FAMILY BEACH VACATION in DESTIN PENSACOLA FLORIDA

seashells are a big part of the family beach vacation atmosphere of destin beach florida, pensacola beach, and all locations along the emerald coast of florida. you can gather seashells on destin beach, okaloosa island beach, navarre beach, Pensacola Beach, and santa rosa beach. The entire family will enjoy the variety of seashells during their family beach vacation on the emerald coast. The family will find sandollars, scallops, and a huge variety of shells on the beach.

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Your Portal to your Family Beach Vacation

Plan Your Next Family Beach Vacation on the Beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida

Welcome to your Florida Family Beach Vacation destination on the beautiful Emerald Coast. At Vacation Gulf Coast, our goal is to provide you with quick access to useful information about the beautiful stretch of family beachs along the Emerald Coast of Florida. Our focus is on the family beach vacation communities of Destin beach, Fort Walton beach, Okaloosa Island beach, Walton County beachs including Sandestin, Seagrove beach, Grayton beach, and Panama City beach. In the future we will include Navarre beach, Pensacola beach, Orange beach, and Perdido Key beach to our interactive online family beach vacation community. We hope vacation gulf coast.com makes it easier for you to plan your family beach vacation, chat with the locals, and do business with our friendly family community.

Vacation gulf coast.com is where you'll find timely and up-to-date information and articles concerning life along the family beachs on the Emerald Coast. Feel free to browse around this site for places to dine, places to stay, places to play, and of course to enjoy a day on the white sand beach. The most talked about and most commonly used feature is our city and beach maps of the local area. Here you’ll be able to locate not only a place to stay, but you'll get a unique visual perspective on where you are in relation to restaurants, hotels, attractions and the beach. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about our products or services, or simply need more information and want to contact us, click on the contact button on any page within this site.

Thank you for visiting vacation gulf coast.com, take your time and enjoy your stay. We look forward to serving you and keeping you as our most important focus. Stay tuned for a unique experience exploring and discovering our family beach vacations, our white sand beachs, and all that the beautiful Emerald Coast has to offer. Everything from the best places to stay; the best places to eat; or just the best things to do when you get here! Get ready to become a regular Emerald Coast Vacationeer!

seashells are a big part of the family beach vacation atmosphere of destin beach florida and all family beach locations along the emerald coast of florida. you can gather seashells on destin beach, okaloosa island beach, navarre beach, Pensacola Beach, and santa rosa beach. The entire family will enjoy the variety of seashells on the family beach of the emerald coast. The family will find sandollars, scallops, and a huge variety of shells on the beach.

Welcome to vacation-gulf-coast.com, your family beach vacation destination on the beautiful gulf coast of Florida. At Vacation Gulf Coast, our goal is to provide you with quick access to useful information about the beautiful emerald coast of Florida. Our initial focus will be on the gulf coast communities of Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island Beach, Walton County including Sandestin beach, Seagrove beach, Grayton Beach, and Panama City Beach. By Spring Break 2004 we will be pleased to include Navarre Beach, Pensacola Beach, Orange Beach, and Perdido Key Beach to our interactive online family community. We believe that vacation-gulf-coast.com will make it easier for you to plan your vacations, chat with the locals, and do business with our friendly beach community. Look around and discover all our unique capabilities, as well as our courteous and resourceful staff. Feel free to browse around this site and familiarize yourself with all its features. The most talked about and most commonly used feature is our maps of the local area. Here you'll be able to locate not only a place to stay, but where to eat and have fun while you're here. