Destin, Florida Insider Insights

Tom and I both arrived in the Destin FL area in the 80s, thanks to Air Force assignments to Eglin AFB. Back in the day, Destin was truly a sleepy little fishing town but today, it's grown into a small but well-organized resort area laced with sugar-white beaches that stretch along turquoise Gulf waters. It is truly a beautiful place that inspires.

Summer is high season for our beach areas since the kids are out of school and folks seem to think it's prime beach season. We, however, truly believe that April / May and October / November are the very best times to visit the Emerald Coast. It during this off season time that, we do love walking the beach coastline and enjoy many of the Destin amenities.

We live 15 minutes away from Destin / Miramar Beach -- just a hop over the Mid-Bay toll bridge ($7 round trip if you use Sunpass or $8 without Sunpass) along Florida State Road 293 from Bluewater Bay that is southeast of Niceville, FL. Niceville / Bluewater Bay is worth coming over to for a visit especially if you think you want to vacation in the area year round. It's where many who after years of enjoying the area during vacation, decide to live once they make the move to the area. The schools are strong, housing nice (but not resorty) and the traffic less crazy during the summers. In the off season, paradise is just over the bridge, the beach is clear and traffic is non-existant.

We thought we might share some of the insider things we've discovered along the way with activities you may want to consider doing while in the area. We discover some of these things on our own but also try new things when we have guests in town.

We love hearing from locals when we travel to other locations so hopefully you'll find this information helpful if you're planning to come to our Destin area.