DESTIN, Fla. – The best time of year to visit the white sandy beaches of the Emerald Coast of Florida for families is no doubt summer. For golfers? A strong argument could be made for fall.
Unlike South Florida, winter really isn't peak season here. Fall is probably the best time of year to play golf in these parts. Fortunately, Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort is offering several golf packages this autumn.
The 2,400-acre property offers four golf courses as well as first-rate accommodations and plenty of other things to like biking, snorkeling, fishing, hiking and dining out.
But the golf is what attracts golfers, of course. And it includes including the private Burnt Pine Golf Club (available with some packages), designed by Rees Jones; Raven Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.; and two other courses -- the Links Course at Sandestin, on the other side of the bay, and the Baytowne Course, which has the majority of its holes on the beach side of the resort, closer to the ocean.
Best of all, these packages are good values and are perfect for quick trips as well as longer stays.
Golf packages are good values
Sandestin's Fall Classic Package, for example, starts at just $117 and includes deluxe accommodations, a round of golf at The Links and a round at Baytowne Golf Club.
The The Players Package starts at $134, and this one includes the Raven and Baytowne, accommodations as well as some other extras.
And The Raven Experience includes a round at the Raven Course as well as the semi-private Burnt Pine Golf Club.
You can book any of these packages online using the group code GOGOLF or call 866.369.6012. Rates are valid Aug. 6-Oct.28. There are some blackout dates.
Lots of activities in addition to golf
Sandestin has a wide variety accommodations (outlined in the packages above) as well as more than two dozen restaurants , including Another Broken Egg Café for breakfast, the Bistro Bijoux for authentic New Orleans cuisine and live blues performance at the Funky Blues Shack. In addition to the restaurants, there are more than 30 retail shops at the resort with many of them located at the Baytowne Wharf.
The resort is also well connected with bicycle trails, and guests can rent bikes to use throughout the resort. Other recreational activities include beach volleyball, catch-and-release fishing, stand-up paddle boarding, sailing and sunset dinner cruises, and tennis on the resort's hydro-clay courts, which are watered from underneath.
There's also a world-class tennis center featuring hydro-clay courts. And the resort also has more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space, a day spa and something called the Joelee Island Nature Park.
For more information, visit Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort.