When you have a great vacation, ya want to scream it from the rooftops! I recently took a trip to Destin, Florida, and it was one of the most relaxing vacations I’ve had in a while. It’s also one of the first vacations I wasn’t ready to come home from - thanks in large part to the amazing rental home we stayed at. We had a lot of people send recommendations (much appreciated!) and ask us questions about the trip, so I wanted to share all the details.

There wasn’t much planning involved seeing as we rented a house with a pool & hot tub and private beach. I am an over-planner, and I must say, it was really nice not to have to plan much at all. We spent 95% of our time at the house and beach. The Dunes of Destin Castle is a 3 story home with 7 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms that sleeps 30! Ya heard that right. Everyone had their own room with an attached master bathroom. We were there to celebrate a birthday, but it would be the most amazing spot to celebrate a bachelorette party. The pool has a swim-up bar and is located right next to an outdoor kitchen with a TV, fireplace, and grill. The kitchen inside was even more fabulous, with tons of seating for large groups. It even had 2 dishwashers so our dishes never piled up. Other highlights include the game room, 5 balconies, 6 cruiser bikes, and an elevator. Seriously my dream home! Here were some of our favorite spots:

When we weren’t lounging at the house, you could find us at the private beach! If you haven’t been to Destin, it’s a must. The white sand beaches and warm, clear waters are hard to beat. The home is located in Dunes of Destin, which has a private beach accessible only to those staying in the neighborhood. Every day we walked 2 minutes to the beach, where our chairs and umbrellas were already setup for us. It was especially nice not to have to haul any equipment or deal with crowds. We essentially had a slice of the beach to ourselves! I always say I’m more of a mountain vacation gal, but after this trip, I realized the beach is also my jam.

We celebrated my birthday by taking a ride on AJ’s Dolphin Cruise. This was one of the coolest things! We saw SO many dolphins super close up. If you haven’t already, check out our Instagram story highlights and you can see a video. Your ticket includes 2 drinks - beer or wine - so we had something refreshing to drink during the ride. The captain was super enthusiastic and had almost the whole boat dancing by the end of the 2 hour trip. We also had some kiddos with us who loved it too. It was definitely a highlight of the trip!

We only dined out one night, and we took many of y’all’s recommendation to go to Boshamps. They had a long wait (~1 1/2 hours) but a nice little beach area and bar where you can grab a drink during your wait. The frozen Pina colada with a floater was our drink of choice because when in Rome. We had one of the best tables on the patio with a great view of the harbor & sunset. Boshamps serves locally sourced Southern-style seafood. Our favorites included the oysters, cheese grit cakes with Gulf shrimp and jumbo lump crab, & the snapper. It was definitely worth the wait!

I’ve been to Destin many times, but no trip compared to this one. The Dunes of Destin Castle really made the difference! You can find all the details on the rental here. Leave a comment below on your favorite spots in Destin! Cheers!