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about our products or services, or simply need more information and want to contact us, click on the contact button on any page within this site. Whether you are vacationing, planning to relocate or just passing through, you will be surrounded by ... beautiful family beach vacation sites, outstanding cuisine, superb fishing, attractions, specialty shops and accommodations suitable for any size budget. How about DESTIN BEACH? Discovering Destin Beach dates back to the seventh century A.D. With records showing American Indians lived here, surviving off the major staple of the beach - fish! Spanish explorers visited some 900 years later, and divers are still finding wreckage of old ships in area waters. destin beach traces its immediate history to a fisherman, Leonard Destin, who moved here from New London, Connecticut and settled in Northwest Florida about 1845. For decades he and his descendents fished and navigated the only channel passage to the Gulf of Mexico between Panama City beach and Pensacola beach, known as Destin�s East Pass. Destin beach officially incorporated as a municipality in November 1984, and now has a fully functioning city council and government. No longer a small fishing village, visitors are still discovering for the first time what is now a major tourist attraction � Destin�s beautiful coast, family beach vacation, friendly atmosphere, supreme dining and of course, fishing in the World�s Luckiest Fishing Village. The ultimate attraction is the emerald green surf of the Gulf of Mexico, bordered by destin beach, beaches of soft white sand! Complimenting our stunning family beaches, are endless family water sports to include fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, parasailing, and all types of boating. Varied attractions for family beach vacation fun include extreme golf, shopping, water parks, along with arts and entertainment attractions. Every type of relaxing family activity is available in Destin beach, from gently strolling through a scenic state park to whipping around in a go-cart, whisking down a giant waterslide or horseback riding. Take a beach break and have all the family fun possible at various attractions for all ages! Take in the view of an emerald surf sweeping a crystal white shoreline in Destin beach, from a variety of family accommodation choices. Stay in spacious, inviting condominiums; a family resort with golf, tennis, spa, restaurants or varied amenities; a secluded bed and breakfast; a private beach house, or drive the recreational vehicle to a family camp site at the beach. Business meeting planners also find Destin beach a great place for conferences and seminars because of the close proximity to the beach, golf, dining, and overall relaxation during those steal-away hours. The area has played host to organizations such as the Louisiana Bar Association and The Alabama Independent Insurance Association. For specific information about family accommodations, please refer to the classified section in this book. Extended or short, extravagant or simple, business or pleasure � Destin Beach is a wonderful place to stay! Dining is supreme, offering exquisite seafood and cultural diversity in a vast number of restaurants. Take in panoramic waterfront views of the Destin Beach Harbor or the Gulf daytime or nighttime. Anything from a casual family setting to an evening dining experience can be found in Destin Beach. Phenomenal local entertainment is here! Take in a concert, capture the unique local atmosphere, enjoy an evening boat ride, or walk barefoot on the beach at sunset � there is always something attractive to do in Destin Beach! For larger get-togethers, banquet facilities are available at many of the area hotels and resorts. Breakout rooms and large conference rooms are available for seminars and workshops. Local restaurants and businesses also provide outside catering. Destin�s family vacation beaches have been called Florida�s Emerald Coast because of their beautiful blue-green, crystal clear color. Whether you take a relaxing stroll along the beach, or get a �bird�s eye view� from a parasailing trip, you will marvel at the beauty of Florida�s Emerald Coast. Residents and tourists alike find the beaches, with the unique bright white sand, to be some of the finest in the world. Additionally, unlike other resort areas, Destin�s beach contains very little coarse coral and shell. In fact, Destin Beach is coated with white sand made mostly from quartz! This keeps the sand the consistency of powdered sugar and the harmonics of quartz rubbing together causes the sand to "squeek" when you walk on it. The crystal clear water also provides excellent diving and snorkeling opportunities. Destin Beach is one of the few places in Florida where you can still snorkel right off the beach without a boat. Places such as the Destin beach Jetties and Crystal Beach pier pilings are superb snorkeling locations for beginners and pros alike. In addition to these, there are numerous natural and artificial reefs throughout the Destin Beach area that are superb for spearfishing, shelling, catching lobsters, or just family sightseeing. Scuba diving and snorkel trips, as well as courses and equipment are available from several local chamber member companies listed in the classified section of this publication. Where else by Destin Beach can you enjoy shopping at your leisure? On vacation of course, and Destin Beach is the perfect family beach vacation place. Spend a day, or an afternoon, shopping at Silver Sands Factory Stores, the largest designer