This was our first trip taking the kids to the beach and I’m so happy we did! It was seriously the best trip ever, and now I know why so many family’s choose to go to the panhandle! 

Our first trip to Florida was when Lawsynn was 6 months old! She’s 7 now.. so it’s been a LONGGGG time! We usually would make a trip to Tampa because my family is down there and I grew up always going to Tampa! I still love Tampa but Destin’s water and soft white sand can’t really compare. The water was crystal clear!! I felt like we were in the Caribbean! 

I’ve never stayed in Destin before! We planned everything before we got there. We googled best restaurants and fun things to do with the kids while we were there! 

We tried to keep cost down by only going out to eat 3 times and the rest of the meals being at the condo. We planned our dinners, lunches, and breakfast out so it would make going to the grocery stuff much easier! I’ll share our “schedule” at the end! 

Where We Stayed:///

We stayed on Miramar Beach in and Airbnb that was apart of Hidden Dunes! It was gorgeous! They had little cottages close to the water or an ocean front condominium. The pool was definitely the kids favorite! We spent most days hopping from the ocean to the pool! Here’s the link to the Airbnb.

We also used the condos umbrella and beach chair services. It was pricey but in the long run it really helped not having to lug chairs and an umbrella around. 

The condo we stayed in was 2 bedrooms 2 baths. It sleeps 8 with a fold out couch in the living room. It was plenty big enough for us! When we were searching for a place to rent our number one must have was an ocean front view and this one has an amazing view! 

Day One:///

We had a 12 hour car ride to Destin! It was also Holden’s 5th birthday! We left around 3 am. Which we’ve never left in the middle of the night before. At first I wasn’t sure if it was gonna work out good for the kids but eventually they did go back to sleep and slept for a while. We arrived in Destin around 5 pm! As soon as we got there we unloaded the car, changed the kids into their swimsuits, and went to the beach to show them the ocean! Idk why I’m such a sentimental person but seeing you children light up when they see the ocean for the first time was a core memory for sure. 

We did a quick and easy drive through dinner this night because Matt wasn’t gonna go to the grocery store until the next morning. We also had our grocery list already made out so shopping would be easier.

Day Two:///

Matt woke up around 6 and got ready to get the grocery store done. This was also our beach/pool day! We rented our chairs and umbrella and played a LONGGG time in the water! 

We were officially celebrating Holden’s birthday on this day since he spent all day in the car on his real birthday. I woke up early and decorated with balloons and a birthday banner to get him excited! We had planned on ordering pizza for dinner because Holden LOVESSSS pizza! We ordered Fat Clemenza’s and it was DELICIOUS! We got a pepperoni and a margarita pizza! After pizza we did presents and ice cream that Matt bought from the store! The kids were very tired! Holden had fallen asleep before the pizza came and it was hard waking him up to celebrate his birthday haha! Once we got him up,fed, and presents opened we went for walk on the beach. The one thing I wish Miramar had was more sea shells. It seemed so hard to find sea shells. Most of the shells were the side of my finger nail. We did find a could good size ones though. 

Day Three:///

This was our boat day! We booked snorkeling and dolphin watching with the Cattywampus! We did the morning time slot (9:30 am) to hopefully help with the sun and heat. This was probably my favorite day in Destin because it was just so much fun snorkeling and searching for shells and dolphins! The water was seriously gorgeous!! So clear and blue! They even did a water gun fight with the kids on board, which my kids loved! I didn’t find any shells to bring home but we did find a ton of hermit crabs! 

After we were done with the boat we planned go to Fudpuckers. Fudpuckers was listed on many travel sights to go see and I see why. The kids loved the playground, the alligators everywhere, and you get to feed the alligators. We also payed for them to hold an alligator! I also loved that they have mocktails since Matt and I don’t drink. After we got back to the condo we went back down to the beach in search for more shells! Our plan originally was to make dinner at the condo but since lunch was later, none of us were hungry so we just snacked around bed time!

Day Four:///

Day three was our anniversary day!! Nine years of marriage!! Lawsynn and I took a morning walk down the beach, Matt made bacon and eggs (which we brought from home from our chickens), and then headed to the beach and pool! We did another chair and umbrella rental. We didn’t stay all day at the beach because we had planned to go out for dinner for our Anniversary! We did dinner at the Back Porch! It was such an amazing atmosphere and so yummy! We got there around 4:30ish because we didn’t want to wait long. We waited maybe 15 minutes. The whole atmosphere of this restaurant was definitely my favorite! The windows were all open, you can hear the ocean, we watched someone surf, and kids flying kites! The food phenomenal! After dinner we wanted to see Destin Boardwalk. It was fun, definitely busy, and very touristy! We got the kids airbrush paint shirts, did most of the fun attractions like jumping on trampolines and Holden got inside this huge ball that rolls around in water! Reminded me of a hamster. They also got air brush tattoos and we shopped around! The boardwalk had gorgeous views  with all the boats! 

Day Five:///

Another beach and pool day!! We had easy breakfast in the morning, I made chicken salad ahead of time for lunch with croissants! Both kids made besties with new friends at the pool! There was also double red flags so we spent most of the time in the pool because the ocean was pretty rough! The kids didn’t care though, they loved playing with their new friends and being in the pool. We were hoping to do a night swim that night but it started to storm pretty bad and there were tornado warnings. We stayed in for dinner also! Matt made spaghetti for dinner!!!

Day Six:///

Our last day! Matt made lunch ahead of time, Italian pin wheels and boat dip! It stormed pretty bad that morning so we had to wait it out till we could do something! We planned to also have dinner at the condos( fajitas) . After lunch we head to Village of Baytowne Wharf which was AMAZING! I loved it more than Destin Boardwalk. The shops are all so colorful, so many things for kids to do, tons of restaurants, and a huge playground! We spent a majority of our day there! The kids did zip lines, trampoline, Holden did a rope obstacle course, and Law got some fun colorful braids! When we got back to the condo Matt and I hurried and got dinner done but we weren’t hungry because we snacked so much on boat dipped. We were also scared it was getting too late to enjoy the beach so we hurried and fed the kids and went to the beach. We walked, played, and eventually ended up in the pool for a night swim! Around 8:30 we decided to do a crab hunt on the beach! Holden didn’t want to do it so he stayed in the condo with my mother in law while we took Lawsynn to find crabs! 

The new morning we load up and left by 9! Our drive back ended up taking about 14 hours because of traffic and having to stop so much but the kids did amazing! They had a lot to do in the car which helped! 
Here’s the schedule I made to help keep our days some what organized with activities and food!