Looking for recommendations for places to stay in Destin. Would like to be on or very close to the beach. It would be two adults and two kids ages 7 and 8. We stayed at Sandestin Gold and Beach resort and really liked it. We are considering that place again but looking for suggestions of places that aren't quite as crowded.

Sandestin Hilton is solid

We just rented this condo last week. It was awesome. Right next door to the Hilton.

http://bookings.vacationsbyplatinum.com/Unit/Details/85982

Thumbs up, Mustang1

We've stayed at Silver Shells multiple times. We've been happy each time.

We've stayed at several of the towers within the Hilton Sandestin resort area. We liked WestWinds the best, but have also stayed at nice condos at Beachside I and Beachside II.

Good luck!

Another vote for Westwinds

Coral Reef Club is only 3 stories so beach isn't crowded. great choice for beachfront, although not a great pool. Destiny by the sea is a great beachside neighborhood with a great pool.

planoaggie123 said:

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Good to hear! We are staying at Westwinds in August....first beach vacation with the kids (will be close to 5 and 3 years old)....

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You guys will thoroughly enjoy it! The nice thing with young kiddos is the beach access. You'll be able to go to and from the condo with relative ease from the beach. We love Destin, and so do our kiddos!

planoaggie123 said:

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Good to hear! We are staying at Westwinds in August....first beach vacation with the kids (will be close to 5 and 3 years old)....

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Also, we will be there the beginning of August for a little over a week. We rent a house across the road, and have golf cart access to the beach.

Great! When we get closer to departure I will probably swing back by this thread with some questions and maybe get some of your do's / don'ts...

We will be there the last week of August...leaving Destin just before Labor Day weekend....

Emerald Grand is nice, right on the harbor and they have a shuttle to a private beach that comes with lodging there. Loved our last stay.

Eat the grilled oysters at Acme Oyster, softshell crab pobiy was good too
Rent jet skis or pontoon boat from Luther's Pontoons, ride around the bay and check out Crab Island
Southern Star dolphin cruise
Baytowne Wharf with kids
30A Beach Blond beer is tasty

Question - Wife would like to do pictures while we are there....professionally. Has anyone on this board done it and if so care to provide contact information? First beach vacation and want to get some good pictures while the kids are young....

HAHA! I think we are actually leaning more to just a day when the kids are playing on the beach. We struggle w/ "normal" family photos when we do them annually so we just want to capture them playing / building castles / etc for the most part and then maybe one or two of us as a group but we will all be in our beach clothes probably with messy hair etc.

I have very little down we will do the white button shirt / khaki look some day...but not this year...

Looks like we may be heading there in early August as well.

Leaving for Destin next week. Any must-do's? TIA

LSB_2002 said:

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We've stayed at several of the towers within the Hilton Sandestin resort area. We liked WestWinds the best, but have also stayed at nice condos at Beachside I and Beachside II.

Good luck!

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Second this recommendation. Family has been there several times and we always stay there in the Sandestin resort. Great beach access and close to all the popular stuff. Gotta stop at Fuddpuckers too

Heading there in about a week myself. Any other restaurant recommendations?

Leaving out tomorrow at 4:00 am! Hope I make it without strangling a kid or two!!!!!

Good luck!

I'm breaking up my trip over two days from the Houston area. Can't imagine a straight shot with the family.

Hope the drive went well LSB!

Couple questions that are completely unrelated to each other:

1) I am a below average golfer and I know my father in law (average golfer) will want to play. i hate shelling out $100+ per round due to my skill level. Any recommended courses under $100 in the area?

2) My parents are letting me borrow their Yeti Hopper 30. They dropped it off today. The thing is HUGE and obviously doesn't give any (can't break it down when not in use). We are staying at the Westwards. Is bringing a cooler a smart idea or do most just run back and forth from the beach to the condo? I just wish the thing was a little smaller...if we bring it i want to be darn sure we will use it otherwise it will be a major inconvenience (we drive a Grand Cherokee so it will take up most of the floor below one of the kids.

Emerald Bay and Seascape are the only places in Destin proper where you can get a round for much less than $100 without twilight/discounts/etc. That said, go on golfnow.com and you should be able to play basically anywhere for <$100 if you play later in the day (it will be hot as balls, though).

For a real bargain on golf, you're gonna have to drive a ways. Even the lower tiered places in Destin are pretty overpriced during tourist season, IMO.

Depending on where you are staying, there are places relatively close to play on the cheap. Niceville (just across the mid-bay bridge north of Destin) has Bluewater Bay CC. It's decent but very short and tight, so not the type of course I enjoy (you could basically leave your driver at home). Eglin AFB has two courses in Niceville that are open to the public. I think these are pretty cool because they are different from most area courses since they have a good bit of elevation as opposed to the basically flat courses nearer to the water. Falcon is my favorite, but Eagle is the easier of the two. Rocky Bayou CC is a nice little drag too, and open to the public.

I always tell people the absolute best bargain in the area is Blackstone in Mossy Head (about 45 min north of Destin). You can play for like $30 with a cart, and it is a really good, fun layout. Almost never crowded.

To the west, Fort Walton has two 18 hole courses at the muni. They're both pretty easy courses (good confidence boosters), and I'm always amazed by how decent they're able to keep it with all the duffer traffic that they get. Shalimar Pointe has a really cool layout, but the new ownership has let the course go way, way downhill. Wouldn't recommend it unless you get a great deal and are really just looking to play cheap.

Further west nearing Pensacola, you have Hidden Creek and Tiger Point in Navarre/Gulf Breeze area, and they're both decent but I wouldn't drive this far unless you just got a screamin' hot deal.

