Recommendations on NW Florida beaches?

[joyful mommy]

We're looking for family friendly beach vacation recommendations. DSs are still preschool age. We're thinking of renting a house, but maybe hotel or condo. We'd prefer to be directly on beach or right behind dunes with easy access. The less crowded the beach the better. We'd also enjoy bike riding while there if possible.

I saw some recommendations for Seaside on these boards but they aren't recent. Not sure how much has changed. There are several other beaches nearby as well. Anyone know much about any of these? Preferences? What do you like best/least about any of them?

Thanks for any advice. :-)

[fivi2]

I haven't been in many many years, so this is FWIW...

growing up we went to Panama City and Destin. PC is much more college/high school spring break oriented, or it was then. Destin seemed a little more family friendly.

We are currently looking into a short stay at the Sandestin resort (gift cert). I don't have personal experience, but the reviews seem good. A friend goes to Seaside every year and loves it. Seagrove and Watercolor are nearby. There is a website for the south walton beaches, but I can't recall the name.

If you go to the Fodors USA message board and search some of these terms (Destin, Seaside, etc) you will find a lot of good info! good luck!

[joyful mommy]

Thanks for your reply. Your description of PC and Destin sounds right on target. Just to add that it seems Destin gets pretty crowded during the summer in recent years according to friends who've frequented there. We've been to the panhandle in the past and love it, but are hoping for a less crowded beach experience.

Also thanks for the Fodders message board tip! I didn't know there was one and will be checking it out tonight. Great help. :-)

Any tips or experiences from others here are still appreciated.

[firsttimemama]

Ahh, so jealous! You will be partaking in my very favorite vacation! Based on what you typed, definitely definitely stay in the Beaches of South Walton, rather than in Destin. You will loooove it. Seaside is gorgeous but pricey. We've stayed beachfront in a condo at Blue Mt. Beach and across the street from the beach at Grayton beach. Rented condos both places.

http://www.sowal.com/

[fivi2]

Here is a link to Fodor's:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=1

if you search, you should find lots of info.

PP had the other site I was thinking of! Good luck!

[firsttimemama]

Came back to add another few thoughts:

Sandestin is great too, you'll love it!
Beaches are more crowded in Destin than Sowal
If beaches are very crowded & you want to seek out some solitude, look for the state park in Sowal - it's like $4 to get in, beaches are much less crowded & pristine, there's even a restroom (great with kids!)
If you do stay in Sowal, know that traffic into destin can be well.. trafficky.. depending on when you go
There's this thing called "june grass" basically seaweed on the beach - I think it can come anytime but it's more common in June? We won't go back in June again. We're July people. It's hot, but we only encountered the june grass in june
I've also heard October is a great time to go!

I was trying to think of some restaurants to recommend
Beachwalk is nice & fancy
Graffiti's in Destin is probably family friendly & it's yummy - we like the original graffitis not the new one in Sanddestin

[fivi2]

Came back to add another few thoughts:

Sandestin is great too, you'll love it!
Beaches are more crowded in Destin than Sowal
If beaches are very crowded & you want to seek out some solitude, look for the state park in Sowal - it's like $4 to get in, beaches are much less crowded & pristine, there's even a restroom (great with kids!)
If you do stay in Sowal, know that traffic into destin can be well.. trafficky.. depending on when you go
There's this thing called "june grass" basically seaweed on the beach - I think it can come anytime but it's more common in June? We won't go back in June again. We're July people. It's hot, but we only encountered the june grass in june
I've also heard October is a great time to go!

I was trying to think of some restaurants to recommend
Beachwalk is nice & fancy
Graffiti's in Destin is probably family friendly & it's yummy - we like the original graffitis not the new one in Sanddestin


Thanks for the info. I am not OP, but appreciate tips. We are looking at Sandestin only because dh has a gift cert for a free stay. hard to pass up! I grew up in the southeast and went to PC and Destin a few times - love the beaches there, but it is quite a drive for us now. I was thinking of going in May before school lets out (my girls are 3 so not in school). Otherwise, maybe September? I think we have to use it by early October.

