angie

My husband and I will be in New Orleans and we were wondering if there are good beaches in the area.

Dan

Not really. The best "close" beaches are Gulf Shores, AL and Pensacola, FL.

Pensacola is 4 hours away. I'd skip the beach and do N.O. instead unless you have a couple of days to devote to the beaches.

angie

I know there's alot of swamp areas, but isn't the Gulf of Mexico relatively close by?

Eva

Yes, the Gulf of Mexico is nearby, but you are talking about the Mississippi Delta here, with the zillions of gallons of silt it deposits in the Gulf as it enters. That's why the Gulf coast closer to New Orleans isn't particularly beach-y.

sister

I agree with Dan and Eva...drive the 3-4 hours to Destin FL if you want a nice beach.

J Correa

Definitely just do New Orleans and save the beach for another trip unless you have a lot of time. We spent a week in NOLA and still didn't see everything we wanted to.

etouffee

Just muck from NO to the Gulf. No beach. Even if you could reach it, you wouldn't swim in it. We lived there a decade and when we went to beach, it was to Destin. And don't even think about stopping on the MS Gulf coast. UGH!