Beach going tips (1 Viewer)

Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
45,450
Location
a van down by the river
Offline
I have not been on a vacation to the panhandle in years but here I go (next week). Doing my preparations and figured we have a lot of pros on here. What are your favorite tips? Specific to Destin is greatly appreciated But also just general tips. Like does a tarp work well to lay out for the group or just use towel?
 
I have not been on a vacation to the panhandle in years but here I go (next week). Doing my preparations and figured we have a lot of pros on here. What are your favorite tips? Specific to Destin is greatly appreciated But also just general tips. Like does a tarp work well to lay out for the group or just use towel?

Beach Umbrella or Umbrella's, or one of those pop up tents, depending on the number of folks (and how much crap you wanna carry). Shade is always as a premium. I like the Tommy Bahama beach chairs (costco usually sells them for $24 or so). Otherwise, we'd usually use towels, or get a beach blanket made of nylon and kind of heavy. A tarp is too light and always blows around.

Otherwise, I can give you no tips for Destin, as I'm in South Florida.

Don't turn your back on the Ocean. ;)
 
I love the beach - we go to the panhandle several times per year, but I really can't tolerate the direct sun much anymore, so umbrellas or some sort of shade is a must.

Other than that, be aware of traffic patterns in Destin. I think Saturday is the changeover day so it's pretty much thick all day, and Sundays aren't great either. They really do have a rush hour, as residents get bottlenecked through 98 as well - plan accordingly.

The rest kind of depends on which side of Destin you're on. If you're on the far east side, you have a nice Publix with liquor store and a Walmart a little further down. Going to Miramar and all that if there is a restaurant you like (we found a good Thai place there) isn't a big deal. If you are more West (Sandpiper on, mostly) there is the big Winn Dixie there and some other useful places. There is a really good seafood market near the bridge (I forget the name, but I think it's next to the Hogsbreath). Most of the condo towers have grills down near the pool, so we take advantage of that a couple of nights. Restaurant-wise, I've never been really blown away by anything in Destin, but if you look at it as beach food, it's all mostly serviceable.
 
ill be in Destin next week as well ( Hilton Sandestin sat - thur )

Umbrella for sure...and do no forget to get one of those "auger type" umbrella holders. Saves you aggravation and is truly simple to put in ground for stable umbrella. Tarps work but not recommended as sand will get on and be REAL rough on hard tarp. Towels work fine
 
gazebo tents are great for a group of 4 or more
costco had these beach half-tent things i really liked
costco also has a bag of mini-pistolettes that make the handiest beach sandwiches
 
We stay on Okaloosa Island almost yearly. We stay at a little place called Emerald Coast Inn & Suites. Its a little outdated,but if you book before memorial day,its got some pretty great rates. And as was stated before,the publix and liquor store are right over the bridge,less than a 5 minute drive. As far as Beaches go,the island is nice,but we drive further east into destin and to a little restaurant called The Back Porch. Just walk in and through the place,or you can go around the building on the right side. You can rent umbrellas and chairs and stuff,but you can also bring your own. Beautiful beach area and the water is wonderful.

The beaches near the boardwalk on the island can be nice,but are hit or miss because of seaweed.
 
Haven’t been to Destin in awhile, but the last time I was there, the beach was gorgeous & the ocean was a beautiful blue & green.

Sorry, that is all I’ve got! Have a great time & stay away from the bad ocean critters!
 
Depends on where you stay and what you like. We've been going to Destin every year for 35 years as a family reunion type deal with my Dad's brother's families. We rent 6, 2 bedroom condoes. Cooking is divided up to where everyone takes a night and we all eat together to save $. We make a bunch of chicken salad and buy some spiral sliced hams for lunch for the week.

My recommendation for the beach if you are staying at a place that rents the umbrella chair sets, do that. So much easier than having to carry all of the gear back and forth, then there's nowhere to put the gear at your room(s). Plus, if they rent the umbrella/chair sets, they won't let you set up your own gear in front of the rentals.

For other than beach fun, you have Big Kahuna Water Park, (it's awesome for kids and young adults), lot's of mini-golf, golf courses, pontoon boat rentals (this is fun to do at Crab Island), Charter fishing, etc... Make sure you go to the Marina one day around 4-4:30 and to have a few beers and watch all the charter boats come in and see their catches.
 
we will be in Carillon Beach in a couple of weeks...the house we stay at will have chairs on the beach already and we just pay to rent the umbrellas....it's worth every penny to not have to haul umbrellas and chairs every single day so if you have that option, definitely take it

as discussed in the shark thread, remember that sharks don't eat people on land
 
we will be in Carillon Beach in a couple of weeks...the house we stay at will have chairs on the beach already and we just pay to rent the umbrellas....it's worth every penny to not have to haul umbrellas and chairs every single day so if you have that option, definitely take it

as discussed in the shark thread, remember that sharks don't eat people on land

Yet.
 
Get you some of these to make certain people understand your expectations
il_794xN.1379064500_rull.jpg
.
 
Here's some stuff I found invaluable for last week's beach trip and it was just me so no problem to carry:

- A mesh beach mat (got it online before I for a large group and/or a straw personal mat (found a cheap one at CVS for $3) to lay towels on and keep the towels fairly clean of sand because the sand goes right through the mesh

- A personal umbrella that clips onto your beach chair (Academy Sports for $20)

- A small portable fold up table for keeping things out of the sand (got it at CVS for $15 and Bass Pro has them so probably most sporting goods stores have them, too

1172191560282536949.png)
1172161560282026412.png
1172181560282468464.png
 
Last edited:

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Users who are viewing this thread

    Back
    Top Bottom