First Trip to Destin, please help!!
 

My daughter and I are planning a trip to Destin and we are planning to stay at Destin Gulfgate. Has anyone stayed there? If so, what's it like? Any tips (sights/restaurants) also appreciated. Thanks!

will you have a car?

Sorry for lack of info. yes we have a car. we are driving from ohio and planning to stay for a week.

I've never stayed there, but I have stayed at Sterling Shores, which is on the same stretch of beach. We walked past it many times -- appeared to be a typical beachfront condo.

How old is your daughter? My teen DD and her friends loved Fuddpucker's (teen dance there on Saturday nights). There's also very good shopping - a rather upscale outlet mall, and the stores at Sandestin.

Destin is lovely, if a bit "busy," but I expect you know that already. Enjoy!

She is 20. Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure who she is taking with her yet, but we will definetely try Fudpuckers.

She might be a little old for the Fuddpuckers crowd. There's much more to do at Sandestin Village -- you don't have to stay there to enjoy the restaurants and shopping. Nice atmosphere; fun to just walk around. Rum Runners has a dueling piano players bar (I *think* she can get in if you accompany her.) Hammerhead's is nice, and I think Graffiti's is good too (we had appetizers and drinks and listened to a band there 1 night.)

www.sandestin.com

We found this online link to the Destin Beachcomber newspaper very helpful to our trip in 2006:

http://www.thebeachcomber.org/index.html

Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate them!

Have either of you ever eaten at the Back Porch? It's near our condo (and also Sterling Shores) and it gets a lot of mixed reviews, mostly bad. It is very close and tempting to try but can all those bad reviews really be wrong?

Have not been to the Back Porch in years -- but we like Pompano's Joe's..right on the beach with the windows open if the weather is good. There is better food elsewhere but the view can't be beat. We also like Dewey Destin's down on the bay - looks like a dive but the fried shrimp is the best - you eat out on the pier...Your daughter might like the Red Bar - the t-shirts are highly prized by the local college crowd...and the restaurant there, Picolo's, is always good. These are both out old Hwy 98 in Grayton Beach - a great drive.

ausc59-Thanks for the info. I will look these up online! and aliska thanks for the link, I added it to my favorites.

Destin Gulfgate is good because the beachfront is less crowded than at most condo properties. This is because it has more beachfront than most properties of its size. You can go online to choose your unit. The pool is not anything special but my kids value the beach because they have a pool at home. There is plenty else to do in Destin. You can outlet shop. We do this on a rainy day if there is one when we are there. The management is very nice. You cannot beat the price and the view.

We took a family vacation in 2006 to the Destin area. We stayed at Majestic Sun in Miramar Beach. We did snorkeling, which was a lot of fun and saw manatees in the wild. The outlet mall (Silver Springs??) was good. We also did a drive via Hwy 98 & Rt. 30A along the Gulf of Mexico that was loads of fun. The town of Seagrove is a planned community (featured in a Jim Carrey movie) and very pretty to visit, as well as a state park with a secluded beach.

Here is a link to restaurants in Destin - http://www.destindirect.com/dining-fine.htm We had a special occasion while we were there and a fabulous meal at Cafe Provence. We also had a great meal at Pandora's. We also had a great low key dinner at a seafood shack right on the water in "downtown" Destin, but the name escapes me. Plenty for you to do there for a week!