Blue Angels Guide

Pensacola is Home

From the very first time I saw the Blue Angels flying in perfect formation above Pensacola and felt the roar of their engines, I became a crazy fan! When I hear them in the skies, I run outside to catch a glimpse of their acrobatics and streams of smoke. I must admit, I’m a little jealous when someone gets a great video of them while they’re visiting—especially if it’s a Sunday Beach Buzz. Since they call Pensacola, Florida, home, the skies around the beach area are their practice “grounds,” and viewing them should be part of almost every trip to Pensacola. The highlight of their travel schedule is always the two home shows in July and November. For these shows, you’ll join thousands of people who make the trek to Pensacola Beach to catch their performances. They are worth planning a trip around. You can view their schedule here.

If you don’t like crowds but still want a local Blue Angels experience, you can catch a weekly morning practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from March through October. They take the skies from Naval Air Station Pensacola at 10:30 a.m. on their designated practice days. For the rest of 2023, those dates are scheduled as July 25, 26*; August 1, 16*, 22, 23*, 29; September 6*, 12, 19; and October 18*, 24, 25*. The asterisks indicate there will be autograph sessions inside the museum.

Where is the best place to view Blue Angel practices?

Now that you know when they fly, you’ll need to know where to watch them. Their practices mainly take the skies at the Fort Pickens end of the beach where you can claim a spot along the wall inside Fort Pickens for excellent viewing. Find out more about the national park entrance fee here. Plan to either take chairs or sit along the wall.

Another fun way to watch these morning practices is to rent a pontoon boat and hang out in Pensacola Bay. There are a few companies that rent them in Pensacola, so do a search for them and look at reviews. Plan enough time to get out on the water at the west end of the beach near Ft. Pickens before they take off. This is sure to be a fun, family adventure. You’ll probably want to pack a cooler with drinks and snacks and enjoy your time on the water.

Alternatively, you could plan to go to the Naval base now that it’s open to civilians again. This is an especially good idea if you’d like to get up close and personal with the pilots for their autograph sessions. Those dates are mentioned above. When the practice concludes, spend some time at the National Naval Aviation Museum. It is a fantastic aviation museum and highlights retired blue and gold F/A-18 Hornets suspended from the ceiling, and, to make this even better, it’s free admission! This would be a perfect Blue Angels day!

Where is the best place to view the Blue Angels’ July show days— Red, White, & Blues Week?

Casino Beach, near the only traffic light on Pensacola Beach where Via de Luna Drive and Fort Pickens Road meet, is center stage for the July show days. If you choose to join the crowds, you’ll need to get there and stake out your spot on the beach very early in the day. The public parking lot fills up early and people will park all along Via de Luna on the side of the road and in the medians. The Blue Angels usually mark the coordinates and center points of the show on Wednesday morning during Blues and Breakfast. This will be the least crowded day at Casino Beach to view up close. You should be able to park nearby to watch them for about an hour.  Pay the fee to go on the pier to be right in the middle of where they are performing. Check their schedule, but this should start about 7:30 a.m.

The next best day to experience the show without the massive crowds is on their dress rehearsal day, which should be Friday.  It will be a full run of the show including the civilian acts.  While staying at the Surf Shack, we were able to walk to the first trolley stop headed towards Casino Beach, and we got dropped off right at Casino Beach. You can catch the Portofino trolley back to the house after the show if you board right at Casino Beach.  Be prepared to wait.  An alternative way to get home is to walk about two miles home.

The Blue Angels and civilian acts fly up and down the beach doing their tricks, so there’s not a bad seat along the beach. Our home Surf Shack is a two block walk off the beach where you are sure to witness the impressive five-plane formation buzz by during the show. This would be a great option on show day as you really should just stay where you are.  The traffic will be backed up to our house until after dark on show day, and it will be backed up coming over the bridge onto the beach from the morning as well.

If you’re staying at the East Hill House or another spot downtown, stake out a place on Pensacola Bay at places like the Palafox Pier (997 S Palafox Street, Pensacola, FL 32502) or Maritime Park (The Blue Wahoo’s Stadium located at 301 W Main Street, Pensacola, FL 32502). If you want to go to the beach, don’t wait until show day.  Go either Wednesday or Friday.  Traffic will be much more manageable. You could also check the schedule for the ferry and take that across to the beach. Be prepared to wait going both directions, as it’s likely to be a popular mode of transportation but still less stressful than driving in the traffic to the beach. You can get dropped off at the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk or Fort Pickens. This is the link to their website for schedules and pricing.

Blue Angels Homecoming in November

November hosts the annual homecoming show at the Naval Air Station. The main and west gates will open at 8:00 a.m. with the show beginning at 9:30 a.m. The Blue Angels will fly on Thursday and Friday around 2:00 p.m. Admission, parking and blanket seating are FREE. You will find show information here. The 2023 show days are November 3rd and 4th and will feature performers, attractions, static displays, food vendors and merchandise booths on site – even a kids zone! In addition to the Blue Angels, the line up in the skies will include Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team, Brian Correll Air Shows, Red Aerosports, Stearman Flight Team, Yak 110 aerobatic team, and the Ladies for Liberty – known for their renditions of 1940s WWII, 1950s Korean War era and 1960s Vietnam War era music.

The Sunday Beach Buzz

For a little extra excitement, the locals know to plan to be on the Pensacola Pier Sunday evenings sometime between 5 and 7 p.m. to witness the Blue Angels beach buzz. They will fly directly over the pier, so have your cameras ready. It will absolutely send chills down your spine while the roar rattles your brain.