My husband and I live in Atlanta and decided to head down to the Destin area for a last minute Memorial Weekend trip. Being from MN it was a real treat to have the ocean within driving distance!

We rented a condo through VRBO and chose the Scenic Gulf Drive area. This was great and was the perfect location for us. It's the area between Destin and Sandestin and is basically a two lane road that separates most condos from the beach. Each day we had an easy walk across the street to the beach. We drove through Destin itself and found it to be crowded with lots of high rises. The portion we were in felt a little smaller and we loved the bike path that went all along the road. Plus we could walk to restaurants such as Captain Dave's, the Crab Trap and Pompano Joe's which was nice.

The beaches were just gorgeous and there were quite a few waves. We had a great time boogie boarding and just relaxing.

We mostly ate in the condo. One night we ate at Pompano Joe's - great table right on the balcony overlooking the ocean. This was a fun place. My food was decent, my husband's was very good and the atmosphere was excellent. The other night we just wanted something quick and ate at a place called Kenny D's. Decent fare for what we wanted, but I imagine there are much better options.

All in all we had a great time. We plan to go back in the future for an entire week to do a dolphin cruise and check out Seaside. We have a little one on the way this October and it seemed like a great yearly family vacation destination.

Thanks for the report. I have never been to the Destin area, but we have
a one year old and I am interested in taking a trip in the future. How far in advance did you rent the condo?

We have a little one and just got back from Rosemary Beach Fl. It is past Seaside. Great great place for families. Rented through vrbo. Your rental depends when you want to go-- busy/high season-- rent way in advance. Otherwise, you can wait. Seaside is also great. So is grayton. And Santa Rosa. Destin has gotten SOOOO commercial.

My family is headed to Destin for the first time in August. We also rented through VRBO but are staying in the mid-Destin area. As newcomers to Destin we really didn't know where to stay, and we have teenagers so we thought being centrally located would be better for the first time. But after researching more, I wish we had chosen the Scenic 98, Crystal Beach area. Maybe for the next trip. Glad to hear you thought it was nice. We are really looking forward to our trip.

We rented our condo 5 days in advance - it was a last minute trip. But we had very limited selection given that it was Memorial Weekend and we brought our dog as well! In the future we hope to book something several months ahead of time to get an ideal unit.

Sherrie - I think that with teenage boys you'll be happy in the mid-Destin area. There is more 'action' there and they will probably appreciate that. You will have a great time.