Gulf Shores And Orange Beach Vacation Guide
My husband and I decided to take a long weekend trip down to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama. We love the beach, but always seem to travel north on vacation (we live in Connecticut). This year we fancied taking a trip south. We have lived in six different states so far, and have been to most of the beaches up and down the east coast; but we’ve never been to Alabama before. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama is a coastal city in the state of Alabama with a population of just under 50,000 people. This beach town is located on the Gulf of Mexico around 30 miles from Mobile, 65 miles away from the state’s capital, Montgomery, and 125 miles from Birmingham. The University of South Alabama has a satellite campus here that focuses on marine sciences and oceanographic engineering.
Tens of millions of visitors flock to the white sands, stunning water and fun in the sun of Alabama’s Baldwin County and Florida’s Gulf Islands between May 1 and September 30 every year. But too often, those visitors let their vacation experience be defined by getting stuck in traffic on Highway 59 or missing out on the best spots because of unreliable information. That’s why we created this guide, to provide key information to help make your next beach getaway more relaxing and hassle-free.
Gulf Shores And Orange Beach Vacation Guide
My husband and I have returned often to the Gulf Coast, although we had not yet taken our kids to the coast of Alabama until recently. A summer family reunion finally gave us the opportunity to spend a full week in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores revisiting the Alabama beaches of my childhood.
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are well known all over the South as a relatively inexpensive, family-friendly beach destination. Now that I live outside the South, however, I’ve come to realize that much of the rest of the country is clueless about this area! If they do vaguely know about the region, most people certainly don’t know just how much it has to offer. Now that I’ve been to hundreds of beaches around the country and the world, I realize Alabama’s white sugar sand beaches and calm turquoise waters have ruined me for nearly everywhere else.
What I also love about going to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach is that a vacation doesn’t necessarily require a ton of planning. It’s entirely possible to just spend a full week enjoying the sand, sun, and water. But there is also a lot to do in the area for families – particularly eating great seafood or embarking in a few adventurous activities.
If you are considering a trip to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, this article has everything a first time visitor needs to know.
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Where are the Alabama Beaches?
So many people (especially those who live outside the Southeast) don’t even realize that Alabama is a beach destination. The panhandle of Florida eats up most of the real estate due south of the state, so Alabama’s swath of coastline is often missed after a quick glance at the map.
Related: First Timer’s Guide to the Florida Panhandle Beaches
But Alabama has two counties along the coast – Mobile County on the west bordering Mississippi and Baldwin County on the east bordering the Florida panhandle.
When most people refer to Alabama’s beaches, they are mostly referring to two cities in Baldwin County: Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. There are a few other beaches in the area (particularly the beaches along Dauphin Island in Mobile County) but they don’t have a lot of lodging or dining options.
Sub-Regions, Major Cities, & Layout of Alabama’s Gulf Coast
The Alabama beaches in Baldwin County lie along 32 miles of coastline, stretching from the Florida border all the way to the tip of the Fort Morgan peninsula. Many of the major attractions are located right on the beach road paralleling the coast, Alabama State Route 182 (known as Perdido Beach Road in Orange Beach and Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores). The beaches are roughly intersected by State Route 59, which is the main thoroughfare that heads inland.
Major cities and regions of note include:
Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores is the older, more established beach area in the region that is still the center of most of the action. Gulf Shores sits at the intersection of State Routes 182 and 59.
Orange Beach
The stretch of beach that extends from Gulf Coast State park to Perdido Key, Florida on the east is known as Orange Beach. This area was developed later than Gulf Shores and still is a bit quieter (although the continued development makes it busier with each passing year!).
Fort Morgan
Foley
While not on the beach itself, the inland city of Foley is worth a mention as well. Foley is located about 12 miles due north of Gulf Shores on Highway 59. A lot of visitors to Alabama beaches will spend time in Foley because it is home to some popular outlets, a regional amusement park, and a number of restaurants.
What do I Need to Know about Road Tripping to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach?
The vast majority of visitors to the Alabama Beaches come in by car. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach serve a pretty broad drive market that includes most of the Southeast. I was pretty surprised to find out recently from a friend in Kentucky that many families from her area make the road trip regularly every year! Even Illinois and Indiana-based travelers are also frequent visitors.
