In the fall of 2020, we took our first ever family road trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Our kids were 1 and 3 at the time, and had never seen the beach before. They did amazing on the long drive, and we had the best time enjoying the beautiful beach and charismatic town of Gulf Shores. This is the trip that truly gave me the travel itch, and made me want to learn to travel with our young kids.
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Living in Central Kansas, my husband and I had been to the Gulf of Mexico many times growing up, but the beaches in Texas are less than ideal. We weren’t ready to brave an airplane with our kids, but wanted to find a beautiful beach to take our first family vacation to. I remember someone telling me about the hidden gem of Gulf Shores, Alabama, so I started doing some research on the area. I fell in love! The pictures were stunning, and it sounded like the perfect, low-key trip we were looking for with our toddlers.
We spent 6 days in the area, and I can’t wait to go back someday. My husband jokes all the time about moving to this area (actually, I don’t think he’s joking!), and I would love living so close to a place this beautiful. Picture the white sandy beaches of Destin, but without the hustle and bustle of the vacation crowds.
If you are looking for a perfect spring break, summer, fall, or anytime of the year getaway with babies, toddler or young kids, keep reading to see why I think Gulf Shores is the perfect place to go.
Seriously guys, the beaches in Gulf Shores are fantastic! The water is so clear and clean, and warm enough to splash and swim in. The sand is soft and white and goes for miles and miles. We saw dolphins in the bay almost every day from our condo balcony. And the beach never felt crowded! Most days, we had the whole beach to ourselves!
Growing up, the only beach I had ever visited was in Texas. Even though Gulf Shores is still the part of the Gulf of Mexico, it’s on a whole new level of beauty.
There is tons of free entertainment
The best thing about beach vacations with toddlers is that the best form of entertainment is completely free! My 1 & 3 year old spent hours each day playing in the sand, splashing in the waves, and collecting shells.
We stayed in Gulf Shores for 6 days, and only paid for 2 activities. The rest of the time we spent exploring different beaches in the area. Read my article: What to pack for a beach day with toddlers for more tips on what to bring.
One thing my kids absolutely loved doing here was collecting shells! Gulf Shores had the most amazing shells, and we found some that were super unique. We also found several sand dollars and a shark tooth washed up on the shore! We loved wading out to knee deep water and watching as the waves washed in more shells.
The area is super kid friendly
We loved the town of Gulf Shores! It was so family friendly, and there were lots of young kids around. All of the restaurants we ate at had great kids menus and high chairs available, and there were plenty of ice cream shops near our condo when we were in need of a sweet afternoon pick me up.
The streets were quiet at night, and the town felt alive in the morning and early afternoon. We visited during shoulder season, so the crowds were minimal, which was perfect for us. We never waited for a table when we went to eat.
One of the reasons we decided to make our first ever family vacation a beach trip was for the flexibility. As a still relatively new mom who stayed at home full time with my babies, I was pretty rigid about their sleep schedules. It was the only way I had any routine or structure in my day. So the thought of going on vacation where all schedules were out the window, and having 2 toddlers who were up past bedtime and missing naps, gave me a low key panic attack.
So, we tried to pick somewhere we could have the flexibility to keep a somewhat close to normal schedule. Gulf Shores was perfect for this! We rented a condo literally right on the beach, and were able to wake up and eat breakfast on our balcony every morning while watching the waves crash on the shore.
We would go play on the beach all morning long, then walk the 2 minutes back to our room to have lunch and naptime. We traveled during off-peak season, so we were able to afford a 3-bedroom condo, so each of my kiddos had their own room. This definitely helped keep sleeping schedules closer to normal.
We would go out for our afternoon activity and dinner, and could be back to our condo for a bath and bedtime. My husband and I would sit on the balcony and play games, read or just hang out while our kids were asleep, and it felt like the perfect mix of relaxing and exploring.
If you’re in the midst of baby and toddlerhood, and naps are LIFE, but you still want to travel, consider a low-key beach trip. They are the perfect compromise for this stage of life.
One of our days in Gulf Shores, we took the ferry over to Dauphin Island to visit the Sea Lab and Estuarium. It was a great day trip, and the perfect break from playing in the sand.
My kids loved the ferry ride, and we saw dolphins jumping around the boat as we rode across the canal.
The Sea Lab is the perfect size to entertain toddlers for a few hours, and they loved feeding the stingrays and looking at all the fish and wildlife.
We also went on a dolphin cruise one evening, which was the highlight of the trip for our 3 year old! They both loved riding on the huge boat, and we saw a ton of dolphins. They even got to throw Cheetos in the air to feed the seagulls, so fun!
The amusement park, Park at OWA, has lots to do for kids of all ages. Theme park rides, games, shopping and lots of food options, this is a great way to spend an afternoon.
The price of oceanfront lodging in Gulf Shores was shockingly affordable for our family of 4. We were able to book a 3 bedroom condo, and would have paid at least double for a similar home at some of the popular beaches in Florida.
We found all the restaurants and shops to be very reasonably priced as well, and there is a grocery store just a few miles from the beach to pick up any necessities that you need to get through the week. We stopped and got bottled water, breakfast and lunch supplies, and lots of snacks as soon as we got into town. So the only food expense we had was dinner, which saved us a ton of money.
We had the best time in Gulf Shores, and would choose this over Florida beaches any day! Have you been to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach? If so, let me know your favorite things to do there!