Little Adventures in Destin-Fort Walton Beach
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This blog post is sponsored by Destin-Fort Walton Beach. All opinions are our own.
Destin-Fort Walton Beach has been a long-time favorite destination of ours to visit. The soft white sand beaches and green hued water make it a uniquely beautiful destination. Our family recently had the opportunity to visit again, and we made some of the best memories!
If you are looking for a family friendly beach location, Destin-Fort Walton Beach is a must. We are a family with children of ages ranging from an 11-month-old baby, an 8-year-old and a teenager. Everyone found something fun to do and enjoyed the destination. There are so many adventurous and water-based activities to do for children of all ages in Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
Destin-Fort Walton Beach does an amazing job offering activities that will get children and their families out and in the water. One thing we took advantage of is the Little Adventures Program. You can learn about the area and pick activities to plan for. Developed in collaboration with local moms, the Little Adventures Program offers a chat feature on Destin-Fort Walton Beach’s website where trained local moms assist families in selecting and booking their packs and plans. With the help of the online ‘scouts’, guests can chat one-on-one, review several family approved adventures and pick what fits their family's interests and ages.
Head to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach website to see so many activities available like pontoon rentals, snorkeling, paddle board tours and more!
Once we had our itinerary ready and prepared ideas from the Destin-Fort Walton Beach website, we packed up and headed on our way. The week was full of planned fun for our family of five plus our sweet rescue pups.
First up, we needed a home away from home. This poses a challenge sometimes being a family with young children and traveling pets. Residence Inn by Marriott in Fort Walton, FL was the perfect landing spot.
Their suite was spacious, clean, beautiful and the hospitality of their staff was amazing. Our family and dogs were welcomed well and the suite felt like a little home. The view was gorgeous, especially for sunset and water views.
Here are just a few of the amenities available at Residence Inn:
Pet friendly (pet fee applies)
Free Full American and Hot Breakfast
Outdoor Pool
Free WiFi
Convenience store
Laundry in building
We had a great night's rest after traveling thanks to Residence Inn and we were off to our first activity, Cattywampus Afternoon Snorkel Cruise.
The day was full of fun on this cruise from lovely bay views, shell finding, hermit crab hunting, snorkeling in the bay to gulf side dolphin and shark viewing.
Be sure to check out Cattywampus Snorkel cruises and see their seasonal options available. Cattywampus | Destin FWB, Florida
After all the time we spent on the water, it was time for our family to find some lunch. The Gulf was perfectly located next to the meeting spot of Cattywampus.
The Gulf offers a unique waterfront outdoor dining experience that’s great for family and friends to relax and enjoy the outdoors or dine in their covered areas as needed.
They had something for all of us from seafood, plant-based options and kid friendly meals for the kiddos. The Hummus with Pita chips and Key Lime Pie was of course a must try and they did not disappoint.
Once our lunch was finished, it was time to spend some time with our dogs and enjoy some relaxing moments at the Residence Inn. We enjoyed the bay views and rested up for our dinner and evening beach time.
We were off to Crab Trap, Destin. This dining experience was family friendly and directly on the beach by the James Lee Park Beach Access. There are actually two locations you can choose from, one in Destin and the other Fort Walton, FL Boardwalk.
Once we fueled up with some delicious food, we headed out for a night walk at James Lee Park Beach Access. We found shells, jellies, ghost crabs, watched for fish and had some amazing moon and star views.
The next day of our trip, we were off to Parlor Doughnuts in Fort Walton, FL to start the day.
If you’re looking for friendly staff, a delicious breakfast for the family and beachy American vibes this is the place. I was excited to see they have vegan, keto, gluten-free options and even treats for pups available.
We grabbed our bites to eat, coffee, hot tea, treats for Bandit & Bella then we were ready to start the day!
After fueling up, we headed down Santa Rosa BLVD for the Beach Accessway #4 at Jerry Melvin Beachwalk on Okaloosa Island.
The waters were calm, air was breezy, and the sun was glistening on the water. We took advantage of being some of the first of the morning at this location, put our footprints in the sand and hunted for shells.
Some amenities at this location:
Parking
Bathrooms
Showers
Picnic tables
Pavilion
Accessibility ramp
Up next was an afternoon of fun on the water's edge at HarborWalk Village! There are SO many activities to do there and the kids got to experience some firsts. Rockwall climbing and zip-lining were just a couple of our favorite activities.
At HarborWalk Village you will also find Cartoons by Deano, Harbor Mini Golf, The Fudgery, Aqua sphere play, jet ski rentals, shopping and so much more!
We finished off the night at East Pass Seafood & Oyster House located in HarborWalk Village with a water view. We dined in a lovely outdoor dock space where we enjoyed sunset views, watched the egrets on the dock and enjoyed the fall evening breeze while waiting for our dinner to arrive.
The staff were some of the kindest people and the food was absolutely delicious. There is something for all from seafood meals, filling salads and kid's meals!
To finish out our evening, we walked through HarborVillage Walk enjoying the nighttime lights, shops and dessert at the Fudgery!
The next morning, we headed off to East Pass Coffee Co. Known as Destin’s watering hole to locals. This eatery was a treat to both the eyes and taste buds.
We enjoyed a variety of hand-crafted breakfast options, coffees and tea. The flavors and creations were delicious and there was something for all of us including toasts, sandwiches, harvest bowls, and acai bowls.
We grabbed some local honey and coffee to take back home and headed off to our next Little Adventure.
Part of our crew were going to experience a fun Little Adventure going on a fishing charter with Silver King Charters.
Captain Alex was so kind and educational in showing the kids the technique to catching the fish. They had an absolute blast catching spanish mackerel, mingo snappers, red snappers, triggerfish, and amberjacks.
The kiddos also had a first where they both got to weigh in at the Destin Fishing Rodeo! It was an ultra-fun day on the water!
Once our family met back up after the fishing charter, we headed off to AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar for a Cook Your Catch meal for Danny and the kiddos to enjoy their catches of the day.
There was also so many delicious plant-based cuisine for Samantha to choose from. We loved the ambiance and the coastal decor.
It was perfectly located by the Destin Fishing Rodeo so we could watch out the windows as we enjoyed our meals. The kids were in total awe in watching all of the boats coming in to show off their catch! They were excited to have their catch on the board too!
To finish our night, we went on a nighttime beach walk to try and find some ghost crabs. It was so much fun and the little ghost crabs are so cute. The kids had fun trying to find them and seeing how fast they moved. We used our red flashlights to make sure not to disturb the local sea turtles. You can find a free red flashlight at multiple locations from March-October in Destin-Fort Walton.
We created some of the best family memories visiting Destin-Fort Walton Beach. The Little Adventures activities were educational and pure fun through the week. Our family enjoyed the amazing local food and eateries and had some of the best sleep, including our dogs at Residence Inn in Fort Walton Beach. Destin-Fort Walton Beach has long been a favorite of ours to visit, and we are already planning our next visit of more Little Adventures memories to make! Head to our socials and Instagram stories to see more of our trip in action.
Georgina on
The accommodation at Residence Inn by Marriott in Fort Walton, FLorida looks like a fabulous family-friendly destination and I love the fact they are pet friendly and offer a good hot breakfast to start your day.
Sonia on
We’ve had good luck with Residence Inn’s when traveling with kids and pets too. Were any of the excursions also pet friendly?