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My husband and I are both divers, but our children are too young to dive. We introduced the kids to snorkelling back in June, off the coast of St. Pete Beach/Shell Key. They absolutely loved it, and want to snorkel again. Here in Indiana, there is no place to take them snorkelling.
My questions....
Is Destin Jettys or the Destin area a good place to kids to snorkel? Is the vis pretty good? What kinds of things do you see there? I'm sure there are some dive boats in the area, but are there any that are dedicated to "snorkelling" only? Are there any lodging areas that are reasonably priced that you would recommend? What family oriented topside activities are around the area?
Any info that you have would be greatly appreciated. We are starting to plan next summer's vacation, and would like to visit the Destin area.
Most of the dive shops in the area have party barges that run snorkel trips out to the jetties. Visibility averages around 20' or better and there is a wide variety of fish to see for snorkelers. I think the price per snorkler is $25.
Is Destin Jettys or the Destin area a good place to kids to snorkel? Is the vis pretty good? What kinds of things do you see there? I'm sure there are some dive boats in the area, but are there any that are dedicated to "snorkelling" only? Are there any lodging areas that are reasonably priced that you would recommend? What family oriented topside activities are around the area?
Any info that you have would be greatly appreciated. We are starting to plan next summer's vacation, and would like to visit the Destin area.Thanks!
The Jettys and Destin are a great place for kids to snorkel. Having grown up in Ft. Walton/Destin area I learned to snorkel on the jetties and under the Destin bridge. Depending on how young your children are the area under the Destin bridge can sometimes be less challenging then the jetties. I taught my kids to snorkel under the Destin bridge years ago.
As some have mentioned you might benefit from going with a commercial snorkeling trip. They know the tides and provide a safe environment. Once you go with them you will have learned the area and could probably make some trips on your own after that. But, just make sure you watch the tides and the currents.
Let me know if I can help...our area is a great place to live and visit.
I agree the Destin Jetties are a great place to snorkel or dive.
You'll want to dive it at high tide. Snorkeling would be better at high tide or before for the clearest of water. You can check the tides at http://www.chucksdiveworld.com/tides.htm or other sites. If you go on other tide sites, look for a site called "East Pass" on the tide tables.
The snorkel boats will charge you $25/person. That will include gear. For a family of 4 that'll clearly run $100. If you've got your own gear you can do it for free by parking at the East Jetty beach acess on Gulf Shore drive and walking to it. I'd say it's about a 500 yard walk. That's what most of us do.
Another site that would be great to take your kids to snorkeling is the Crystal Pier Pilings. It's on the beach about 1/2 mile east of where mid-bay-bridge road hits the beach. The beach access is between Crystal Sands East and West buildings. Look for a gazebo at the entrance and 3 parking places. Across the street in front of the West building is additional public beach parking. You can dive this at any tide time, but you'll want to choose a day the waves are calm because they'll knock you and the kids into the pilings. The pilings have all kinds of critters, small fish, and sometimes large fish swimming around them. It's a pretty safe area except for during heavy waves. During the morning and late afternoon it's a popular shore fishing area, so during the middle of the day is the best time. Water depth used to be 10 to 15 feet deep, but after the storms last year it's more like 6 to 10 feet deep max all the way out to the sand bar.
The Destin Jetties are a great place to take kids snorkeling. Here is a detailed post that I put on another bulletin board last year about snorkeling in Destin; look under the reply from "Hawkfish":
One slightly unfortunate thing is that the main jetty for snorkeling (a finger jetty protruding outward from the shore at a right angle) sanded in badly in 2005 as a results of all the hurricanes. This greatly reduced the protected area that was really good for little kids. There is still good snorkeling, but the area is much smaller and it can get crowded if the snorkeling tour boats are there. If your kids are older and are good swimmers and unafraid of deeper water, there is still a big area for snorkeling that can be explored at high tide (when the current is slack) and when the Gulf of Mexico is relatively calm.
Does anyone have recommendations of (reasonably priced) places to stay?
You really can't find a reasonably priced place to stay in Destin (or at least on the beach). The real estate industry there has really boomed and the average 1BR condo on the beach easily cost $500k or more.
There aren't that many hotels there (compared to the number of condos) and the condo market is pretty much dominated by Abott Realty (known now as Resort Quest).
We have the same problem... finding a decent place to stay for a decent price.
You really can't find a reasonably priced place to stay in Destin (or at least on the beach). The real estate industry there has really boomed and the average 1BR condo on the beach easily cost $500k or more.
There aren't that many hotels there (compared to the number of condos) and the condo market is pretty much dominated by Abott Realty (known now as Resort Quest).
We have the same problem... finding a decent place to stay for a decent price.
Thank you, Mike...
It sounds like I will have to do some "digging" to find someplace to stay.... or work a bit more so I can afford a bit more!
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Originally Posted by erparamedic
