Needing Beach Therapy - how is the Florida Emerald Coast?
 

This has been a rotten week and it has me yearning to sit on the beach in the sunshine - although I can't go until April or May. How does the Destin / Ft. Walton beach area look these days?

Can you recommend a good beachfront condo or motel w/ kitchenette?

Where do you like to eat? Snorkle? Play on the beach with kids?

What airport do you fly into?

Thank you.

Or would Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Hollywood Beach or Siesta Key be better?

How is water temperature?

I am from this area and right now the weather isn't exactly ideal, but April and May are a prime time. Destin is as beautiful as ever but getting more and more crowded every day.
I would actually suggest the beaches of South Walton County (Grayton Beach, Seaside, Seagrove, Rosemary Beach)which are situated midway between Destin and Panama City. (It is only about a 20 minute scenic drive to either of these two cities.) South Walton's beaches are not quite as touristy and have miles of beaches with many public accesses. There are many houses for rent as well as condos.
My suggestion would be to contact one of two best rental agencies in the area for availabilities. They are "Beach Rentals Of South Walton" and "Rivard Reality". Both have websites you can explore.
There is an airport in Panama City and one in the Ft. Walton Beach area.
It will be a choice you will not regret! Good luck!

I second the Beaches of South Walton for beautiful uncrowded beaches.

http://beachesofsouthwalton.com/

This website should get you started.

Does anyone know if the beaches of south walton are looking good or if they were affected by the hurricanes/still in bad shape?

We used Beach Rentals of South Walton by the way - had a good experience.

I was there (Blue Mountain Beach) last weekend. Blue Mountain beach has a lot of heavy equipment on it. The home owners along the gulf front are having retaining walls erected along their property line and sand brought in to fill in both behind and in front of the wall. There is a very long drop off from the homes to the beach. Some of the houses lost their entire yard right up to the back door! When I were there last fall, the work had just started so they appear to be making good progress and it looks like the work should be completed soon.

Seaside and Watercolor were in good shape. I also checked out Watersound, which appeared to be totally unscathed. If you have any misgivings, ask your rental agent very specific questions or have them e-mail you a CURRENT photo. You might also want to inquire about access to the beach. I noticed that in Blue Mountain some of the condos did not yet have stairs built. I can't imagine that not being completed by summer but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Overall I saw nothing to cause any concern about the condition of the beaches on 30A. Go. Have fun!