Destin, FL
Vacation here I come! If you are looking for a great vacation spot for you, your friends, or your fam- then Destin is the place for you. For those of you not familiar, Destin is located on the gulf side of Florida. Depending on where you are traveling from it could mean several hours in the car, like us, so be sure to pack snacks! Once you arrive in Destin be sure to watch out for people, pedestrians, and construction. Sadly when we went there was so much construction going on to expand the roads it was a bit chaotic, however don't let it stop you. Like many of you, we opted for an Airbnb for our extended weekend and had such a fantastic time. For those of you who have never used Airbnb, I would highly recommend that you look into it. Airbnb offers cheaper and at times nicer accommodations when compared to standard hotels. If you have the hookup elsewhere or just prefer a hotel- go for it! The choice is yours.
Now let's get down to the dets. Destin has so much to offer from food to live music, to drinks to beaches. There is a little bit of everything in this town to appease almost anyone out there. If you love to shop well you are also in luck due to there are department stores all over the place. If you need fishing gear, its there. If you want to go grocery shopping, you get the point. In addition to shopping, the restaurants there are abundant. Now I will say that if you are a tourist like I was, then be warned about the restaurants right off the beach. (Disclaimer: not all restaurants by the beach fall into this category)
Have you ever heard of the expression, tourist traps? Well they are hidden all throughout Destin much like any vacation destination spot. For example, one night we all went out to this seafood place that sounded amazing (yes, it was prime dinner time). As we pulled up we saw the line of people crowding the entrance but were still determined. Once we were able to speak to the hostess we were advised it would be a two hour wait. Two hours! Holy crap that was crazy. A bit discouraged and hungry we decided to still go for it and put our names down.
**Side note**- if you ever get a wait time like that, go grocery shopping while you wait! That's what our crew did and we had enough time to go shopping, drop food off, and still make it back in time to wait some more.
Needless to say for the amount of time you wait for a table and the quality of the food, you could just go elsewhere. The food was alright and overpriced for what you got. This is a place I would consider as a tourist trap. So head my warning! On the other hand, there are some not-so-hidden gems near the beach as well. The two restaurants that we loved were: Pompano Joe's Seafood House and the Bonefish Grill. Each place had great service, bomb food, and the environment was lovely. If those qualities are something you are looking for in going out to eat, then by all means go for it! Alright now that I've gone over the food and shopping let's talk about the most important thing: THE BEACH!
The beach was better than I had expected. Growing up on the East Coast in the US, I was expecting crowded beaches and murky waters. Well this beach had nothing of the sort. Yes there were still the people, but the white sand and clear blue water made it so worth it! If you have a GroPro or anything to that effect I would recommend you take it out there into the water. There are so many fish to see and you could catch some awesome footage. I would highly recommend this beach to anyone. Especially those interested in relaxing and having fun with friends or family.
P.S.- If you are looking for a place to go out (for partying) you should hit up the Coyote Ugly Saloon. We had a blast there and danced the night away!