factory center in the nation. With over 100 designer name stores, and conveniently located eight miles East of Destin Beach on Hwy. 98, just accross the street from the nation�s most beautiful family beach vacations, Silver Sands Factory Stores is an attraction you don�t want to miss! Where else will you find upscale shopping at discount prices? If you prefer the indoors, the local mall provides convenient one-stop shopping. Also inside where it�s cool, you�ll find an arcade of games for all ages. Destin Beach has many fascinating, exclusive specialty shops designed with the family shopper in mind, providing lots of shade and places to relax, as well as seasonal events and family entertainment! For the past 50 years, anglers have competed in over 30 different categories for more than $100,000 in prizes. All types of saltwater gamefish are eligible, so that pier and surf fishermen, trollers, bottom fishermen and offshore anglers all have an equal chance to win. Kicking off the first weekend of October with the Rodeo is the Destin Beach Seafood Festival, a three-day festival originally started by the wives of fishermen. The 21-year old Festival celebrates this time of year with arts and crafts, seafood, live entertainment and fun for the entire family. See the calendar of events in this guidebook for other fishing tournaments. Deep sea bottom fishing is one of the specialties of the Destin Beach fleet. Red snapper, grouper, triggerfish, scamp and amberjack are all caught using this method. In addition, charter boats also troll near the coast, finding cobia, blackfin tuna, king mackerel, bluefish, barracuda and Spanish mackerel. Far offshore, trollers can find white and blue marlin, wahoo, and sailfish. Over 100 charter and party boats call Destin Beach home, and range in size from six passenger capacity to ones that can handle more than 100 anglers. Prices for the charters vary by boat, and include bait and tackle. Meals can also be arranged with the boat captain. How about PENSACOLA BEACH? Welcome to Pensacola Beach Florida, another great family beach vacation on the emerald coast. Pensacola Beach is the American South, red sunsets, white beaches and Blue Angels. We're as down home as barbeque and cold beer, as classically elegant as wood-grilled shrimp, gouda cheese grits and white wine. We are the new south and old Florida, a resort town with a unique history and thriving community. Pensacola Beach got its name from the Panzacola Indians who greeted the first Spanish explorers in 1559, when Don Tristan de Luna led 1,400 colonists to what is now Pensacola Beach. But a major hurricane sank ships, drowned livestock, and prompted them to flee. Although the Panzacola Indians are now extinct, Creek Indians live in the area and celebrate their traditions today. Fort Pickens was completed in 1834 and used until WWII, when modern weapons made traditional coastal defense obsolete. Fort Pickens has changed over the years, so take the self-guided tour and peel back the layers of history. It'll lead you to cannon emplacements, powder magazines, and show you where Bastion D isn't: the corner of the fort that was destroyed when a warehouse fire reached a magazine holding four tons of black powder. The 1899 explosion showered debris over 1-1/2 miles, reaching Fort Barrancas at the naval air station on the mainland. Historic Pensacola Beach Village is the museum operation of West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc., which is a direct support organization of the University of West Florida. The Village consists of twenty properties in the Pensacola Beach National Register Historic District. Ten of these properties are interpreted facilities that are open to the public. Looking for something to do in the Pensacola Beach area? Here are just a few suggestions: At the National Museum of Naval Aviation dozens of displays trace the history of flight from wooden planes to the Skylab module. The adjoining IMAX� Theatre shows big-screen aviation films that make you feel like you're in the cockpit. The museum's free attractions include flight simulators and informal tours led by retired aviators with first-hand experience. If you like history, you'll love exploring the forts on our beaches and the historic areas around downtown Pensacola. A visit to Veteran's Memorial Park can be moving. The park honors veterans of all wars and includes The Wall South, a replica of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also, for a step back in time, don't forget to see the Civil War Soldiers Museum. The Blue Angels Classic, played at The Moors Golf and Lodging, is pro golf at its best. Tour players and fans praise The Moors for its course conditions and spectator-friendliness. The Blue Angel Classic has a rich history of thrilling finishes. The annual event is an exciting array of professional golfers, with many commitments to charities on the local, state and national level. The Blue Angel Classic is a great event for the whole family. Affordable golf