Thanks again for the info!

[Melaine]

We went to Destin for our honeymoon. It was beautiful! Have fun on your trip....

[firsttimemama]

I am seriously so jealous! LOL!
We love it down there. I went to PC as a kid once but have only been to Destin/Sowal since. Once I discovered Sowal, I said bye-bye to destin, except for restaurants/attractions etc. You can stay beachfront in sowal for the same price that you'd be a car drive from the beach in destin. Plus it's less crowded.. it's just so beautiful..
September is probably a really nice time to go too, except I think Sept-Oct might be hurricane season (?) not sure I'm remembering that correctly.. but if the weather holds up, the temperatures should be pleasant.. and probably still swimming weather?

[joyful mommy]

Thanks for all the replies.

One question I'm seeking answer to now: how long is the boardwalk access over dunes or high are the stairs over the dunes at the various sowal beaches? With 2 preschoolish age kids, I'm hoping not too far to get back to house/condo if necessary. Also, great tip about the restrooms on the state park beach - thanks! Question there is: Is this Grayton Beach Park or the Deer Lake one that's possibly going to be closed this summer (indefinately). I read about the anticipated closure on the sowal site.

Yes. Definately height of hurricane season in mid September. I think I recall that the bell curve for hurricanes hits it's high at nearly mid-September. On the other hand, we've been to the panhandle then (just prior to hurricanes I should add) and the weather was Incredible (clear blue skies & not too hot), the beach nearly empty (duh!) and water and sand absolutely perfect! I'm still debating whether or not that's really a wise time to schedule a vacation there -- OK, not so wise, but may still happen this year anyway.


P.S. Don't mean to cause any vacation jealousy here -- glad to know the sowal beaches are such a great treasure though!

[LMPC]

I'm jealous too! I basically grew up in Seagrove Beach FL (parents had a beach house there)...gorgeous beaches. Commenting on Sept/Oct weather....great time of the year to go barring any hurricanes. I got married there in '00 in Oct and the weather was fantastic! Renting houses should be fairly reasonable that time of year in the Seagrove area. A kitchen would come in handy and most are short walks to the beach. Can't remember if someone already posted this....but the stairs to the beach are pretty steep near the Seagrove/Seaside area. Having said that...there are beach accesses that are less steep...near Grayton or more east of Old Seagrove.

Have a great time!!!

[firsttimemama]

I remembered my fam raves about this restaurant too : http://www.vintij.com/contact.htm

Not sure how kid friendly it is.. my aunt & uncle who have a condo down there go frequently and my parents loved it too but I haven't been.

I think the park we went to was Grayton - but I'll doublecheck with DH & get back to you. I did just remember that cars/jeeps etc can drive up on the beach at Grayton. We didn't experience this at the park, though. It was on the public beach. We just sat really far away from them. The beach at Grayton (at our last visit at least) is really wide.

I just looked up the rental we stayed in at Blue Mt. and the steps down to the beach do look rather steep. At Grayton we weren't ocean front - we were in a condo that had an ocean view - the walk wasn't too long theoretically, but when it's hot and you're dragging all your stuff.. yeah it was kinda long. If we were to go back to the beach with DS, I'd be trying really hard to get oceanfront. Or, driving to the state park beach at Grayton might be a good alternative. If I recall correctly, the steps down to the beach there are not much at all, plus, there was wheelchair access (a sort of ramp).. but, I will say again that the beach at Grayton is wide, so walking down to the water is a bit of a walk! Still I will take it over the super crowded beaches in Destin.

[joyful mommy]

Thanks for all the replies here. BTW I checked the website for the last restaurant -- looks nice, but not sure about taking preschoolers there.

For all of you more familiar than I about this SOWAL area, which 2 or 3 of these beaches would be your top pick for a family of 4 with preschool kids (one may or may not be potty trained at that point). Additional family members may stop by for day or overnight visit, but that is very uncertain yet.

Bottom line: Why would you choose the beach recommended over other SOWAL beaches? (... so much to sift through)

Thanks again!