I would appreciate as much information on these resorts as possible please - what climate can we expect in December/January?

Destin and Seaside are towns in the Panhandle area of northern Florida. Destin is a town with a harbor and fishing fleet encompassing a large geographic area, with many different resorts, from large communities to small gulfsdie townhouse communities to houses. Seaside is a planned community in the area, situated on Highway 30-A, with mostly architect-designed, privately owned houses that can be rented through the Seaside Realty Company and probably other agencies and owners as well. It is much smaller, and cars are not allowed on its streets except those of owners and guests. It is quite a bit more expensive to rent a property in Seaside than in the surrounding areas.

I have never been there in December/January, but suspect it is too cool for the beach, and maybe even for heated outdoor pools.

We used to spend a lot of time in Destin but haven't been there in several years. Neither Destin nor Seaside would be a good destination for December/January. I suspect both places would be more or less deserted...they'd be cold!

Sarah - We spent New Year's Eve about 1 mile from Seaside. The weather, for the most part, was mild. Not swimming weather, exactly, but we did ride bikes in and around Seaside and walk on the beach several times without having to bundle up.

This area also attracts retired Canadians and those from cold northern U.S. states in the winter (called "snowbirds" locally). They appear to enjoy it.

Marilyn's summary comparison of Destin versus Seaside is excellent. I have noticed more and more European visitors (or maybe they're bilingual Americans!) on the beaches where we go every year (Seagrove Beach). Seagrove, and other communities along Highway 30-A, have lots of privately owned condominiums for rent as well as a variety of restaurants. Check out www.beachesofsouthwalton.com website or e-mail for more info. -- Steve

We were at Destin the week after Christmas and it was pretty cold. Too cold to swim outdoors anyway. There were alot of Snowbirds there from Canada and they didn't seem to mind the cold as much, I guess it was warm to them. We live in Tennessee and I don't think the winter temperature is much different in Destin than it is here.
If we do a winter trip to Florida again, it will definitely be farther south.

I have lived in the Florida panhandle for over 20 years. Seaside and Destin won't be deserted in Jan or Dec. but will be much quieter. We have many northern visitors that return yearly from Nov to April. Our weather in Dec. and Jan. can vary greatly. It may be in the high 70's one week and in the 50's the next week. Our northern visitors seem to think the weather is fine for sunning, golf, biking, but not usually swimming.Our climate IS much warmer than Tennessee. This past year, we had less than 5 nights of hard freeze on the coast, and that is typical. Even when the weather dips to the 30's at night, which is rare along the coast, it will be sunny and in the 50's the very next day. Also, we don't get much rain in the winter months.

I agree with everything the above entry listed. I live on the Panhandle and the weather is beautiful all winter. It may be too cool for swimming/tanning, but many other outdoor activities are great. I lived in Southern TN for 29 years and there is NO comparison at all between TN and the FLA Panhandle any time of year, especially the winter time.