Things to Do in Niceville

At the authorized Cessna Pilot Center, Island Air Express's certified pilots and instructors curate training courses, helm scenic tours, and glide above clear waters during private flights to the Bahamas. They help aspiring flyers to accrue hours for a private pilot's license, as well as prepare them to complete official flight tests with FAA–approved blindfolds for instrument ratings.

The PADI-certified instructors at Panama City Dive Charters run their classes with a focus on the heart of scuba diving-fun and adventure-while keeping safety and each student's diving success as the primary goals. With online courses as well as pool and open-water instruction available, the team prepares divers to explore the region's aquatic splendor, such as Vortex Spring and Morrison Springs. The squad also arranges adventuresome ocean-scuba-diving trips and spearfishing outings during which divers kick through crystal-clear waters to hunt treasure, catch dinner, and play Go Fish with the local mermaids.

Just off the beach, a man floats over the water, suspended in the air by streams of water jetting from his hands and feet as though he were testing an Iron Man–inspired apparatus. This back-mounted pack—called a Flyboard—works through a propulsive system that continually intakes and rapidly expels water, pushing the rider into the air or wherever he or she directs it to fly. The Flyboard, along with aqua trikes and motorized surfboards, comprise the unique rental fleet of Power Up Watersports. With these advanced watercrafts, Power Up’s team hopes to evolve Destin’s watersports scene, which includes plans to train the area’s dolphins to serve drinks.

Chief aviator Evan Jordan of Jordan Aviation take cloud-gazers into the skies in services that range from scenic rides to full pilot-certification programs. The outfit's educational fleet of well-maintained Cessna 172N aircraft, act as aerial classrooms for students logging hours en route to a pilot's license and novices getting a first taste of flight. Instructors begin Discovery Flights with a brief overview of plane operation, from instruments in the cockpit to the propellers that chop clouds into Mentos. Once aloft, they allow the student to take the controls if they so choose. Jordan Aviation calls Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport its home base and schedules flights Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.