Souvenirs

The thing you bring back for your sister-in-law who didn't get to come this year. Sorted from "actually nice" down through "fine" and into "it's a t-shirt with a shark on it and that's what your nephew wanted."

Actually nice

• The Flora-Bama gift shop: the t-shirts, the koozies, and the limited-run prints aren't just merch — they're regional cultural objects at this point. The annual Mullet Toss shirt is collected.
• Pensacola Bay Pottery and Gulf Coast art shops: several artists work the area; the Pensacola downtown art scene has handmade ceramics, watercolors, and prints that feel like an actual gift.
• Local cookbooks and "Gulf Coast" books: the regional bookstores in Pensacola and Mobile carry good ones. Lucy Buffett's cookbooks. Books about the Mullet Toss. Local fishing books.
• Sea salt, hot sauce, local honey: the farmer's market and a few specialty groceries carry locally-produced stuff that's better than the airport gift shop version.

Fine

• Souvenir shops along Perdido Key Drive and Perdido Beach Boulevard: several. They have what souvenir shops have. Quality varies by shop more than by location.
• Sand dollar bottles, shell necklaces, sand bottles: the kid-friendly souvenir tier. Sometimes done well by local artists; sometimes mass-produced.

The t-shirt-with-a-shark-on-it tier

Look, you're on vacation, you want a thing. The big-format souvenir places along the strip on both sides have everything. The prices are not bargains. The selection is endless. If you've got a teenager who wants four shirts and a baseball cap, this is the answer. Don't overthink it.

What not to buy

• Anything made from sea life beyond the standard tumbled shells. Sand dollar souvenirs that came from a living sand dollar are not okay. Coral, starfish, conch all skip.
• "Driftwood art" you stand a chance of getting through TSA — okay, this isn't a rule, it's just a tip.