If you really didn't mind driving and just wanted the best golf for the money, you could go 1.5 hrs west to Mobile and play Magnolia Grove on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Outstanding course and can be played for <$50 later in the day.

Ate at Fudpuckers and it was a pretty neat experience they way they have it all set up to entertain you while you wait. Food was great as well.

I will concur that the 30A Beach Blonde is some good stuff.

I brought my Yeti that is the same size and we used it everyday for a family of 4. It is bulky and heavy once it is loaded up but I didn't have to go back and forth for anything we needed. Was nice to have drinks and snacks for everyone in there and just stay on the beach.

Ogre09 said:

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Eat the grilled oysters at Acme Oyster, softshell crab pobiy was good too
Rent jet skis or pontoon boat from Luther's Pontoons, ride around the bay and check out Crab Island
Southern Star dolphin cruise
Baytowne Wharf with kids
30A Beach Blond beer is tasty

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Wife is wanting to do the dolphin cruise with the kids. Glad to hear it is recommended!

bigboykin said:

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Emerald Bay and Seascape are the only places in Destin proper where you can get a round for much less than $100 without twilight/discounts/etc. That said, go on golfnow.com and you should be able to play basically anywhere for <$100 if you play later in the day (it will be hot as balls, though).

For a real bargain on golf, you're gonna have to drive a ways. Even the lower tiered places in Destin are pretty overpriced during tourist season, IMO.

Depending on where you are staying, there are places relatively close to play on the cheap. Niceville (just across the mid-bay bridge north of Destin) has Bluewater Bay CC. It's decent but very short and tight, so not the type of course I enjoy (you could basically leave your driver at home). Eglin AFB has two courses in Niceville that are open to the public. I think these are pretty cool because they are different from most area courses since they have a good bit of elevation as opposed to the basically flat courses nearer to the water. Falcon is my favorite, but Eagle is the easier of the two. Rocky Bayou CC is a nice little drag too, and open to the public.

I always tell people the absolute best bargain in the area is Blackstone in Mossy Head (about 45 min north of Destin). You can play for like $30 with a cart, and it is a really good, fun layout. Almost never crowded.

To the west, Fort Walton has two 18 hole courses at the muni. They're both pretty easy courses (good confidence boosters), and I'm always amazed by how decent they're able to keep it with all the duffer traffic that they get. Shalimar Pointe has a really cool layout, but the new ownership has let the course go way, way downhill. Wouldn't recommend it unless you get a great deal and are really just looking to play cheap.

Further west nearing Pensacola, you have Hidden Creek and Tiger Point in Navarre/Gulf Breeze area, and they're both decent but I wouldn't drive this far unless you just got a screamin' hot deal.

If you really didn't mind driving and just wanted the best golf for the money, you could go 1.5 hrs west to Mobile and play Magnolia Grove on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Outstanding course and can be played for <$50 later in the day.

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UPDATE: I played the Eagle course at Eglin Saturday, and apparently they are no longer open to the public. You need at least one person in your group with military ID or contractor badge/CAC card. Supposedly, the other nearby courses pitched a fit about them taking too much of their business.

Course was in good shape overall though. Greens a little slow, but rolling pretty pure. Fairways really soft but nicely groomed. The rough was terrible though. They've had a lot of rain, so maybe they just haven't kept up with mowing, but you could lose a ball a few feet off the fairway on many holes.

We leave 3AM this coming Wednesday. Kids are getting really excited and I have to say I am too. First vacation in a long time.

I got my hair cut today and the guy that does it said the water isn't as nice as it use to be since the recent hurricane. Is there much truth? Also claimed it has been raining a lot lately. Feel like he was Debbie downer a little...

A few things we have planned so far: golf on Friday AM, offshore fishing Saturday AM, and then dolphin/sea shell adventure on Monday.

planoaggie123 said:

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We leave 3AM this coming Wednesday. Kids are getting really excited and I have to say I am too. First vacation in a long time.

I got my hair cut today and the guy that does it said the water isn't as nice as it use to be since the recent hurricane. Is there much truth? Also claimed it has been raining a lot lately. Feel like he was Debbie downer a little...

A few things we have planned so far: golf on Friday AM, offshore fishing Saturday AM, and then dolphin/sea shell adventure on Monday.

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.....bolded = garbage. Guy must have been jealous and trying to jerk your chain. We were in Destin for 2 weeks around July 4th and the water was as beautiful as it has ever been. They have had a rainy stretch since, but there's been no gulf storm of any significance. If the water is anything other than beautiful it will NOT be because of any recent hurricane.

Good to hear! I felt like he was trying to rain on my parade.

We are loading the car when i get home from work, bed around 8:30PM and then depart around 3AM...can't wait!

Yeah, I was there last week. The hurricane thimg is laughable on a number of levels. Saltgrass is right, they have gotten a ton of rain, so on the outgoing tide it is especially murked up, but on the incoming tide, it's as beautiful and crystal clear as ever.

Can I ask who you're fishing with Sat? We fished last Tues. and had a great day. We caught a gang of mingo, a really nice scamp, and limited out on triggerfish and amberjack. Brought back a freezer load to last us a while.

planoaggie123 said:

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Good to hear! I felt like he was trying to rain on my parade.

We are loading the car when i get home from work, bed around 8:30PM and then depart around 3AM...can't wait!

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One little friendly suggestion for you Plano - Great Southern Cafe in Seaside for dinner one evening.

It's about a 45 minute drive from "downtown" Destin during the middle of the summer, and even then, IMHO, worth every minute of it. You should be behind the worst of the crowds (and traffic) now, so it probably won't take quite that long.

GSC