Totally clueless - Gulf Shores Vacation
 

Last year, our family went to Outer Banks, NC. It was nice, but I've really heard great things about the Gulf Shores area - or maybe just the gulf coast in general.

We are looking to travel the 2nd week in Sept '08. We need a beach house (oceanfront) with at least 6 bedrooms. Cost $2500-$3000/week. We also need an airport that's relatively cheap to fly into (we're coming from St. Louis). I've done some searching but not knowing much about the area I'm not coming up with much. At this point we are open to anything - so long as there is a beautiful beach outside our door.

Some family members are concerned that the gulf area is more expensive than OBX. Can anyone confirm this?

Any and ALL suggestions/help would be so much appreciated. Thanks!

It depends on what part of the Gulf coast you are intereted in. I fly to Pensacola, Fl quite a bit and flights are relatively cheap. Once you get there you can either drive to Destin or if you are looking for a cheaper place you can drive to Panama City, Fl. These are big tourist places for people from GA. Hope this helps

I think your best option would be to fly into the Okaloosa Airport (VPS) which looks like less than $250 from STL; and go to the Beaches of 30-A near Destin (but not as busy). These are in the area:

Look at VRBO (I found these in a quick scan):

1. http://www.vrbo.com/106618 (6 bdrm $2200/week)

2. http://www.vrbo.com/71680 (6 bdrm $2000/week)

3. http://www.vrbo.com/120346 (6 bdrm $2450/week)

The Beaches of South Walton are beautiful--you are close to Destin for activities but far enough away from everything to relax. Here are a couple of good websites to learn more about the area: sowal.com and beachesofsouthwalton.com.

Destin is a more beautiful beach. Gulf Shores is very nice with a bit more laid back, family feel.

We stay in the Orange Beach/Perdido area of Alabama when we go. Our trips are often connected to 'meetings' & we have family in the area.

You could fly into PNS & here is one way to get there from the airport:
http://tinyurl.com/2na8d5

But, if you are staying in Perdido, take Hwy 292 to 182 from Pensacola.

You could also fly into Mobile Regional Airport.

Here's the city's website:
http://tinyurl.com/2sjeo6

http://www.gulfshores.com/

A couple more links that may help:
http://tinyurl.com/2azgxf

http://tinyurl.com/29xdw5

Both of these are reputable companies.

Melann78,
Others gave you some great links and some great advice. I live in Alabama (Birmingham) and think the Gulf Shores beaches are beautiful. The most convenient airport to Gulf Shores would be Mobile, AL. However, I suggest you consider the Florida panhandle beaches, as others have mentioned.

I agree with Mah1980 about the beaches along 30-A. My personal favorites are Seagrove Beach and Grayton Beach. Blue Mountain Beach is also supposed to be very nice although I haven't been there. Destin, Seaside, and Rosemary Beach are also beautiful but more expensive. Gulf Shores and Destin have more high rise condominiums than the Seagrove or Grayton, which seem to have more houses.

Over Thanksgiving a friend and I rented a house in Seagrove. It only had three bedrooms, so it would be too small for you, but it had great views, direct access to the beach, and a private heated pool, which the kids loved. It was within bike riding distance of Seaside. You can rent bikes while at the beach and leave your car in the driveway the entire trip. If you do that, make sure you get a light for the bikes. The location was perfect. We were close enough to the restaurants and shops of Seaside, but were able to rent a larger house closer to the beach for the same (or less) money than we'd be able to do in Seaside. Prices are probably the same is in Gulf Shores, but the Grayton/Seaside/Seagrove area has more to offer, especially when it comes to restaurants.

Here's a link to some general information, including rentals, in Grayton Beach:

http://graytonbeach.com/

And a list to general information on Seagrove Beach:

http://www.seagrovebeach.com/

Garrett has alot of properties in both areas:

http://www.garrettrealty.com/

We rented through Emerald Sun, and while we were very happy with the house, the staff was not very accomodating. My friend has rented through them many times before, however, and said she thought this was unusual, so I'd still check them out. In fact, she rented with them again and is in the same house this week with other friends.

http://emeraldsun.com/

I have been to Gulf Shores many times, Destin numerous times, and to Grayton and Seagrove a couple of times. You can't go wrong with any of them. September is a great time to go.

I go to the Outer Banks and Gulf Shores Alabama regularly. While the Outer Banks is my favorite vacation destination, Gulf Shores is a close second. I love the pristine white beaches, the family atmosphere, friendly people, good food and fun things to do. I would not classify it as a party town, so if you're looking for something like that, you may not like it. The climate is usually beautiful, but remember that September is hurricane season.

I like Gulf Shores and all the other beaches mentioned -- but if you want a relatively quiet place to rent a large beach house, consider St. George Island, on the panhandle further east of Panama City, south of Tallahassee.

I don't know how expensive flying into Tallahasse is, but St. George offers a lot of beach house rentals at relatively affordable prices and doesn't have a glut of condos.

www.stgeorgeislandflorida.info

The condos and houses that are vacant in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are tremendous right now and if you look in the right places you can find some super deals. There are a few websites where you can contact one of the 4 or 5 major rental companies there.

The ones that I know are www.gulfshoreslocal.com and www.gulfshores.com

Be aware of the risk of Red Tide on the Gulf Coast.

Also, Sept. is peak of hurricane season.

I am familar with the Seagrove, Flordia area. I know a gated community on beach side that has six bedrooms and five bathrooms that is within your price stated.If you want to email me, I can recommend houses and restaurants in the area.

Was that the one with the bed bug problem? Did they ever get that cleared up?

I've lived in Mobile, AL all my life and would highly recommend Gulf Shores. I prefer the West Beach or Perdido Key, as they are more laid back. The farther west on West Beach, the better. There are some really nice houses down there. Orange Beach and Romar Beach areas are more crowded with lots more stores and restaurants close. Ft. Morgan is also nice, but VERY quiet, and if you get too far down Ft Morgan Road, it can be quite a hike to get to a store or restaurant. I think Ft Morgan Rd is 22 miles long.

Check airports carefully. I live in Gulf Shores and travel a lot for work. Pensacola is usually much cheaper than Mobile, I figure because AirTran flies out of PNS. The drive from PNS to Gulf Shores is about 50 minutes.