Destin: Private Crab Island Pontoon Charter & Double Slides

4.89

(161 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the sound — not waves, but laughter bouncing off the water as we pulled away from the dock in Destin. Our captain (I think his name was Chris?) handed us the Bluetooth speaker right away, like he knew we’d want our own soundtrack. The pontoon had this second level with two slides — honestly, I didn’t expect them to be that fast. My nephew went down first and shot out so quick he lost his hat. We all cracked up.

The ride out wasn’t long — maybe twenty minutes? You could smell sunscreen and salt in the air, and there were pelicans just hanging around on buoys. When we got to Crab Island (it’s not really an island, more like a big sandbar), there were already boats anchored everywhere. Chris found us a spot in shallow water, tossed out the lily pad float, and pointed at some vendor boats selling snacks. He said you can paddle over if you’re hungry — my sister tried it on the inflatable paddleboard but almost tipped herself into someone’s nachos.

I liked that it wasn’t rushed at all. We swam, floated around, took turns on the slides (my mom actually did it once and screamed), and just listened to music with our feet in the water. The sun felt heavy but not harsh — I guess because of the breeze? At one point I just lay back on the lily pad staring at clouds while everyone else argued about who made the best sandwiches. It’s weird how easy it is to forget time out there.

On the way back, everyone was a little quieter — tired in a good way. Chris talked about growing up here and how Crab Island changes every season. I still think about how simple it felt, just drifting for a while with people you like and nothing else to do.