packages are available at over a dozen golf courses in the area. If tennis is your racket, the area has more than 30 courts. The sports calendar is full year-round with numerous 5K runs, marathons and triathlons. And for the bike enthusiast, there are over 20 miles of paved bike trails in the Pensacola Beach area. The ZOO is home to more than 700 wild, not-so-wild and endangered animals and lush botanical gardens. Hand-feed giraffes, ride a train through a wildlife preserve, or walk a boardwalk 12 feet above the animals. Daily shows are offered; group rates are available. The fun never ends, at Sam�s Fun City. Located in the heart of Pensacola, just south of I-10 on Highway 29, Sam�s Fun City offers great family fun. Sam's Fun City features over 20 rides, attractions for children of all ages and a new Arcade. General admission is free to Pensacola's largest family amusement park. Fast Eddie�s Family Fun Center - Young or old, short or tall, Fast Eddie�s has it all! Varied sizes of go-carts with four tracks that meet all age and driving skills. Superkart Speedway with computerized scoreboard! Air conditioned state of the art Game Room. Located on W Street and West Michigan Avenue. Pensacola Beach Greyhound Track offers fun, food and excitement during matinees and evening races. Although it is not a year-round attraction, SpringFest is a family attraction that brings tens of thousands to the Pensacola Beach area. SpringFest in May is a three-day festival full of music and fun, and has been named one of the Southeast Tourism Society's "Top Festivals" for the month of May. How About FORT WALTON BEACH? From a population of 90 in 1940 to over 100,000 in 1999, the Greater Fort Walton Beach area has enjoyed growth in many areas. Undiscovered for many years, the area abounds with both large and small businesses, beautiful residential neighborhoods, sophisticated condominium complexes, an active industrial park engaged in light, clean industry, and many opportunities for outdoor sports and activities. A civic auditorium, council chambers, family library complex, attractive parks, and the family beach vacation aura give the city its core of activity. Fort Walton Beach has an unusual number of fine family restaurants and entertainment facilities. A top rated educational system provides students with the opportunity of a kindergarten through graduate school education. Fort Walton Beach has many churches of every denomination as well as numerous clubs and civic organizations. Family vacation beaches situated on the beautiful white sands of the Emerald Coast on the Gulf of Mexico, Fort Walton Beach draws from a business area of more than 171,000 people. Many factors go into making Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County the vibrant family area it is today. However, there are five important areas that stand out: the military impact in the community, the high tech industry located here, the abundant educational opportunities, the cost of living and the life-style advantages. Click on a link in the table to the right and look at the things that make the Fort Walton Beach area such an attractive place to work, live and play. Fort Walton Beach is rapidly earning the reputation as the "Technology Coast." Dozens of small and mid-size companies designing and manufacturing a vast assortment of products for military/industrial use have chosen our area as their home. These businesses often keep a low public profile due to their military and defense connections, but their impact on Fort Walton Beach is great. Their presence means an influx of professionals who are highly skilled, highly educated and highly paid. As the "Technology Coast" grows - and by all indications it will do so by leaps and bounds - so will the Fort Walton Beach metro area. Fort Walton Beach boasts a cost of living that is consistently lower than both the national average, and the average for the State of Florida. Beyond that, Florida is the only southeastern state without a personal state income tax, bringing the cost of living down even further The cost of living index as of January 1, 1999 was 97.9%. Fort Walton Beach metro area residents enjoy a family life-style that is the envy of much of the country. Our beautiful, clean and uncluttered family beaches are world renowned as the family beach vacation location on the Emerald Coast. The weather is postcard-perfect during much of the year, and winters are very mild. Our region is blessed with a rich and diverse cultural history, and exciting family events and festivals are numerous. Life in our neighborhood is the perfect blend of business, pleasure, and family! How About WALTON COUNTY? Walton County has three incorporated cities and several world-renowned familyi resort communities for family beach vacations. The county seat, DeFuniak Springs is a beautiful example of small town America famous for its spring fed lake surrounded by Victorian homes. Paxton lies about 20 miles north of DeFuniak Springs and just west of Lakewood, which