Destin Trip

[Banded Drake Calls]

I know there's been a few threads on the area, but I wanted one of my own to reference the info from.

I'm taking my family to Santa Rosa area in a couple of weeks. We've never been to the area and are trying to plan out some activities for the kiddos besides the beach.

I know for sure I want to find a fishing trip to take the kids on my 2 oldest boys, 10 and 7, love to fish. How do the charter boats work? Schedule in advance or day of? Wheres the best place to go out of. Not sure I want to spend the $600 plus for us to go out, but I do want to give them a good experience.

What other places are a must to see/do?

Good places to eat?

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[panhandlehunter]

When I was down there, I just went to the marina in destin and they had a ride sharing thing where you could split a charter. The fishing there wasn’t that great, so I wouldn’t spend a ton, maybe do a party boat offshore.

[catslayer]

Ok been there several times, love the beach there... Food is exspensive and overall just ehh... You will have better meals bringing in good stuff and cooking. Cafe 30a is ok.... If V is open it's probably best but $$$$... The fish place in seaside with grouper sandwich is ok.

I would bring in steak and fish it would be cheaper and better. Buy it at Sam's or something if you are driving and save even more

Fishing wise,call Patrick, tell him what you got and take his suggestion. Good guy, an Aggie, and a heck of a guide

https://slowandlowcoastal.com/

[Banded Drake Calls]

Ok been there several times, love the beach there... Food is exspensive and overall just ehh... You will have better meals bringing in good stuff and cooking. Cafe 30a is ok.... If V is open it's probably best but $$$$... The fish place in seaside with grouper sandwich is ok.

I would bring in steak and fish it would be cheaper and better. Buy it at Sam's or something if you are driving and save even more

Fishing wise,call Patrick, tell him what you got and take his suggestion. Good guy, an Aggie, and a heck of a guide

https://slowandlowcoastal.com/

Thanks for the info. We're taking the camper so we'll definitely be bringing some food

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[BDann]

You can catch a ton of fish off the beach, and the kids would love it. Small Kastmaster spoons work great on the ladyfish and Spanish macs in the surf. Fly fishing in the surf is also a blast. I know the ladyfish aren’t edible, but the kids will love catching them.

[Banded Drake Calls]

You can catch a ton of fish off the beach, and the kids would love it. Small Kastmaster spoons work great on the ladyfish and Spanish macs in the surf. Fly fishing in the surf is also a blast. I know the ladyfish aren’t edible, but the kids will love catching them.

We're taking our fishing gear for sure, figured I'd leave it as an option for us. The place we're staying has it's own pier as well. What kind of fish are best to target over there

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[Strummer]

Aaron that’s going to be a hell of a drive pulling a camper . At least ya have a place to stow the kids [emoji16] when ya get tired of the “-
Are we there yet ?”

[BDann]

We caught ladyfish, Spanish macs and bluefish in the surf. When we were in Destin the surf was usually loaded with baitfish, and the bigger fish would usually bite really well in the mornings and evenings.

[friscopaint]

Fun to go to Sandestin resort and walk around, lot's of restaurants and you can walk around with beer or frozen drinks which helps with the crowds in Destin. Fun to go walk the piers and watch the boats coming in with their catches, I like sitting at the bar up above the harbor watching the boats come and go. For a fun day you can rent a pontoon boat and go to shell island, it's over past Panama City but a fun day. Pack food and drinks. You can also snorkel at the east end of old hwy 98 at Destin harbor as long as the jelly fish aren't too bad. Kids always want to eat at fudpuckers and see the alligators, food is ok but it's fun but always crowded. There is also a water park, crowded and not a big deal to me.

[Banded Drake Calls]

Aaron that’s going to be a hell of a drive pulling a camper . At least ya have a place to stow the kids [emoji16] when ya get tired of the “-
Are we there yet ?”

Nah, we leave at midnight after they've all had benadryl.

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[CaptainDave]

For charters, we have gone out with Olin Marlers a few times and had good experiences. They are party boats, but not too crowded. Decent for an 8 hour type trip and prices are reasonable. Mostly bottom fishing for snaps, etc. Most years, we just headed down to the harbor early in the week to book a charter for later in the week.

https://www.olinmarlercharterboats.com/

As for food, as stated, it's ok, not awesome. The better places we went to were the Back Porch and Pompano Joe's. Both on the beach and open air. To an extent, you are paying for the atmosphere more than anything. If you don't want to go into Destin, I'm sure there are plenty of places down 30A as that whole area has exploded over the years. We used to eat out a lot down there as my wife doesn't like to go on vacation and have to cook and clean like we do at home. If you play golf, bring your clubs. Lots of nice courses in the area with pretty reasonable rates; especially if you wait for twilight rates.

[Kelmat]

We pulled our 5th wheel over there several years ago and camped at Top sail Hill state park (Santa Rosa Beach area) Great place with a private beach- never more than 20 to 30 people at a time. We hired a 4 hr charter. My wife and 3 daughters between 9 and 15 yrs old. Guide was OK. We didn’t fill up the boat by any means but the girls had a great time and the guide definitely earned his money baiting hooks that day. He let the girls drive the boat a little bit and 4 hrs was plenty long for them to be on the water. Like you, we brought our own food and only ate out once (Chik-Fila). There’s a decent Aquarium and plenty of “Gimme Joints” to let the kids run through. Go over to Water Color and walk around.That’s where they filmed the movie “The Truman Show”.

[jonate98]

Go to goatfeathers for the smoked tuna dip, hit up seaside for an evening! Been there prob the last 15 years for vacay! Also go to seaside village market for shrimp po boys! Have a great time


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[TXDucks]

Take a look at Crab Island: https://www.destinvacationboatrental...pular-hangout/

We did it with the family last summer and had a blast. Rented a boat for the day... just hung out and drank.

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[jkk831]

You can catch a ton of fish off the beach, and the kids would love it. Small Kastmaster spoons work great on the ladyfish and Spanish macs in the surf. Fly fishing in the surf is also a blast. I know the ladyfish aren’t edible, but the kids will love catching them.

What did you use for fly fishing?