Garie Beach

Can you save my trip to Destin and suggest alternative activities?

We are leaving for Destin, FL in a week for our trip which is scheduled for May 10-14th. We have rented a beach front condo, so naturally we didn't plan on doing much more than vegging out on the beach listening to the waves. Now I'm pretty sure that's the last thing we'll want to be doing if the smell is just horrible (not to mention breathing in toxic fumes!) I have contacted the resort properties about cancelling, but unfortunately our travel insurance through CSA is useless as they are not refunding any money due to the oil spill since it's a man made disaster. So PLEASE, can you give me alternative activities within a few hours drive of Destin that we can do while we're there? We'll have our car since we're driving from Texas. (I don't even want to think about how unpleasant the drive will be down the coast!!) What can we do to make the best of our trip since we don't have the option to cancel? Thanks! ETA: This is regarding the oil spill, so it will show up on searches, thanks.

Public Comments

1. So far Destin is not looking to see too much impact. It is light crude oil and if it does hit the beaches it will be easy to clean. The media is making it look much worse than it is and there will not be any fumes. I would check out the water park, do a little shopping, explore The Beaches of South Walton to the East, kayak on fresh water dune lakes, eat out at our many great local spots. It looks bad now but I imagine it won't be all that bad. For more information on things to do in Destin check out http://www.doitindestin.com.
2. We have our vacation scheduled for the last week in May. Like your family we have our fingers crossed that it won't be that bad by the time we get there. I think Destin expert is right in that the media is blowing this up like they do for everything. Unfortunately, bad news sells!! Hope ya'll have a fun trip and not all is ruined!! Please post when you return what the beaches were like. :)