Destin in the Press
Recognition of Destin area in media
The quality of life in the Destin area is phenomenal, and it is no longer a secret. Read below to discover some of the area’s recent accolades.
August 2023 - #17 Best Places to Visit in the USA for 2023-24 - US News
August 2023 - #6 Top 100 US Boomtowns - Checkr
April 2022 - 15 Best Family Beach Vacations in the U.S. - TripsToDiscover.com
June 2021 - Top 10 Best Beach Towns To Live In - WalletHub.com
May 2021 - 11 Most Picturesque Small Towns in Florida - TripsToDiscover.com
December 2020 - Top Family Friendly Vacation Destinations in Florida - TripsToDiscover.com
October 2020 - 9 Incredibly Unique Diving Locations in Florida - TripsToDiscover.com
September 2020 - 9 Places in Florida Every Photographer Needs to Shoot At Least Once - TripsToDiscover.com
September 2020 - 10 Family Destinations For Florida Fishing - TripsToDiscover.com
October 2019 - #12 Florida Cities with the Best Overall Feedback & #10 Florida Cities with the Most Overall Votes - TripToDiscover.com's Most Visitor-Friendly Florida Cities
July 2019 - Florida Favorite Beach - Birmingham Parent Magazine
June 2019 - #2 Best Florida Gulf Coast Beaches - VacationIdea Dream Vacation Magazine
May 2019 - 13 Perfect Gulf Coast Beach Towns for Families - TripAdvisor.com
March 2019 - 13 Best Beaches on Florida's Gulf Coast - TripsToDiscover.com
March 2019 - #2 on South's Best Beach Towns List 2019 - SouthernLiving.com
January 2019 - #13 Cities To Move To In 2019 - CubeSmart Self Storage blog
January 2019 - #4 Best Places To Visit In Florida - VacationIdea Dream Vacation Magazine
December 2018 - A Top Retirement Destination - America's 100 Best Places to Retire
November 2018 - Best Weekend Getaways In Florida From Each Of The State's Regions - TripAdvisor.com
June 2018 - This Is Why Everyone Should Plan A Trip To Destin, Florida - SouthernLiving.com
June 2018 - You Want Adventure? You Will Find It At These 5 Beach Towns - CarRentals.com, An Expedia Group Company
May 2017 - Top Summer Beach House Destinations for Families - TripAdvisor.com
March 2017 - #3 Trending Spots For Summer 2017 Vacation Rental Stay - TripAdvisor.com
December 2016 - Top 10 Best in the U.S. for 2017 - Lonely Planet
December 2016 - Top 10 Best Places to Visit in the United States in 2017 - Smart Meetings
December 2016 - #85 Top 100 Places for Business Travelers - Churchill Living
June 2016 - #2 Most Popular Summer Vacation Rental Spot in the US - TripAdvisor.com
May 2016 - #8 Summer Vacation Value Report - TripAdvisor.com
March 2016 - Top 20 Trending US Vacation Rental Markets - TripAdvisor.com
February 2016 - Top Retirement Destination - Where To Retire Magazine
February 2016 - Okaloosa County School District Graded #2 in State - OkaloosaSchools.com
January 2016 - 10 Best Beaches for a Budget Vacation in 2016 - MSN.com
December 2015 - #3 Destinations on the Rise for 2016 - TripAdvisor.com
October 2015 - #1 Sweet Spot for Renting Out Your Home - TripAdvisor.com's Vacation Rentals Blog
August 2015 - #1 Vacation Spot for Labor Day Weekend by TripAdvisor.com
May/June 2015 - American's Top 10 Beaches by The Saturday Evening Post
January 2015 - Top Winter Getaway by FlipKey
April 2014 - 10 Best Beaches for Families in 2014 by Family Vacation Critic
April 2014 - Top 20 Small Cities in Florida by Cities Journal
January 2014 - 2014 Best Gulf Beaches by FlipKey
December 2013 - #3 Destination on the Rise by TripAvisor.com
October 2013 - Top 10 Best Places to Buy a Vacation Home by The Huffington Post
August 2013 - Top Weekend Getaway by FlipKey
July 2013 - Best Place to Vacation by the readers of the Gadsden Times
March 2013 - Travel Channel's Best Family Beach 2013
August 2011 - Forbes Top 10 Most Recession Proof Cities for Real Estate
August 2011 - Best Fall Trips 2011 by National Geographic
August 2011 - Florida: Five Spots to Cast a Fishing Line by Miami Herald
August 2011 - Top Ten Most Beautiful Places by ABC's Good Morning America
August 2011 - Ranked #20 in Forbes Magazine's Top 20 Most Geekiest Cities
May 2011 - #1 Best Place to Live and Boat in Boating Magazine's Top 10
May 2011 - #10 Best Family Vacation in TripAdvisor.com's 2011 Travelers' Choice Awards
April 2011 - #1 Favorite Out of State Vacation* in Birmingham Parent Magazines's 2011 Family Favorite
*This was a three-way tie with Gatlinburg, TN, and Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.
July 2009 - #9 in Away.com's Top 10 top ten cheap beach vacation destinations for 2009.
July 4, 2009 - Destin ranks #38 in Priceline's Top 50 for the 4th of July.
Summer 2009 - SouthernLiving.com ranks Destin #9 in its Top 10 Best Budget Summer Getaways.
March 27, 2009 - Destin is number one Vacation Rentals Destination, according to tripadvisor.com's This Week's Top 10.
January 2009 - In the 2008 Readers’ Choice Awards, Destin was voted the #1 “Best Beach Destination,” the #3 “Best Family Destination,” and the #9 “Best Southern City.” This is the 14th year in a row that Destin has received the top beach destination spot and has been in the top five for best family vacation destinations.
May 30, 2008 - The Southeast Tourism Society has selected the 30th Annual Destin Seafood Festival as one of the Top 20 Events for the month of October 2008. This year marks the second year in a row and the third time overall the Destin Seafood Festival has been selected for the honor.
August 1, 2007 - The 29th Annual Destin Seafood Festival sponsored by Legendary, Inc., was announced as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events for October 2007.
June 1, 2007 - Destin is chosen Favorite Out of State Destination by a Birmingham Parent magazine readers' poll.
May 1, 2007 - BoomTowns2007: The FWB-Crestview-Destin area is named #13 of the Top 20 Small Cities for Doing Business, according to Inc. Magazine.
November 13, 2006 - Business Week online’s Golf Digest listed Destin as one of the 18 best new golf places in the country to retire
May/June 2006 – Southern Accents magazine's readers named Destin the number two beach destination and the number eight golf destination in its second annual Great Escapes Reader Travel Awards
April 2006 - The Ft. Walton Beach – Crestview – Destin, Fla., area received top billing in the Milken Institute’s 2005 ranking of Best Performing Cities Index released in February 2006. The region placed number one, up from number 16 in the 2004 ranking, among the 179 smallest metros.
