Wonderful! The beaches are the whitest and prettiest I've seen anywhere in the world. Dining in Destin and Ft Walton Beach is some of the best in the United States and encompasses every kind of food you could possibly want.

Was visiting in the off season so parking was no problem. Can see how it would be trouble during spring and summer. The sand was clean with no signs of animal droppings or trash. Flags posted visibly on beach designated tide and wave danger in the water. Lifeguards usually not present on beach. Not very many people on beach despite number of resorts and hotels. Was told by people at resort that these beaches were less populated even during the season.

850-244-1023
To Fish: $6.50/adult, $5.50/senior, $3.50/child age 6-12
To Observe: $1
Kids under 6 are free
Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, they will rent or sell you anything you need. No fishing license is required.

Our young family does not yet have the patience for fishing, but this pier was a great learning experience.

The kids had just come from the Gulfarium and needed the run to the end of the pier where most of the fishing folks were. The day we were there they were catching, hard-tail, pinfish, king mackerel and the occasional remora. The fishers politely showed the boys their catches. They told us this was a particularly poor day, that usually the types of fish caught were better.

Looking down into the water off the pier we saw a humongous sea turtle and dolphins working together to feed. The fisher-folk didn’t seem to grudge the competition, at least not while we were there.

I think the boys would have stayed out another half-hour, but it started to rain. This gave us the perfect opportunity to herd them back to the cars.