With so many cars piling onto such a short stretch of beach, that can mean traffic congestion. Traffic on Saturdays and Sundays can be especially crushing in the summer as weeklong vacationers tend to arrive and depart on the weekends. Weekends are also when the grocery stores in the area are at their busiest as newcomers load up their condominiums to start the week.
If you are planning a road trip, allow for plenty of extra time on crowded roads – what might be the last 10 minutes of the drive sometimes can take you a full hour! Use apps like Waze to find alternate back road routes that can sometimes save you major time when beach roads are backed up.
What are the Best Airports for Flying to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama?
While the area is definitely more of a drive destination, travelers who want to fly in have several airport options for flying to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama. The closest and best airport choices for an Alabama Gulf Coast beach trip are:
Pensacola International Airport (PNS)
The closest commercial airport for flying to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach is actually just across the border in Florida. The Pensacola International Airport (PNS) is served by Southwest Airlines, Delta, American, United, Frontier, Spirit, and Silver. Flight options increase in the summer months due to seasonal schedule changes.
The drive from PNS to the Alabama beaches is only about 35 miles but takes about 1 hour in no traffic. A car is pretty much a necessity in this region of the country, and rental cars at PNS are ample and cheap. The lines to pick up rental cars, however, can be very long at PNS during busy summer months. I highly recommend booking a skip-the-counter option if possible (tip: often you can do this simply by joining a car rental company’s frequent rental program at no cost). At the very least, send the fastest member of your traveling party to make a mad dash after deplaning to camp out in line.
Upon departure, give yourself plenty of time for bag check and security. Even though PNS is a small airport, it’s busy during peak periods. We were surprised on our visit to find that Southwest Airlines had no electronic kiosks to check-in or self-tag bags. We had wait in a very, very long ticket counter line to check our bags and were grateful we arrived early.
Mobile Regional Airport (MOB)
The closest airport within the state of Alabama to the Alabama Beaches is the next county over is Mobile Regional Airport. As the name suggests, this airport is smaller than Pensacola and served by just three airlines – Delta, United, and American. The airport is located on the far west side of the city, making the drive from MOB to Gulf Shores about 1.5 hours long.
Destin/Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS)
Another viable option in a pinch for travelers to the Alabama Gulf Coast might be the small regional airport in Destin/Ft. Walton Beach (VPS). VPS is about a 2 hour drive to Gulf Shores, but if you can get a non-stop flight there, it would be quicker than booking a connecting flight into either PNS or MOB. VPS has service on Delta, American, Southwest, and Allegiant and is small and easy to navigate. I’ve used it often for trips we’ve taken to the Florida Panhandle.
More Airport Options Coming Soon?
While visitors arriving by air have to drive a bit to reach Alabama’s beaches, there are more options on the near-term horizon to watch for future trips.
The general aviation airport in Gulf Shores just a couple of miles from the beach recently got a new air traffic control tower and a new name – Gulf Shores International. The airport authority is in talks to bring commercial service to the airport as early as Summer 2022. There are plans to construct a new passenger terminal as well.
The Mobile Airport Authority is also in early stages of rebuilding another airport in the region, the Mobile Downtown Airport, into what will become the Mobile International Airport (BFM). Eventually all commercial service in Mobile will be moved to this airport (from MOB) because of its location closer to the city center. It will also be closer to Alabama’s beach destinations at about an hour away.
Are the Alabama Beaches a Good Destination to Visit with Kids?
Yes! When it comes to family friendly, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are about as good as it gets. Most of the accommodations were built with families in mind. Kid-friendly food and activities abound in the area. Restaurants all reliably have amenities for families like kids menus and high chairs, and no one is going to look twice at you taking kids just about anywhere in the area.
That’s not to say there isn’t a scene, however, for other kinds of travelers. The area is increasingly popular for girlfriend getaways and golf trips. And there’s enough of a party and bar scene that spring breakers and 20 somethings can find something that works for them too. But family-friendly is definitely the dominant vibe.