Feel at Home: 8 Best Vacation Rentals in Destin, Florida

The Pet-Friendly Beachy Bungalow is a standalone cottage painted eggshell blue that offers easy beach access as well as two community pools and hot tubs in the Maravilla resort community. The place is located near Miramar Beach—a short drive from gorgeous Henderson Beach State Park. It’s a charming bungalow-style cottage in a quiet, beachfront resort community, that welcomes your dogs.

From the house, it’s just a five-minute walk down to the sand, and you can make use of a wagon provided for guests to tote the vacation rental’s beach chairs and umbrella, too. The house itself is made for the comfort of pets and their people, with tiles throughout, a big backyard patio with a grill for cooking out, and three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There’s even a pull-out sofa in the living room for additional sleeping space.

Fire up the Keurig coffee maker in the mornings and relax on your balcony overlooking the beach at The Salt Life, a cozy nest of a condo in Destin’s Holiday Isle. With one bedroom and one bathroom, it sits smack oceanfront, with views at every turn.

As the outdoor ceiling fan stirs the salt-spiked air around you, maybe you’ll even spot dolphins cruising the shallows below from your outdoor vantage point in the fifth-floor apartment.

The Salt Life comes stocked with beach towels, laundry and dishwasher detergent, garbage bags, paper towels and the like, which leaves you just to fill your fridge and settle in. Restaurants are within strolling distance, too, if you please.

After a romantic walk on the soft sand, make time for a dip in the oceanfront outdoor swimming pool or hot tub before retiring to your balcony to toast sunset together.

Families of up to six have room to spread out in the cheerfully-decorated Oceanview Beachfront Condo located in Pelican Beach Resort, in the heart of Destin. Watch the kids beeline it to the bunkbeds, tucked into a nook in the hallway, and enjoy the bright colors of the master bedroom, decorated with anchors and lighthouses for a fun nautical theme.

The fourth-floor apartment has high ceilings and a wide balcony fronting the ocean that brings lots of natural light streaming in. If you like your beach vacations with a side of wellness, you’ll love the building’s amenities that include a steam room, indoor and outdoor heated pools, and even a sauna. Kids will no doubt head straight for the video game room when they’re back from the beach.

The resort even has its own tiki bar that’s open from Spring Break into early fall and set just back from the swaying sea oats, with frozen cocktails and virgin daiquiris for the kids while you can raise something stronger to sunset, perhaps, just steps from the sand.

When you’re traveling as a big, multi-generational group, it can be challenging to find a large property that ticks all the boxes. But just blocks from the beach in Destin and with room for 18 guests to sleep comfortably and a gorgeous back yard to boot, Book for Summer is the one.

Tile and wood floors throughout pair with bright linens and artwork and clean, white wood furnishings for an interior that’s both modern and warm. You’ll probably spend lots of time with the gang in the home’s beloved backyard, with its private pool, hammocks for lounging, and the barbecue grill waiting to be fired up.

The property has five bedrooms as well as several extra nooks for sleeping. And there are four free bikes available for use, a cart for toting beach supplies and even a golf cart you can rent during your stay, if you wish. Restaurants—including a favorite little coffee spot—are just a short stroll out the door.

With a great location in a quiet Miramar Beach community just 100 yards from the prettiest white sand beach, the Aloha Cottage had us at, well, Aloha! The three-bedroom home has a private pool all its own as well as a beachfront community pool guests can access. And it’s easy to accommodate up to 10 people here, thanks to bunk beds the kids will love.

Folks who are groggy until they get their morning cup will gravitate to the cozy, covered porch, where you can sip some coffee while working up the energy for the short walk to the beach for a stroll. Restaurants, outlet shopping, and grocery stores are all just minutes away.

With a covered front porch, tree-filled yard, and pretty tin roof that might have you hoping for one of those infamous late-afternoon Florida storms to rain down just so you can listen along, the Best Nest certainly lives up to its name.

Painted cotton candy pink, the three-bedroom cottage is located in the quiet Crystal Beach community of Destin, just a block from the beach. But pulling yourself away from its cozy amenities and cheerful ambiance may be a challenge.

The house has the most charming front porch for sipping a frosty lemonade as well as a fenced yard full of trees and with an outdoor dining table and grill. The owners even converted the garage into a game room with mounted TVs, air-conditioning, a couch, foosball table, and more amenities. Did we mention the community pool is steps away when you fancy a freshwater dip?

There’s just something about a vacation rental right on the water that makes you feel like you’re on a yacht. And that’s just the effect at Panoramic View in Destin—this spacious end unit on the third floor of the Grand Caribbean East resort community brings Gulf of Mexico views sweeping into the home at every angle.

You can see the sparkling blue water from the kitchen, living room, dining room table, and bedroom of this two-bedroom vacation rental. And when you’re ready to hit the beach or community swimming pool, both are just steps away.

Beach chairs, a beach umbrella, and sand toys are available for guest use, so there’s no need to bring anything with you to get comfortable on the sand, either. For all the comforts inside, don’t be surprised if you spend most of your vacation breathing in the fresh air and gorgeous views from the rental’s wraparound porch, stocked with comfortable chairs perfect for reading a book or enjoying your morning coffee.

Beach chairs, a beach umbrella and sand toys are available for guest use, so there’s no need to bring anything with you to get comfortable on the sand, either. For all the comforts inside, don’t be surprised if you spend most of your vacation breathing in the fresh air and gorgeous views from the rental’s wraparound porch, stocked with comfortable chairs perfect for reading a book or enjoying your morning coffee.

Easter egg-hued cottages lined with picket fences abound in Destin’s inviting beach community of Clipper Cove in Crystal Beach, where you can have a family stay to remember just steps from the sand in the three-bedroom Beach Cottage.

Several independent and chain restaurants, popular with locals and visitors, are within a short walk of the vacation rental. But you may be tempted to cook meals in, too, thanks to the home’s spacious kitchen and tropical backyard, where a grill awaits.

The home’s split-floor plan offers privacy if you’re vacationing with another family, and there’s extra space to sleep, too, with a sleeper sofa in the living room. Lazy vacation days are best spent swimming—whether in the community pool, right near the house, or in the turquoise waters of Crystal Beach, a three-minute walk away.