Tampa or Destin Florida and Where to Stay? UPDATE

My family has been going to Destin every summer for years (since I was 12). My favorite place (and my parents) was a place called Edgewater. It was a condo building that had 3 pools, right on the beach, a beach bar with good snacks, etc. It was a building that had condos that people owned and rented out. They were like apartments...full kitchen, laundry room, beds with linens, towels, etc. All the condos had a beachfront room with beach view. The master bedroom had a balcony and view of the water...beautiful!

I liked it as a teen because there were alot of other teens there to meet.

Now that our family has grown and we have had kids, etc. we rent a private house. It is great for us because our kids are so young...but I would suggest that you go with something that has more people around so that your daughter can possibly make a friend.

Edgewater is located by the outlets which is great shopping!!! It is very centrally located!!

Here is the website
http://www.edgewaterbeach.com/Resort.aspx

Have a great time!!

We are goiing to ft. Walton, santa Rosa beach...SOOOO fun! Don't really have advice as to where to stay, as we go to a house, however there are tons of houses for rent, and condos in that area it seems.

Good Luck!

I went last summer to Destin and Pensacola with my five children. Pensacola had seashells and things everywhere to look for. Destin was very very clean and a more high class crowd. I really don't know how else to put it. It was more quiet. No shells really. Resturants on the beach. Private beaches ect. Lots of gorgeous summer homes! Lots to do downtown! Ft. Walton is very close and very very cute.

We are going to Ft. Walton Beach which is right next to Destin. We got a great deal on a condo on the beach there (about 650 for a week). I've never been there before, but it comes highly reccommended by some friends who go every year with their kids.

My husband and I vacation in the Destin area 2-3 times a year. We love it and it is super family friendly. 2 of the doctors I work for vacation there also. We used to live in Miami and Orlando so we have done the south Florida thing and we much prefer the panhandle area. We used to live about 3 hours from Destin and we would go all of the time. Enough about that...where to stay and where to fly. Your husband is right...you can fly non-stop on American from DFW into Fort Walton Beach which is about 45 minutes from the beach. You can also fly into Mobile which is about a 2 hour drive. My husband, daughter, and I flew round trip from DFW for about $800 this past May. You will need a car while you are there. Try VRBO.com for places to stay. This is vacation rental by owner. We usually stay at a place called Rosemary Beach which is about 30 minutes east of Destin. We never stay in Destin because it tends to be more high rises, chain restaurants, outlet malls etc. We like more of a beach feel. You could try Watercolor, Seaside, Rosemary Beach....these tend to be a little pricey but well worth it. vrbo.com is a great way to go. I hope this helps.

We love Seacrest/Rosemary Beach.

It isn't terribly far from Destin (maybe 45 minutes to an hour, traffic depending) but it is WAY LESS congested and has a wonderful "beachy" feel. The houses and such resemble Sea Side, if you are familiar with that area. Beautiful white sands and blue water as well as nice houses/condos by water. Both beaches (they butt up to one another) are about 20 minutes or so from Panama City Beach (Walmart, restaurants, etc.). I know that there is even a small airport in Panama City that has a major airline that goes in/out.

You can go to vrbo.com and check out some of the properties listed for this area.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me.

I am not real familiar with Destin, however, I did live in Tampa for 3 yrs. There are some really great places on the coast. My favorite beach near Tampa is Siesta Key. Its about an hour south in Sarasota. Its really nice there. You can also look into flights into Bradenton/Sarasota, I've flown back and forth from here on Air Tran to Bradenton as that is where my parents live. Let me know if you have further questions.

H.