Most visitors see Gulf Breeze through a windshield. It’s the peninsula you cross between downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, with Pensacola Bay on one side and Santa Rosa Sound on the other. Slow down, though, and it’s one of the easiest day trips on the western end of the coast: a big zoo, a waterfront park with a swimming pier, the Panhandle’s first licensed distillery and a Gulf Breeze Parkway lined with family-run restaurants.
Quick answer
- With kids: the Gulf Breeze Zoo, with giraffe feeding and a safari train.
- On the water: Shoreline Park South, with a swim beach, a 400-foot pier and a boat launch on Santa Rosa Sound.
- Tasting stop: Rollins Distillery, the first legally licensed distillery in the Florida Panhandle.
- Dinner: Lillo’s Tuscan Grille for Italian family recipes, or Tacos Rock for Mexico City street food.
- Sweets: Sugar Beach Bakery and Turtle Roll ice cream.
The Gulf Breeze Zoo
The Gulf Breeze Zoo, on Gulf Breeze Parkway (U.S. 98) east of town, is the biggest draw on this part of the coast. It covers 50 acres with giraffes, gorillas, hippos, orangutans and two kinds of rhinos, and kids can feed the giraffes, ride the Safari Express train and walk through an aviary. The zoo is open daily with seasonal hours and recommends buying tickets in advance, so check the website before you go.
Parks and the water
Shoreline Park South is Gulf Breeze’s front yard on Santa Rosa Sound. There’s a public swim beach with calm sound-side water, a 400-foot pier with covered decks for fishing or just standing over the water, and a dual boat launch for kayaks, paddleboards and boats. It’s open daily from sunrise to sunset.
For a walk in the shade, the Naval Live Oaks area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, just east of town on U.S. 98, has trails through a forest of old live oaks along the sound. It’s a quick, easy stop between the zoo and the beach.
Rollins Distillery
Rollins Distillery holds the title of the first legally licensed distillery in the Florida Panhandle. It incorporated in 2011 and moved into its Gulf Breeze home on Gulf Breeze Parkway in 2012. It’s a father-and-son operation: Paul Rollins, a former Navy pilot who studied a working Scottish distillery while living abroad, and his son Patrick. Check its hours before you go, then find more stops in our breweries and distilleries of the Emerald Coast guide.
Where to eat in Gulf Breeze
Gulf Breeze Parkway is lined with locally owned restaurants, and most are easy, casual stops on the way to or from the beach.
- Lillo’s Tuscan Grille: family recipes that go back to 1948, when the Lillo family opened their first restaurant in Mississippi. It has served Gulf Breeze for more than three decades, with hand-rolled meatballs and house-made sausage.
- Tacos Rock: a family-run kitchen in Harbourtown Plaza mixing Mexico City street food and fresh California style, with house-made salsas and mole.
- Aegean Breeze: a casual Greek restaurant with fresh seafood and hand-cut steaks.
- Buenos Dias Cafe: Mexican-inspired breakfast and brunch, from migas to breakfast tacos.
- Shan Kishi Japanese Hibachi: teppanyaki and a full sushi bar, a crowd-pleaser for groups and birthdays.
- Santino’s Pizza & Grinders: a small, family-run local pizzeria for an easy takeout night.
Sweets
Sugar Beach Bakery, in Tiger Point Plaza, bakes everything from scratch each morning, including cinnamon rolls, croissants and its cruffins. Turtle Roll Homemade Ice Cream & Shaved Ice scoops small-batch ice cream in fresh waffle cones, with flavors that rotate through the year.
Shops and art
Marty Campbell Gallery pairs a fine art gallery of local and regional work (photography, pottery, glass, jewelry and sculpture) with a custom frame shop. For clothes, Gibson Girl is a family-owned boutique open since 2010, and The South Outfitters mixes outdoor gear with beach-town clothing.
Plan the day
Gulf Breeze is five minutes over the bridge from Pensacola Beach, so it’s easy to pair the zoo or the distillery with an afternoon on the sand and dinner on the island. See our lists of the best restaurants on Pensacola Beach and things to do in Pensacola Beach, and browse everything on our Gulf Breeze area page.
Gulf Breeze FAQ
What is Gulf Breeze, FL known for? The Gulf Breeze Zoo, Shoreline Park South on Santa Rosa Sound and Rollins Distillery, the first legally licensed distillery in the Florida Panhandle.
How big is the Gulf Breeze Zoo? It covers 50 acres, with giraffes, gorillas, hippos, orangutans and rhinos, plus giraffe feeding and the Safari Express train.
Is there a swimming beach in Gulf Breeze? Yes. Shoreline Park South has a public swim beach on calm Santa Rosa Sound, a 400-foot pier and a boat launch, open daily from sunrise to sunset.
How far is Gulf Breeze from Pensacola Beach? About five minutes over the bridge.