OT: Family Beach Vacation MS/AL/FL

[Snowman79]

Let me begin by saying I know this topic is brought up all the time. I searched back a few months and didn't notice anything specific to what I'm looking for. Wanting to go to the beach somewhere along the gulf coast. First week or so of June. Need suggestions for places with fun things for a kid 3-4 years old and would like to stay away from crowds. Want some good food too. Any good ideas out there? Really looking seriously at ship island and gulf island water park.

[Liverpooldawg]

It's probably farther than you want to go but Sanibel Island is fantastic. It's not crowded in June, quiet, and there is some fantastic food. There isn't any of the putt putt waterpark stuff but kids LOVE the beaches there. There are literally millions of shells pilled up everywhere. Some really unusual ones by most standards too.

[Coach34]

Orange Beach, Al. Cant beat it

[miketice]

Orange Beach, Al. Cant beat it

I agree with C34.The arcade with the go-cart / bumper boats is the most fun my two boys (6 and 3) have had on a vacation. The beach is kid friendly. Lou Lous is an awesome place to eat for kids. The souvenir shops provide a lot of great entertainment too.I'm a fan no doubt

[Taog Redloh]

and would like to stay away from crowds. Want some good food too.
Good luck with the crowds, they will be everywhere, but especially in Destin Proper. I'd steer clear.

The best food is in MS and AL. Restaurants in FL suck in general outside a select few.

I'd probably go with Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, best of both worlds. Beaches aren't Destin, but good enough. And food is better. Everything is cheaper too.

[Natedogg33]

If you want to stay away from crowds, I suggest fort Morgan. Take the ferry from Dauphin Island, your kid will like that. Rent a beach house, and you have your beach area to yourself. The beaches are nice with a quarter number of people as gulf shores and orange beach. 15-20 minute drive to gulf shores.
As an added bonus, if you like to fish, I've caught boxes of specks, a few reds, several flounder, and sharks standing on the sand.

[Johnson85]

Let me begin by saying I know this topic is brought up all the time. I searched back a few months and didn't notice anything specific to what I'm looking for. Wanting to go to the beach somewhere along the gulf coast. First week or so of June. Need suggestions for places with fun things for a kid 3-4 years old and would like to stay away from crowds. Want some good food too. Any good ideas out there? Really looking seriously at ship island and gulf island water park.

May be tough to get a beach that's not crowded and also have a lot of stuff nearby for a 3-4 year old other than the beach and a pool. As somebody suggested, fort Morgan would be good for a bit crowded beach. Not super nice water but I'm assuming. 3-4 year old isn't going to be doing a lot of swimming in any non-pool water and the sand is fine. But it's a haul to anything else a toddler would want to do.

Ship island would be good. Gulf island water park would probably be crowded.

[It_Could_Happen]

Stay in Fort Morgan and you get the privacy plus you can drive and do all the arcade stuff. The original Doc's is the best food down there IMO.

[It_Could_Happen]

Sorry Double Post, but research 30A. We went last year and I loved it. I'm 21 but there was a lot of stuff down there catered to kids but plenty of stuff for adults to do as well, and lots of good food within 15-20 min drive of every place down there. Also not as crowded as Gulf Shores, Destin,etc.

[Apoplectic]

Sorry Double Post, but research 30A. We went last year and I loved it. I'm 21 but there was a lot of stuff down there catered to kids but plenty of stuff for adults to do as well, and lots of good food within 15-20 min drive of every place down there. Also not as crowded as Gulf Shores, Destin,etc.

Better pack an extra credit card if you go 30A. I like Navarre - great beaches and water plus you avoid the OBA florabamanex.

[Bothrops]

A boat ride to an island is always fun for kids. Ship island is a great option. Orange Beach/Gulf Shores is probably the best place though. Great beaches, pretty good surf, souvenir shops galore, you can hunt crabs on the beach at night, and check out the freshly caught snapper and flounder at the fishing piers.

[Snowman79]

Thanks! Great information.

[starkvegasdawg]

If you end up in the Orange Beach area I recommend Wolf Bay Lodge for one meal. Food is extremely good and the kids meals are served on frisbees they get to take home which my two loved. There are two in the area. One is in Orange Beach area and it is very crowded but has outside dining with a view of the marina. The other is in Foley and while no particular view - is a newer building and not nearly as crowded...at least when I went there for lunch.

[bulldogcountry1]

Fort Morgan area is nice and quiet, but it's a 15-20 minute drive to get to anything. That got old after a couple days, but the beaches were peaceful.

[Dawgface]

Crowds can be a PITA anywhere on the coast. I have a vacation condo in Orange Beach and during the summer I usually go down on Sunday afternoon and leave Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Avoiding the weekend crowds will help a little.

[Dawg61]

Hilton Head, SC has some affordable houses right on the beach you can stay at that come stocked full with entertainment/games for kids

[Johnson85]

More thoughts:

If you're 3-4 year old isn't a good swimmer, you might want to look for a condo with a splash pad or at least a good, zero entry pool or whatever they call it when there is a slope into the pool rather than steps. I know one of the Phoenix West properties has a splash pad, and I think a lot of the condos have zero entry pools.

If your kid is a good swimmer, you might want to consider renting a house with a pool. Martinique and/or Kiva Dunes both would be decent options in fort morgan. You'd have the pool, the beach, and some outdoor areas to explore. You can do beach in the morning and private pool in the afternoon and not have to deal with crowds. And you could drive into town once or twice to do put put, go carts, etc. But this is only a good option if you don't mind driving and not being crowded is one of your most important wants. If spending two or three days with nothing but the beach and a nothing fancy pool isn't going to keep your kid entertained, this is not what you want.

30A would offer the same things as Fort Morgan as far as trading off not being crowded in exchange for not being close to stuff for the kids, but 30A will be much nicer water (at a much higher price).

If you're interested in the MS gulf coast, Ship Island Ferry will be fun for the kid and you'll get relatively uncrowded beach with water about the quality of gulf shores, maybe a little better. There are also some parks with splash pads scattered about the coast. There is the Gulf Island water park although it will probably be crowded in June, even on the weekdays, and there is a pretty cool indoor water area at a Kroc Center in Biloxi that would be really good for a 3-4 year old, although again, I'm guessing it will be crowded in the summer. Then you have the put put/go kart place in biloxi. There's a children's museum that's probably not anything special but would give your toddle a place to burn some energy out of the sun and heat. With the hotel or rental house pool, definitely enough to keep your toddler busy. You'll also have better food options and the whole trip will be cheaper. The downside is that if you don't get on a ferry, the water at the beach is not going to be particularly nice. Very muddy and shallow a long ways out, although it being shallow is actually nice if you have a toddler.

[Hunkaburningdawg]

If you haven't been to Ship Island, it's a very fun day. A few recommendations from my experience. Take either a small light weight cooler or one that has wheels. You will have to walk across the island to get to the beach area. Wear shoes, there is black sand and it is brutal on bare feet. Take an umbrella, there is very little shelter from the sun.

[Dawgbite]

Gulf Shores will have more to do for the kids but Orange Beach has better food for the adults and they arent that far apart. I just saw last night that the Wharf in OB has a new putt putt golf course plus a water park.