Just like everyone after a year of no travel, we were ready to hit the road 🚗 and go on vacay! We decided to do a family vacation in Destin!! We had an awesome time full of great family memories. Here are our experiences and my beach time must have’s!
We ended up staying in the Miramar Beach area but all of our outings were on the Destin side of the island. Next time, we will prob stay on that side due to the cray traffic to get anywhere in the area. We decided to leave a day early and hit up NOLA for the night (8 hours from Dallas to NOLA and 4 more to Destin). We stayed at a Homewood Suites on the outer French Quarter and it was great. We got a suite with an extra room for a pull out bed so everyone had room to sleep. We hit up our FAVE Po’ Boy spot The Parkway Bakery and Tavern and had surf n’ turf Po’ Boys that were INSANE 🔥. We popped around The French Quarter so the kids could see (during the daytime of course) the culture of New Orleans. It was VERY HOT but cool for them to experience it! 🎉
The next day we hit the Ruby Slipper Cafe for brunch and it was divine! We went to the location right outside the French Quarter and were sat immediately! The food was delish! All different types of cocktails 🍹 , a fab Bloody Mary, fried french toast bites, and a variety of eggs 🥚 Benedict’s!! ❤️
After brunch, it was time to hit the road again straight to the beach 🏖!!! We rented a house about a 5 minute walk from the beach and while it was clean and close to the water there were zero amenities. If you are traveling to a beach rental ask these things ahead:
- Is it stocked with home essentials like trash bags, toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap?
- Do they provide oil, salt and pepper for cooking?
- Is there a golf cart?
- Is there propane for the grill?
- What shape are the pool toys in (floats, boogie boards, umbrellas)?
- Do they provide beach towels?
If they do not provide these things some quick tips:
- On your trip grab as many fast food condiments and napkins as you can so you don’t have to buy big ones to throw away at the end of your trip.
- Go to the dollar store and grab some home essentials before the trip (dish soap, paper towels etc.)
- Amazon some cheap pool floats and beach towels and blow them up on arrival.
Some items I wish I would have brought instead of buying there (sooo much more expensive at the shops in Destin/Miramar). LINKS/PICS FOUND BELOW:
- A sand proof towel
- A lot of extra sunscreen and chapstick
- A cooler bag or backpack
- Pool Floats
- Kids & Adult rash guards
- A shell bag and net
- A large neoprene tote (sand wipes off)
- Card games
Some must do experiences w/ Links:
- Fishing trip with Captain Josh Destin Shore Guides
- Snorkeling with Destin Snorkel
- Tiki Cruise Cruisin Tikis Destin
- VIP Gator Experience Gator Beach
The kids really enjoyed the snorkeling and VIP Gator 🐊 Show! I really enjoyed relaxing on the beach and enjoying the perfect temperature crystal blue waters. I put a link for my fave Buddha Girl Bracelets at the bottom of the blog. These are water proof and look too cute on the beach 🏖 and out to din! My husband and FIL took the kids on a fishing excursion and caught a TON of fish 🎣. According to Captain 👨✈️ Josh, this def is not the norm but was exciting for our group!!! They cleaned the fish 🐠 all up for us and I ran to Winn Dixie and got seasoning so we could grill it up! Nothing like eating fresh fish right out of the water!!!! ❤️
Food choices in the Destin/Miramar areas are plentiful … but waits can be long and travel “traffic-ey”. We figured out some good options since most restaurants do not take reservations. Our best foodie experiences in the area with Links & Pics Below:
- Boshamps for lunch right when they open at 11 am. The wait had started even before the doors open but we were sat within 5 minutes! Service and food both stellar!
- Lost Pizza Co. for lunch there was no wait and the pizza 🍕 was really good! Service was quick & friendly!
- Five Guys Burgers for lunch or dinner. The service at this location in Miramar was unbelievable!! They were soooo fast and the burgers 🍔 were very good!
- Louis Louis Miramar area. This one was a shot in the dark for us and did not disappoint. They quoted us a 50 minute wait and we were sat in 15. The food was really tasty and my crab cakes were alllll crab 🦀
- Tommy Bahama restaurant Miramar. The hubby and I needed a kid break so we had a mini date night here. The food and service were both good. They also take reservations!!!
- Pazzo Italian Destin they take reservations! The food was pretty good and had good choices for the kids.
So to finish up, our trip was great! This was our first time doing the beach house thing and we learned a lot for next time (yes we are already planning next year). The water is beautiful and the sand is bright white. I would def rent a pontoon boat 🛶 and/or a paddle board for the kids. I would also definitely get the chair & umbrella service for the week and not drag a bunch of crap with me to the beach every time (lesson learned). And if we do another Tiki Cruise, we will plan on going in the morning to miss the yucky change of tide water and higher afternoon chances of rain 🌧. Now back to Big D, only 12 hours to go! 😂
AMAZON LINKS/PICS BELOW: Sand Cloud Towel Large Sand Proof Blanket Waterproof Phone Holder w/ Lanyard Teva sandals Cooler Backpack Travel Toiletry Bag Sun Bum Sunscreen Kit Fun Pool Floats Sun Bum Hair Mask. Tan Luxe Drops Card Game Kit Billabong Rash Guard Kids Rash Guard Elta Body Sunscreen Buddha Girl Bracelets Sea Shell Mesh Bag Sea Shell Net Neoprene Tote.
Style Tribe Writer 