Pensacola is a lovely small city. The Naval base has a nice museum and the city itself has a historic quarter--but, I agree, a whole week might be a stretch if the weather is not compliant. The beaches in Pensacola and Panama City are terrific--but, in winter, you will definitely not want to go in the Gulf. It could be great weather for walking on the beach--or, it could be quite miserable.

OP here, thanks everyone. Looks like we need to go further south.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The beaches in Panama City and Pensacola are beautiful --squeaky white sand. They're both fun in the summer, but could be quiet in December and January. Pensacola is a real town, so may be a better bet in the winter. As pp said, the weather can be unpredictable that time of year.

Pensacola is a real town, but it's certainly not much of a city.

In other words, without the Gulf, there's no way that Pensacola is worthy of a week-long vacation (unless you're golfers or tennis players who would enjoy those activities in Jan temps).

Exactly

Anonymous wrote:The beaches in Panama City and Pensacola are beautiful --squeaky white sand. They're both fun in the summer, but could be quiet in December and January. Pensacola is a real town, so may be a better bet in the winter. As pp said, the weather can be unpredictable that time of year.

Pensacola is a real town, but it's certainly not much of a city.

In other words, without the Gulf, there's no way that Pensacola is worthy of a week-long vacation (unless you're golfers or tennis players who would enjoy those activities in Jan temps).

Gulf will definitely be too cold for swimming.

Air temps will probably be low to mid 60s during the day.

Pensacola exactly the same temps at that time of year.

If you want water-based activities at that time of year you need to head to very southernmost parts of FL.

The beaches in Panama City and Pensacola are beautiful --squeaky white sand. They're both fun in the summer, but could be quiet in December and January. Pensacola is a real town, so may be a better bet in the winter. As pp said, the weather can be unpredictable that time of year.

This is OP, is it a fun place?

I was in Orlando in December and it was old one day and then hot the next. Weather.com has averages for cities for each day of the month.

Yes, it could quite possibly be too cold.

We are thinking about going. We have three older kids 20,17 and 14. Will it be too cold. What about Pensacola?