Day 1: Arrival
I have been wanting to write a travel guide for a trip to Destin, FL. I’ve visited twice before and always had a good time. Destin is another hidden gem that travelers should put on their list of places to visit in Florida. I did a girls three day weekend getaway and we stayed on the beach at The Hampton Inn by Hilton in Fort Walton Beach, FL. We had a great room with a balcony for only $160 a night, but I did book it months prior our visit. Our hotel was walking distance to the pier and restaurants at the Okaloosa Boardwalk. If you looking for something affordable with free parking, free breakfast and nightly rates I definitely recommend the Hampton Inn. The best times to visit Destin for less crowds are March & April but for warmer weather June & July.
We left that Friday morning at 9am and it’s a six hour drive to Destin. So once we arrived we went straight to having a late lunch at Fudpucker’s. If you aren’t from Florida and want to see some live alligators then it’s the place for you! LOL! They do serve huge margaritas and buckets for cocktails! Great food, drinks and atmosphere! Afterwards we checked into our hotel and chilled there for awhile before heading to late dinner around 9pm. We went to Rockin Tacos at the boardwalk and it was such a great restaurant. I think anything we had all weekend was great food. No complaints at all!
Day 2: Pool Day at The Island
The next morning we woke up early enough to walk over to The Island, a hotel by Red Lion, to enjoy their pool and swim up bar. I have always heard good things about this hotel and how easy it is just to use their pool. Their cave-like swim up bar with waterfalls pouring down around it is absolutely amazing! We got there at 10am before it got crowded. Once the bar opened around noon, we had to get some frozen drinks and enjoy the cave. We stayed for six hours, and it was such a perfect pool day! Even though we didn’t stay at the hotel, it’s definitely a hotel I would recommend if you have the budget for it.
Later that night for dinner, we headed to The Gulf at Okaloosa Island which was a short ten minute walk from our hotel. It was located right on the water with only outdoor seating. The food and service was great! You first order from the window, they give you a number and it’s delivered to your table. It is definitely a place if you want to watch the sunset.
Day 3: Crab Island
For our last full day in Destin I booked us reservations for a tiki cruise to Crab Island. Before we headed out to the water, we stopped for brunch at Angler’s Beachside Grill. On Sunday’s they have bottomless Mimosas for only $7.99!! The restaurant was located right on the Okaloosa Island Pier. This was the perfect place to enjoy the view of the beach while eating brunch. Definitely recommend it!
We headed to HarborWalk Village for our cruise reservation to Crab Island. Since we had some time to spare, we walked the boardwalk and found a cute pineapple stand called Fish Heads. They will make frozen drinks and pour them into pineapples! Such a cute idea, and absolutely loved it! You can also walk around the boardwalk with them as well.
Finally, it was time for us to leave for the tiki cruise to Crab Island! I was so excited about this! The company was called Cruisin Tikis Destin, and up to 6 people can hop onto a tiki with the Captain. They provide the cooler, ice, bluetooth speakers, a shot paddle and air pump for your floats. All you need to bring is your own drinks and snacks! It was a 3 hour cruise and we booked ours at 1:30pm. The only thing that sucked about that day was the weather since it was cloudy and cold. We never left the tiki to get into the water. It’s Florida so you really can’t plan anything around raining season. Other than it was a blast! We had a great time and met some great friends! The cruise was only $80 per person, and it was so worth it. Make sure you check out my video to see a recap of my trip. Later that night after the cruise we went to dinner right across the street from our hotel at AJ’s Oyster Shanty.
Day 4: Departure
Check out was at 11am, and we made a quick stop at the Destin Commons. It’s an outdoor mall with dinning and shopping options. We only stopped there for the murals that were known in Destin. It was a great weekend, and we didn’t want to say goodbye. We will be back, and definitely will stay longer than three nights.
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