J.R.
It may be too late but we rented a house through Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) in Destin last summer and it was great. We were within walking distance of the beach but the community also had a tram that ran all day. Having three kids too the house was great because it was better for lunch, dinner etc. and ours had a pool so when the kids got tired of the beach we would come back and spend time in the pool. Destin is great, have fun.