When you’re headed to Destin for your vacation, you can trust Destin Pontoon Charters to make your trip memorable and exciting. It’s a family-run business that strives to be more than just a boat rental company.
Brittany Miller, the daughter of the company founder, said the vision was always to make it “an all-inclusive experience where families didn’t have any pressure to deal with anything and they just got to enjoy and have fun.”
And it seems like they did exactly that. The boats generally come with paddle boards, a lily pad, and a cooler. You can also customize your trip to include excursions like snorkeling, dolphin watching, and more! Some of their catering and add-on options include a snackle box, boxed lunches, and even a bachelorette party pack which includes towels, floats, koozies, and more.
While Destin Pontoon Charters started as a private charter company six years ago, in the past year they’ve grown to include non-private charter options. This can often be a more economical route since it only requires purchasing one ticket per person and sharing the boat with others rather than renting a whole boat.
Their rental options can be broken down into four categories: six-passenger boats which are just standard pontoon boats, though some are double deckers with slides, private options for between 16 and 20 passengers, a standard non-private boat, and a premium non-private boat.
Millers’ favorite boat is “definitely ‘Dancing Queen’. I love the name,” she says. “I did pick it. I’m a little biased, but ‘Dancing Queen’ is so much fun. It’s a great place to have a dance party.”
Most of their boats are named after songs, each with a cute story behind it. The smallest boat in their fleet is ‘Nemo’ which wasn’t named after a song, but fitting nonetheless. Miller explains that their first boat was named after a Kid Rock song because “my father, who started the company, is a huge Kid Rock fan.” When given the opportunity, Miller likes to name boats after ABBA songs. Their newest boat is named ‘It’s Tricky’ because the captain plays ‘It’s Tricky’ by Run-DMC every time the boat leaves the dock.
While Destin Pontoon Charters wasn’t always as big as it is now, Miller says her family and friends built a business where it feels like they’re just hanging out every day. She says “it’s been a great bonding experience with my family.”
The people that they have, and the experiences that they create set Destin Pontoon Charters apart from the crowd. “Our captains and deckhands go above and beyond for people,” Miller tells me. “We are there every step of the way to make sure that they not only get an incredible experience, but they have an incredible time in Destin. We are travel guides. We help with transportation. We’re kind of there to make sure they don’t just have a great time with us, but they have a great time on their vacation.”
