At the beginning of July, we took a family trip with my parents and siblings to Fort Walton Beach, FL. It was so fun to get away with more extended family that we don’t get to see too often anymore. We had such a good time even though it ended up raining most of the time we were there, which did make us grateful for having good accommodations! We picked this destination because we could all drive there in a reasonable amount of time and save money on airfare. We also heard the beach was beautiful and the weather was fantastic. Although it stormed the last half of our trip, I definitely think that is extremely rare for this location, so don’t let our experience deter you!


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The Condo:

We stayed at Destin West Beach & Bay Resort. Each unit has its own owner and you rent specifically from them through a realty company. We like this aspect because oftentimes the owners live part of the year there, so you know they’re going to take good care of the place! You’ll want to see pictures of your specific unit though to be sure it’s what you’re looking for. Our particular unit was gorgeous and so spacious! There are two sections of the hotel right across the street from each other. One side is on the gulf, right on the beach. And the other side is on the bay, but it’s connected by a walking bridge which leads right to the beach. We stayed on the bay side and were glad about it. The view off of our patio overlooking the bay was beautiful and we saved a bit of money too. And the walk was really not so bad.

They had such fun pools included in the resort! There’s a lazy river, which we used not only on the sunny days, but also when it was sprinkling too. Little Piñata loved it! We brought a little blow-up raft and he relaxed down the lazy river with us and loved seeing family pop up and down out of the water right in front of him.


Relaxing in his baby float in the lazy river

They also had a “splash pad” for little kids, which was SO fun! We went first thing in the morning when there weren’t other kids there and Little Piñata loved running around and feeling the water come out of all the different spouts. They had a little toddler area too, which was perfect for him. My mom went with him in the bigger splash areas, which made him feel more courageous.


Enjoying the splash pad!

The Beach:


Getting ready to get in the Ocean

The beach was beautiful too! There were pretty good waves, which was good for boogie boarding. However, it was quite packed. Other than the weather I would say that was the only downside to the trip. On the nice days you definitely sat very close to your beach neighbors. I don’t think it helped that we went on the week of July 4th, the busiest travel week of the year. Hopefully it would be less packed during other summer weeks.


Looking cool with daddy at the beach!

Little Piñata also LOVED the ocean! We were concerned about the salt water, but he got right in with us, laughing when it splashed his face. He’s so adventurous!

The Gulfarium:

On one of the rainy days we took Little Piñata to The Gulfarium about a block from our hotel. It was very similar to an aquarium, but mostly outside. There were awnings over most everything though. It was a great way to spend a few hours on a rainy day, but it was expensive! Thankfully Little Piñata got in for free, since adult tickets were $20 each.


Fascinated by the dolphins at the dolphin show

It was pretty fun, but especially for us to see LP’s reactions to the animals. He absolutely squealed at the dolphins, which was so cute! He got super excited about them, which made it worth it for us. But, I will say, that if it had been sunny, I would have much rather been at the beach!

Cheap drinks anyone?

Another fun thing you might find when it’s storming half of your vacation is a cheap place to get drinks. :) Fudpuckers (That’s right. Not Fuddruckers) was the restaurant right next door to us and they had good pizza, seafood, American fare, etc. But, the best part was they also had $3 specialty martinis all day long so it was a fun place to go for 4th of July dinner. We went to the very back room where there was live music and our family got two long picnic tables to share, which was fun. If we ever visit Fort Walton Beach again, we’ll definitely visit Fudpuckers again.


4th of July Family Photo… too bad LP is just so squirmy!

Overall, it was a fun trip! Here are a few tips on what NOT to do, just in case you were wondering what didn’t go so well on our trip.

1. Don’t put the widest carseat you have in the middle backseat of your compact car and think there will be enough room for you on the side. This space will seem increasingly smaller as the 7 hours pass by.

2. Don’t leave for the road trip past your toddler’s naptime if they don’t sleep well in the car during the day. This will cause over-tired crankiness if they don’t end up sleeping much!

3. Don’t expect your little one to go right to sleep once you arrive at the hotel, even if it is at 11:30pm. Give them a chance to get used to their new surroundings first.

4. Just because you put 50+SPF sunscreen on your child doesn’t mean it is on you too. Be sure to use a high SPF sunscreen on yourself the first day. Otherwise you just might get a bad sunburn on your first day on the beach.

Things we planned well for?

1. Get a good baby float for the pool! We recommend this one, especially since it comes with a canopy and folds up really easily.

2. If you have an ipad or other tablet, use it to watch downloaded tv shows and videos in the car. There’s a series of episodes of Sesame Street that’s free on iTunes called “Learn Along with Sesame” that helped us a lot along the drive!

3. Bring along sand toys and a decent beach umbrella so your LO can play on the beach for an extended period of time and you’re not worried about them getting too much sun. We got a bargain set for just about $15 for both, but they suited our needs just fine for the trip. Although I would recommend getting something sturdier if you want it for the long run for future trips.


Playing with those fun beach toys under the umbrella with Aunt Deborah

4. Rent the crib and high chair instead of trying to bring them along. This was so helpful when trying to pack the car.

4. Try to rent a place with laundry access so you can pack less clothes. This way you can also wash your dirty, sandy towels a couple of times while you’re there.

5. Try to rent a place with a kitchen (or mini-kitchen). This makes feeding a toddler so much easier! We had lots of his favorites on hand in the fridge.

6. Be flexible with your schedule for the week. Anticipate poor naps and bad night sleeping. Try to get your LO the sleep that he or she needs, but also have fun and stay at the beach a little longer if everyone is having a good time. Kids needs to learn flexibility too, right?

Have you ever stayed in a condo when traveling with kids?