Flying in to Fort Walton

I am coming out with family in June and am looking at flying to save time and get more ';beach time';. American flights go direct from DFW into Ft Walton Beach (I think it says an Air Force Base)??? This sounded odd, is this a good airport to come into, close to Destin, yes? Rent cars available there?

Flying in to Fort Walton

Destin is about 5 miles from Ft. Walton Bch. All commercial airports will have rental cars available, but why not call the car company to be sure that they have service at that airport.

There is the Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Bch ... maybe AA uses it. In fact the air base covers an area many times the size of Ft. W and Destin combined.

Flying in to Fort Walton

The airport that serves this area is airport code VPS. It is in Valparaiso, Florida. The airport is acutally part of Eglin Air Force Base.

It takes about 20-30 minutes to get from the airport, or a little more in heavy traffic, to Destin. The airport here boasts the worlds slowest baggage I have ever experienced!! LOL.

Some, if no most, of the major rental cars are located at the airport. It is my understanding that you should reserve early because they are in demand.

If you can%26#39;t get a car there, then there are three rental car agencies with offices in Destin.

Enterprise, Hertz and Guardian Car Rentals.

The two major airlines that serve the area with consistency are Delta and Northwest.

Oh, I know there is a Continental flight from Houston either once or twice a day.

Have used that airport several times without any problems. If renting a car might want to check if you pick it up on site at the airport or take a shuttle to their office to get it. Last time we went the larger co., Hertz, was on site, we used Budget or Enterprise and took a shuttle. A little less expensive but took longer.

Georgia, was the new airport open the last time you flew in? Many things have changed if not.

It%26#39;s a beautiful facility.

Thanks so much for the info, sounds like 20 minutes away beats driving from Dallas! Thanks!

VPS is definitely the way to go. It%26#39;s a nice little airport. I%26#39;ve flown in and out on pleasure and business many many times and never had a problem with slow baggage, but I imagine like any airport there are occasional delays.

VPS shares a runway with Eglin AFB. Look around when you land if you want to see some fighter jets.

Imoutraged, no, haven%26#39;t flown there since the new airport has opened. I actually liked the old fashioned small one, liked the ';casual'; feel to it. The slow pace made me feel like vacation had started the minute I got off the plane!

Ah yes, Georgia, how true ... new is not always good.

I was sad when they had to tear the old airport down (post 9/11 regulations forced the change), but they really did a nice job of building the new airport.