Condos requiring 7 night stay Destin area

I didn't have this problem in June two years ago. Are you saying you own a condo and that's how it's set up? Plus, starting it on a Saturday is another timing problem.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

I sometime feel like we're living parallel existences.

In all seriousness, that Sunburst realty has some great places in Old Seagrove. My advice is, VRBO can be good for finding such places and their availability, but when you're ready to book, contact Sunburst (or whatever agency is on the vrbo listing) directly and you will avoid the vrbo fee and likely can also better negotiate thinks like 7 night minimum requirements that may be stated.

My wife is doing the searching. She's fairly insistent about it being on the beach. We've used VBRO in the past, but what's sunburst?

Being "on the beach" is something she'll just have to get over (unless you can split a place with another family or two). Once she sees this place she'll never ask for a condo again. When almost no one is on the beach it makes for a much more enjoyable trip.

Beach in the morning, go back to the house and get cleaned up. Go out for lunch and exploring 30A (and shopping) and buy the makings for a good dinner...get drinks...go back to the house and setup for a sunset on the beach. Prep while drinking...beach, come back and make dinner. Stay up late talking shite. One or two nights at Stinkys or Cafe Tango, or 30A...no more Destin restaurants, no more crowds (unless you want a drink at Bud and Alley's).

Sunburst is the reality company.

There are really neat trails in the area of your SUV is game.

Try Joni's Beach Rentals in PCB.

We like to stay 9 days; most properties are flexible.

Crowds are why we plan our lodging accordingly. No more driving on 30A if you don't want to, no driving at all if you don't want to. Old Seagrove works good for that. We normally cook dinner, and lunch never seems hard to come by. I think if you do it right you can still avoid madness.

We do a big family beach house rental every 5 years or so. That's almost exclusively dine-in, stay-in type of vacation. One big store run then just chill. We rented one of Bobby Bowdin's houses once. Pictures of him with players and coaches everywhere. Place was a castle. Those are nice, but damn it's a good bit of work with a dozen or so people.

The prices for gulf coast condos are out of control. You can find better values more easily in Hawaii than you can for just about anywhere starting in Gulf Shores.

Cost is the primary reason we hardly go the beach anymore. They know people will pay it and they just keep jacking up the prices. Service fees through VRBO are climibng the ladder right there with them.

When I was a kid the gulf coast beaches were a value vacation. Now, you can do Disney World and cruise (non Carnival) for cheaper than hitting up the beach.

Go to Navarre Beach. Plenty of nice condos not requiring 7 night stay. Not crowded. Plan on cooking as only negative is not many restaurants