boasts the state�s highest elevation point. Freeport is a thriving city in the center of the county and has a water barge port on the Intercoastal Waterway. The family beaches and their resorts including Sandestin and Seaside are visited by travelers from around the world. Must-do�s while in the area include touring the DeFuniak Springs historic district, which contains a collection of Victorian architecture centered around one of the only two natural, completely round lakes in the world. Also, while in DeFuniak, plan to visit the oldest library in the state of Florida � and, it contains a priceless collection of weaponry, some of which dates back to the Crusades. The lake yard around Lake DeFuniak, one of the world�s only two naturally round lakes, comes aglow from Thanksgiving to New Years. Following Hometown Christmas, a downtown arts and crafts street festival, Christmas Reflections� nearly one million lights help to open the family Christmas season. Take a riding tour around Lake DeFuniak and enjoy the beauty of the lights and charm of the decorated seasonal characters. Family tours continue each evening from 5 pm to 9 pm. The Chautauqua Winery is Florida�s largest winery and offers free tours and wine tasting daily. Fabulous shopping and dining abound in the area close to the beach. At more than 500,000 square feet of retail space, Silver Sands is the largest designer factory store center in the nation. Top names including Tommy Hilfiger, Brooks Brothers, Jones New York, Reebok, and many, many more drew more than 4.6 million family shoppers in 1999. Be sure to stop by the Chamber�s offices to pick up a shopping discount book. Known worldwide for its design, this family pedestrian community has become a family tourist destination because of its beautiful quaint cottages with picket fences, porches, towers and tin roofs. Seaside beach offers over 50 unique shops and galleries and fine restaurants. An active year-round schedule of events offers diverse programs for visitors to enjoy. And don�t overlook the top-rated beach in the world � the trip to a family beach in South Walton will be well worth the effort. Over 26 miles of sugar white sand beach are gently caressed by the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico along Walton County�s shorelines. Known throughout the world for their quality, the family beach in South Walton can be enjoyed year-round. Sunrises and sunsets over the waters -- the Gulf, Choctawhatchee Bay and the costal dune lakes � are sights not to be missed. The 19 family beach communities from Inlet Beach to Miramar Beach offer families and visitors an opportunity to relax, watch dolphin play offshore, and enjoy unspoiled nature like nowhere else. Family outdoor activities including surfing, snorkeling, boating, fishing, biking, hiking and camping are popular. Grayton Beach State Recreation Area boasts family vacation beaches that have consistently been ranked among the most beautiful in the country. Amenities include boat ramp into Western Lake, campfire interpretive programs and nature trails. Topsail Hill State Preserve encompasses more than 1,600 acres of some of the most pristine lands along Florida�s Emerald Coast. The preserve has over three-and a half miles of beach with magnificent dunes standing over 25 feet tall. Several freshwater coastal dune lakes are included in the preserve. What was once the home of the William Henry Wesley family is now a place of tranquility and contemplation at Eden State Gardens. Moss-draped live oaks, which are more than 100 years old, dominate the lawns. Camellias and azaleas offer colorful accents to the scene from October through May; enjoy the peak bloom around mid-March. The grounds, gardens and picnic area are open daily from 8 am till sundown. The Wesley mansion, once the largest residential structure in the area, is open for guided tours from 9 am � 4 pm Thursday through Monday. Come for a visit � or stay for a lifetime. Either way, you are sure to enjoy the treasures Walton County has to offer. A family beach vacation in Florida can be surprisingly affordable, especially in summer, especially away from all the theme park hype. The family beach on the Emerald Coast are about as far away as you can get from all that, both physically and in spirit. All the kids really need here is the family beach, a bucket and sunscreen. Start off your family beach vacation days early with shelling and exploring the natural sands of destin beach family beaches. In the evening, watch the sunset and add to your shell collection. When your family beach vacation takes a detour away from our beaches, you'll find an amazing breadth of engaging activities that don't make the pocketbook scream. Rivers, lakes, and the big ol' Gulf of Mexico infuse the Emerald Coast with opportunities for the family to explore and play by boat, whether a sea-level kayak or a luxury yacht. No matter what your kids' interests or what the weather, the Emerald Coast keeps them entertained and stimulated.