I have heard a lot about Destin, FL and read about it on the internet. I've decided I would love to go there with my kids this summer, but I'm not sure where to stay and I have a limited budget. I was wondering if any other moms go there and have found a great inexpensive place to stay. I will probably need to book something within the next month or two. I'll have 4 kids with me, 18, 17, 16 and 7...so a family friendly spot. We aren't as concerned with luxurious accomodations as we are with price. We plan on spending a lot of time on the beach and out and about anyway. Also, if you know of great places to visit while you are in Destin, Florida, please let me know. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Destin is so much fun...A really fun thing to do is going on the Dinner Cruise, Its a night of eating, dancing, and its just really fun...Kids are welcome and they have a blast too.
My family goes to Destin every year in April normally.
We get a bunch of us together from Ga, Nc, Al, and Tx to all agree on a time frame and we split the cost according to how many rooms we are using...
We normally find a beach house that will hold everyone, cook at the house instead of eating out and so forth. It turns out to be a lot cheaper than renting a number of rooms at a hotel. The house is much more comfortable and it makes for a much more relaxing time.
I dont know if this helps you or not - or whether you have the chance to have others share in the fun and enjoyment of hte vacation while helping to ease the price if things.
I hope you find what you are looking for and have a wonderful time.
We go every year. Check out Dale E Peterson vacation rentals. They have some as little as 8o bucks a night.
We stayed at Fort Walton Beach last year. It's just across the bridge from Destin. Our kids had a blast (nieces came also, they are 9 &11)!!! We stayed in a condo that worked wonderfully. They are not luxurious, but clean and VERY family friendly (kids from babies up to college aged with their families). We met so many nice people there. We weren't so sure about it when we first got there (SIL made reservations), but it was so much fun we made reservations for this year before we left!!! The great part about a condo is you can fix your meals there and save money by not going out for every meal. They also have a bbq pit out behind the pool which was great. In the evenings everyone hung out by the bbq and talked while their meals cooked.
Now we went in August when it was the off season to get the better rate. I don't know if that's an option for you, but we saved a pretty good amount of $$ that way!!
Here's their web site http://www.venuscondos.com/index.htm
I don't know about beach houses, etc. We were there in August 07 and we stayed at the Hilton Sandestin which was a LOT of fun. We had our daughter 12 at the time and her best friend 12. Things around the beach there were a bit pricey but it was very nice and classy.
When we left the gated property, we saw a lot of places advertising for rent, not sure how much. The girls loved the activities off site as well, especially the shopping.
We flew on a straight shot from DFW to Ft Lauderdale which was about 1 1/2 hrs.
Have fun. The beach is beautiful!!
Susan
T.,
The most economical way would be to go to www.vrbo.com and seach for condos. Sandestin is a little east of Destin and really centered on family fun. We specifically like Sandpiper village in Sandestin. I have been there at least 35 times. PM if you have any specific questions.
We have three kids ages 5-9 and loved our stay in Destin. We stayed at the Majestic Sun. Our conda wasnt on the beach but was across a two lane street. My husband got up in the morning to set up our chairs and umbrellas and we were able to see our things from our balcony and just set up daily. Our conda slept 6 and was $900 for 7 nights. It had a master bedroom bunkbeds built in the hallway and a pull out sleeper sofa, 2 bathrooms, full size kitchen, and washer and dryer. I noticed the website we booked through was considerably cheaper then others so I would suggest using Destindays.com. Also there was an indoor and outdoor pool. Have a great trip Destin is a beautiful beach!
Hi, Destin is so0 gorgeous. So you are picking the right vacation spot. This past june we went there. We drove there. I had a 7 month old at the time. Good thing she slept most of the way :]. We are a very younge family, im only 20, so we stayed at the Ramada Inn. We didnt think it was going to be as great as it was. We just wanted somewhere to sleep. Well It tunred out Beuutiful. Its nice and has a water jungle gym area for the kids to run threw, a tiki bar right off the beach. O ya its right on the beach so you can walk out side and be on the gorgeous white sand. Also its exclusive so the beach front is only for the ppl staying in hotel. Plus in the center of the hotel is a huge cave like swimming pool plus food places to eat and a huge kids pool and kiddie pool. Everything is right by there too, like resturants and such. Good luck and i promise you will have a fabulous time!
F.
