Navarre Family Watersports

Navarre Family Watersports operates out of a busy waterfront lot on Navarre Pkwy, right where Navarre’s boat traffic meets its beach traffic on the Santa Rosa Sound side of town. Since opening in 2013, the outfitter has welcomed more than 340,000 guests, building a following among visitors staying in Navarre Beach as well as day trippers from Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, Destin, and Crestview who want time on the water without hauling their own boat.

The rental fleet covers nearly every way to move across the Sound. Waverunners and jet skis let riders run wide open across open water, while pontoon boats, including Double Decker models fitted with waterslides, suit families who want a slower pace and room to spread out gear, coolers, and kids. Paddle boards and single or double seat kayaks round out the human powered side of the operation for anyone who would rather glide quietly along the shoreline at their own speed.

For a guided option, the company runs dolphin excursions by waverunner along the Intracoastal Waterway. A guide leads the group of riders out to spots where bottlenose dolphins regularly surface, and the same stretch of water turns up stingrays, herons, and eagles on a good day. It is a practical way for visitors without boating experience to cover real distance on the water while someone else handles navigation and knows where the wildlife tends to show up.

On dry land, the property has grown into a small adventure park. A Wibit inflatable waterpark gives kids and adults an obstacle course to climb, bounce, and fall off of in the water, while a ropes course and zip line test balance and grip strength with 48 separate obstacles, among them rope ladders, bridges, a spaghetti hand line, and a bumpy rope walk foot line. Riders need to be at least 42 inches tall with an adult, or 48 inches tall to go unaccompanied, and the course sets a 300 pound weight limit per participant. The ropes course and zip line run daily from noon to 7:30 p.m. and cost $25 per person, dropping to $20 for anyone with a 32566 zip code.

General rental operations run seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 8671 Navarre Pkwy, and the company takes online reservations through its booking system, which is worth doing in the middle of summer when waverunners and pontoons book up fast. Staff also sell adventure bundles that pair a pontoon rental with discounted attraction passes: a half-day bundle starts at $305 and includes up to two waterpark, ropes course, or combo passes at $20 each instead of the regular $25, while a full-day bundle starts at $535 and includes up to four of those same passes. Bundling this way works well for a group that wants the boat for a few hours in the morning and then wants to burn off energy on the ropes course or Wibit waterpark in the afternoon without paying full price for everything separately. Anyone planning a trip should call ahead at (850) 939-9923 to confirm availability and current package pricing, since fleet size and offerings can shift a bit from season to season.