On a recent trip to the Florida Panhandle we stopped in a place called Destin, now I had been to Panama Beach, which is less than 50 miles away, before and it was a lot of fun but I’d never been this far west. The panhandle is also called the ‘Emerald Coast’ and as we were driving it became clear why the water is a beautiful shade of clear green. Another other thing I noticed was how the area, especially around Destin, was so beautiful and peaceful.

All along the road between Destin and Panama City Beach were these picturesque, little beachfront towns called, Seaside, Watercolor, Sandestin and Miramar. These towns are small and homey, with tree lined streets and pastel painted houses; they look like something out of a movie. In fact, the movie, The Truman Show was made in Seaside.

Fishing in Destin

Off shore fishing is excellent with close access to Gulf of Mexico via the 100 Fathom Curve which is closer to Destin than any other spot in Florida, making it the fastest way to get to the deeper waters in the Gulf where the best fish are. You can charter a boat and go after a big Blue Marlin, this is the best place in Florida to catch them, Dolphin (mahi-mahi), Wahoo and Sailfish are also caught during late spring and summer.

If you like to fish in shore you can catch Cobia and Kingfish; bottom fishing is also good, grouper and snapper are commonly caught. You don’t even necessarily need a charter a big boat to fish in shore or bottom either, fish can be caught from small boats and even kayaks launched from the beach. Choctawhatchee Bay is another great place to fish in the area; trout, redfish and black drum are commonly caught in the Bay. Even if you don’t like to fish the bay is beautiful and a great place to spend the day on the water but be sure to bring your sunscreen the last thing you’ll want to take home is a nasty sunburn.

The East Pass, which is also called Destin Pass, has the only outlet of Choctawhatchee Bay into the Gulf of Mexico. The west side of Destin Pass is accessible to the public; they have a great beach there which is beautiful and remote if you want to get away from the crowd.

Destin Beaches

The beaches in Destin are so white and soft, it’s like walking on sugar and the water is crystal clear which makes it a great place to play on the beach, or just lay out and nap, as many people do. If you’re more the active type there are all sorts of charters to take to either snorkel or dive and if you’re the adventurous type you can get a bird’s eye view of the area by parasailing or if you’d like to keep it in the water, as we did, you can rent a personal watercraft. Spring breakers who are commonly found in Panama City sometimes spill over to Destin as well and can be seen playing volleyball or football up and down the beach.

Destin has been a longtime favorite of fishermen, in fact it started as a humble fishing village and today is touted as the “World’s Luckiest Fishing Village” they also claim to have the largest, best equipped fishing fleet in Florida docked in Destin Harbor, which is great because we love fresh caught seafood. The harbor is also home to the Destin History & Fishing Museum.

Popular Vacation Destination

Destin is a popular Florida vacation destination and a big resort town with beautiful hotels and resorts that the whole family will enjoy. They have also have places you can rent by the week, which is what we did, with many places right on the ocean. About 4.5 million people visit the area every year and we were happy to be two of them. They have family amusement parks with go-carts, miniature golf, thrill rides, and even bungee jumping. We also saw at least a dozen well manicured golf courses and just as many tennis courts.

If you like to shop they have these great little outdoor malls that are cleverly disguised as quaint wood framed buildings that hold all the latest designer brands and labels; it reminded me of being in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

One of the things we liked best about Destin was the food. The dining in Destin is as diverse as it is delicious; restaurants here range from jacket and tie fine dining overlooking the Bay to flip-flops and cut offs oyster bars overlooking the Gulf. Most, we were delight to find, have live entertainment; everything from classical pianos playing to local bands to jukeboxes. Seafood is the natural choice, because it’s not uncommon to see restaurant marquees inviting you to come in and enjoy the fresh catch from the night before, but they have a little bit of everything including Caribbean style.

So next time you’re visiting Panhandle beaches be sure to get over to Destin, it’s a great little seaside town where you can fish, surf, parasail, golf or shop. You can spend the day on the beach then spend the night out having some family fun and most of all enjoy the seafood.