microwave. You had to hold it open with one hand, or it would come down on you. We added a simple pneumatic strut, and now it stays open on its own. A tiny fix that we appreciate every single day.

We also sorted through our toolbox and spare parts. Verdict: we were carrying way too much. Most of the tools stayed, but we split them up: the everyday tools went into Stefan’s favorite tool bag, and the specialty items moved into our less-loved toolbox. Keeping everything organized and easy to find becomes one of the biggest jobs on the road, because when you can’t find something, it leads to frustration and improvisation.

Navarre Beach

This stretch of the Florida Panhandle is known for its white sand and clear, emerald-green water, and Navarre Beach shows off both. Navarre Beach has about four miles of Gulf beachfront, with Navarre Beach Marine Park on one end and a stretch of Gulf Islands National Seashore on the other. The girls went shelling, and we walked the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. At 1,545 feet, it’s the longest fishing pier on the Gulf of Mexico and in Florida. We took some golden hour shots out there, and it was chilly. The water was quite cold, but the girls had loads of fun scouring the shallows around the pier.

Navarre Beach became a regular stop. With the campground just a couple of miles away, we drove over quite a few times, and it never got old.

We also made it out to Opal Beach, in Gulf Islands National Seashore between Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach, twice: one morning for a bit of shelling, and again one evening for sunset. It’s a day-use area with pavilions, restrooms and beach showers on both the Gulf and Sound sides, and parking big enough for an RV. You’ll need to pay the Seashore’s entrance fee or show a park pass.

When the weather turned cold, the fog rolled in, too, and it made for some dramatic views while we were out shelling.

Meeting Sweet Pea

Right on Navarre Beach is the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center, a small education and rescue center in an old state park ranger station. We got to meet Sweet Pea, their resident green sea turtle, and watched her puttering around her pool. She can’t be released: she lost a front flipper to an entanglement and is missing a chunk of her shell from a boat strike. The center is mostly run by volunteers, and they also help rescue sea turtles that get hooked or tangled at the pier. It’s a quick stop, and we’re glad we went. The volunteers all seemed extremely laid back and happy to be there, and there’s a cute little gift shop, where we picked up a sticker for our cooler.

Running the National Seashore

We also got in our longest run since the Berlin Marathon in 2013: 15 miles from the far end of Navarre Beach, through Gulf Islands National Seashore to Opal Beach and back. The route, the numbers and our tips are in Running Navarre Beach to Opal Beach.

Later that same day, we drove the Seashore road. The landscape out there is wild, and the sand is so white it almost looks like snow.

Where We Ate

The Slippery Mermaid. A casual sushi spot on Navarre Parkway, just down the road from our campground, and one of the highlights of our stay. Their rolls are wonderful, and the service was very nice. Our favorites: the California roll, the Dragon, Triton’s Tuna and the Crazy Mermaid. Don’t skip the cucumber salad. It’s so good we want to figure out how to make it ourselves.

Stripes Pub & Grill. A veteran-owned sports bar with military-heavy decor (hence the name), full of locals and snowbirds. They serve breakfast on weekends. Stefan had the hand-cut country fried steak, Mackenzie had two eggs and bacon, and I had two eggs with sausage and a biscuit.

Deb’s Coffee. A local drive-thru that started in 2012 as a little trailer near US-98. The girls made a few runs there and came back raving. Their favorite was the iced Redneck latte, made with caramel, brown sugar cinnamon and French vanilla. It’s so good that we started making our own version at home. They also make a Samoa latte (Ghirardelli dark chocolate, caramel and coconut) and a Becca (Ghirardelli white chocolate and raspberry), which I’d be willing to try.

Bear Fruit Bowls and Coffee. Our pick for acai bowls. The sizes are Mini Bear (8 oz), Little Bear (12 oz) and Big Bear (16 oz), which tells you everything about the vibe. This was my first foray into acai bowls, and I ordered a Little Bear with an acai and blue spirulina base, peanut butter, chia, strawberries, banana, granola and honey. I really enjoyed it and found it very filling. Mackenzie enjoyed hers as well, with an acai and dragon fruit base. (Bear Fruit has other locations closer to Pensacola, but this Navarre location has since been renamed Overflow Acai & Coffee Co.)

Turtle Roll. It was freezing outside one night, but we just had to have ice cream, so we headed to this homemade ice cream shop in a bright coral building at the corner of Highways 98 and 87, with over 40 flavors. It was OK. But sometimes it’s not about the ice cream. It’s about the experience. And, not surprisingly, most of the other snow cone and ice cream stands were closed.

Bonus, if you’re heading to Pensacola: on our way back up the Gulf, we stopped at Joe Patti’s, a great seafood market that’s well worth a stop. They have a huge selection of fish, shrimp and all things seafood, fresh off the boats. It’s a sizable operation, and they’ll ask you to take a number while you wait to be served. Don’t worry, they keep the line moving swiftly.

When Florida Got Cold

Our stay started out warm, with highs in the 70s, but then a cold front blew through and it stayed cold for days. Nights dropped to around freezing. Inside the fifth wheel it felt comfortable, but the furnace had to run a lot to keep it that way, and one night we turned off the water and disconnected the hose.

We were at the Camping World in town every few days to refill propane. We always refill the empty tank as soon as we switch to the other one, because two is one and one is none. The good news: back in Biloxi, a clerk had told Stefan he had loyalty points he could apply in $10 increments, so for the next few fills we only paid a few bucks. More on how we handle cold nights in the RV here: Winter RV Living: Why We Check the Overnight Low First.

If You Only Have a Weekend

• Walk the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, ideally at golden hour.
• Go shelling in the shallows around the pier.
• Say hi to Sweet Pea at the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center.
• Drive (or run) the road through Gulf Islands National Seashore.
• Sushi at The Slippery Mermaid, with a side of cucumber salad.
• Weekend breakfast at Stripes, and coffee from Deb’s.

Is Navarre Worth It?

Absolutely. We came to Navarre to stay warm and find our footing as new full-timers. We left with a sticker on the cooler, our longest run since Berlin, a favorite sushi order and a campground we already knew we’d come back to. And we did, this time for a beachfront site.

It’s a fun little beach town with that old Florida feeling, it isn’t massively touristy, and it’s about as close to working on the beach as you can get. If you need to recharge your batteries somewhere beautiful, this is the place.

Missed the last stop? Catch up on Biloxi Bay RV Resort & Marina. See the whole route on our Gulf Coast RV road trip page.

Have you been to Navarre? Tell us your favorite spot in the comments!