Hey everyone, I am so so excited to finally be able to share everything about my sister in laws bachelorette party now! She knew we were going somewhere south of NJ, but everything else was a surprise. We landed on Destin FL, and I am so glad we did, I have never been to this part of Florida before, but loved it so much. At first, I wanted this post to be a Destin travel guide as well as a Bachelorette party planning tips, but I soon realized they needed to be separate. I literally just have way too much to say, so here is my travel guide for Destin, FL – and stay tuned for my post on Bachelorette party planning soon!
Have you ever heard of the Redneck Riviera? No? Me either. That is until I told my dad I booked a house in Destin, FL for my sister in laws Bachelorette party and I couldn’t wait to go. The redneck riviera?! … um … He promised it would be great and he was right.
The adventure started right away, a 5am flight from NJ and there was too much fog in Destin, so a surprise landing in Tallahassee. We made the most of it with lots of mimosas at the bar. Thankfully, we were only there for about 2 hours and then a short flight west and we were in Destin! As soon as we walked off the plane I felt the warmth of the sun, smelt the salt in the air and saw palm trees – the exact opposite of everything we left behind in chilly NJ.
We flew into Fort Walton airport and it was about a 30 minute uber to our VRBO house, not bad at all. Uber is super popular in Destin, which was great because this prevented us from having to rent cars.
We were so happy with the location of our rental house, we were in the Kokomo Kove section (and yes, we did sing Kokomo from the Beach Boys multiple times). Our house was on a small little lake and walking distance to the beach. We had our own heated pool, hot tub, two floors of back porches, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and it slept 8. It was perfect.
We were also extremely close to multiple grocery stores which was ideal for us.
There were a total of 8 girls we traveled with and we came in three groups, so the first day was spent hanging by the pool, decorating the house and waiting for everyone to arrive.
Ubereats and Doordash are available in the area and this first night we really took advantage of it. We ordered a whole assortment of food from The Craft Bar and it was so good. The perfect type of snacks and appetizers. Spoiler alert get the mac and cheese bites and pulled pork quesadillas – you wont be disappointed!
Day 2:
Our first full day was filled with activities. Many of the girls who were on the trip are runners and Destin was a great place to run. There were a lot of places to go, especially due to the location of our house right by the beach.
Can we just talk about the sand? The whitest and softest sand I have ever seen and I have been to a lot of places in the Caribbean and Mexico.
Next stop was Serenity By The Sea Spa at the Hilton in Sandestin. We had day passes and were able to use the hot tub, sauna, steam room, relaxation rooms, anti-gravity chairs and there was a lunch food menu and cocktails available. What better way to spend the day with a great group of girls. The spa staff were all extremely pleasant and helpful, the spa itself was spotless. They did have treatments available to be booked if we wished, but we wanted to all stay together as a group. I would definitely suggest this for a day of relaxation.
When we all had enough relaxation it was time to get some lunch! We headed over to The Crab Trap for some waterfront dining. We had originally planned to have dinner here the night before, but we were enjoying ourselves in the hot tub and pool so much we decided to just order in. I am so glad we got to try this place – best shrimp po boy ever!
Although it was warm to us Jersey girls, the Floridians were still wearing jackets and outside dining was not open. But, we did sit right near a window over looking the beach. The restaurant is right on the beach and you can walk down to a bar area in the sand with tables. They also have a playground for kids and activities for adults.
Time for some exercise!
This evening we then went to Destin Pilates & Aerial for a 1- hour aerial yoga class followed by 30 minutes of restorative yoga. They truly catered to our group of 8 girls and have done a lot of bachelorette parties. I don’t think I can say enough good things about this experience. We had two instructors and they were both so fabulous. They really read the group and catered the experience to us. This was not only a great workout, but a bonding experience for us all. I was so proud of all the encouraging words and phrases flying around the room! This is a must do if you are in the area, find a class and have fun!
It was dark int here so the pictures are not the best, but we were definitely all more concerned with the fun we were having! But, take a look and enjoy!
Thank you so much to our wonderful instructors at Destin Pilates and Aerial for such a great time.
Day 3:
The next morning – brunch was a must! Our uber driver taking us to the Spa the day before told us we HAD to go to Tailfins for brunch. I haven’t met a brunch I don’t like and this definitely lived up to the hype. Unlimited Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s? Yes please! Honestly, nothing makes me happier than sipping on unlimited mimosas overlooking the water and a marina. Made me feel like I was home minus the fact the weather was actually warm!
This was two pancakes with chicken, egg, bacon and maple syrup in it served with gravy. I did not order this and 1000% regretted it. All of the food here was delicious and a must try.
Brunch is super important when you are heading to a brewery tour! In the name of honesty, I will say we planned on hitting four places and only made it to two. But, these two places were just so much fun. We planned on going to Destin Brewery, McGuires, Fort Walton Brewery and Props Brewery. We only did Destin brewery and McGuires.
Destin Brewery was your typical brewery that we are used to spending time in here in NJ. A small counter to order flights and pints from, merchandise available and an area to sit and enjoy your beer in. There were multiple tables set up and darts and cornhole. Just so you know, this is a very family friendly establishment – there were a lot of kids.
Next stop McGuire’s! This is an Irish Pub that is loads of fun! They have a great indoor and outdoor area plus cornhole. They do brew a lot of their own beers as well.
McGuire’s is also a restaurant and has an abundance of gift shops. Get all of your Destin FL swag here! They also line the walls and ceiling of the pub with money which is so cool.
All in all it was an absolutely wonderful long weekend. I would highly recommend Destin, FL to anyone. It can be as relaxing of a trip as you want or as exciting fun filled of a trip as you plan. There is so much to do – we barely saw half of the area. We even cancelled a lot of our plans at night to “go out” because we had so much fun as a group hanging at our house using the hot tub, pool, cooking and playing games together.
Have you ever been to Destin before? Let me know in the comments below!
xo Kait.
[…] would be fun to tell you my best planning tips. Originally, I was planning on doing this with my Destin Florida Travel Guide post, but it was just way too much […]