The Emerald Grande towers and lighthouse at HarborWalk Village in Destin, Florida, seen from the water of East Pass

Knoxville nonstops · sun and beach

Beach nonstops from Knoxville: drive or fly?

12 warm-weather nonstops from TYS: Florida from the Panhandle to Key West, plus Gulf Shores. Most are Allegiant, a few days a week. The calculator tells you when the plane actually beats the car.

Photo: Photo via Pexels (pexels.com/photo/14332907)

Short answer

From Knoxville you can fly nonstop to 12 sun destinations: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Orlando, Orlando, Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, Sarasota/Bradenton, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Tampa. 9 are Allegiant-only; Southwest flies Orlando and Tampa, and American flies Miami.

Florida and the Gulf

Sun routes by the numbers

12sun and beach nonstops from TYS.

9of them flown only by Allegiant.

513road miles from TYS to Destin (OSRM).

999road miles to Key West. The nonstop is seasonal.

Calculator

Drive to the beach, or fly?

Pick a beach. We use the closest airport Knoxville flies to, the real road distance, and the drive from that airport to the sand. Add your fare and party size to compare cost.

Knoxville to the beach: drive vs fly

Drive

9h 51m

470 miles

Add gas price and mpg

Fly from TYS

5h 27m

2h 30m at TYS before departure + about 1h 20m in the air + 1h 37m drive from VPS. Airlines: Allegiant

Add your fare to compare

Flying is faster by about 4h 24m each way.

Times are one way. Drive times are OSRM estimates on OpenStreetMap roads without traffic. Air time is our rough estimate from distance, not a schedule. The airport-buffer default is the airport's own advice (arrive 2.5 hours early). TYS parking rates are the airport's posted daily maximums (Sept 2026). Fares, gas and other airports' parking are your numbers.

Map

Every sun nonstop

Sun and beach nonstops from TYS12 of 12 shown

AllegiantAmericanSouthwestSeasonal or announced (dashed)

Destin/Fort Walton Beach VPS Allegiant
Fort Lauderdale FLL Allegiant
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach GUF Allegiant · seasonal
Jacksonville JAX Allegiant
Key West EYW Allegiant · seasonal
Miami MIA American
Orlando (International) MCO Allegiant, Southwest
Orlando (Sanford) SFB Allegiant
Punta Gorda/Fort Myers PGD Allegiant
Sarasota/Bradenton SRQ Allegiant
St. Petersburg/Clearwater PIE Allegiant
Tampa TPA Southwest · seasonal

The list

All sun and beach nonstops

Nonstops in this group with airlines, season and sourced frequency
Destination	Airlines	Season	How often (sourced)	Distance	Est. air time	Drive from TYS
Destin/Fort Walton Beach VPS	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	396 mi	1h 20m	9h 43m
Fort Lauderdale FLL	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	710 mi	1h 59m	15h 33m
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach GUF New	Allegiant	Seasonal Summer route: Allegiant showed no winter fares in our Nov 2026 to Feb 2027 check.	Allegiant: Up to 2x weekly, summer	437 mi	1h 25m	10h 06m
Jacksonville JAX	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	391 mi	1h 19m	10h 20m
Key West EYW New	Allegiant	Seasonal Allegiant's next Key West fares were in January 2027 at our October check.	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	789 mi	2h 09m	19h 46m
Miami MIA	American	Year-round	American: Check the airline	726 mi	2h 01m	16h 02m
Orlando (International) MCO New	Allegiant Southwest	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly Southwest: Daily	534 mi	1h 37m	12h 02m
Orlando (Sanford) SFB	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	512 mi	1h 34m	12h 14m
Punta Gorda/Fort Myers PGD	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	626 mi	1h 48m	13h 51m
Sarasota/Bradenton SRQ New	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Up to 2x weekly	588 mi	1h 44m	13h 03m
St. Petersburg/Clearwater PIE	Allegiant	Year-round	Allegiant: Usually 2 to 4x weekly	551 mi	1h 39m	12h 27m
Tampa TPA New	Southwest	Seasonal	Southwest: Weekends, seasonal	548 mi	1h 39m	12h 18m

Air time is our rough estimate from straight-line distance, not a schedule. "How often" appears only where a source states it; Allegiant flies most TYS routes 2 to 4 times a week.

Which Florida airport for your trip →

AllegiantDestinFly VPS, 17 road miles to Destin.

The Southernmost Point buoy in Key West, Florida, painted "90 Miles to Cuba", beside the open sea

Allegiant, seasonalKey WestStarted October 3, 2025.

Downtown Tampa skyline at night along the Hillsborough River, including the cylindrical Rivergate Tower

Southwest and AllegiantTampa BayTPA on Southwest, PIE on Allegiant.

Waterfront condo towers on Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami, including Zaha Hadid's One Thousand Museum

AmericanMiamiAmerican, year-round.

Request a nonstop

Where should Knoxville fly next?

Name the city. Every request is counted and the leaderboard goes to the airport's air-service team, the people who pitch new routes to airlines.

… requests from TYS so far

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Questions

What beaches can you fly to nonstop from Knoxville?

12 sun destinations: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Orlando (International), Orlando (Sanford), Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, Sarasota/Bradenton, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Tampa. 9 of them are flown only by Allegiant.

Is there a nonstop from Knoxville to Destin?

Yes. Allegiant flies TYS to Destin/Fort Walton Beach (VPS) year-round at low frequency, with more flights in spring and summer.

Is there a nonstop from Knoxville to Gulf Shores?

Yes, in summer. Allegiant started Gulf Shores (GUF) on May 21, 2025, flying up to twice a week. It showed no winter fares in our check.

Is it faster to drive or fly from Knoxville to the beach?

It depends on the beach. OSRM puts Destin at about 10h 02m by car from TYS and Clearwater Beach at 12h 43m. Use the calculator for your party, car and fare.

Is there a nonstop from Knoxville to Myrtle Beach or Pensacola?

No. Neither is served from TYS. See where Knoxville can't fly for the best connections and drive times.

Sources