Best closest beach

Whats the closest and best beach to NO?

Best closest beach

Best beach (not the closest) is Destin, Florida - 5 hours away

Best closest beach

Gulf Shores, AL. It%26#39;s closer than Destin. It%26#39;s been months since we%26#39;ve been to Biloxi, but the water was full of hurricane debris. Not sure if their beaches are open. Anyone know?ALso, the beaches in MS are not as pretty,IMHO, as Gulf Shores, Pensacola Beach, FL and Destin, FL. Pensacola Beach is 45 or 1 hr closer than Destin.

i%26#39;d go with pensacola beach, biloxi is coming back very slowly lots hurricane damage still, gulf shores is ok, too

Just spent a weekend at Perdido Key, Florida. Beautiful beaches and much closer than Destin which is highly developed.

We are going to try laid back Dauphin Island...hopefully not a bad choice!

paulie--How is the beach in Gulf Shores since the hurricane?

I posted on a Destin forum that GS was beautiful and closer (for some people in Texas wanting a good beach) and got hammered by the Destin folks who swore the sand and water wasn%26#39;t as good as Destin. I%26#39;ve been to both many times in the past and always found the water and sand to be basically the same at both places--usually beautiful!

The Destin folks can be touchy, but then some posts there say some parts of the Destin beaches are still in poor shape due to hurricane.

What about GS? (Yes, I know this is a NO forum, but this post wants a good beach!) TIA--

I was in Gulf Shores (Orange Beach)last September, and plan to return this year, with a one night stay in NOLA on my way back. I found Gulf Shores to be just fine; all the resturants (the ones on my radar!) were open, the water was clean, the beach was great. I have never swung thru NOLA before, but according to the MapQuest and Google searches, its 198 miles from the beach to New Orleans. And it looks like a nice drive, along the coast. I can tell you more in September when I actually go!

The closest beach, in driving time, that is worth going to is Pensacola Beach. On a clear day, it takes 3.5 hours. Gulf Shores takes about four, because of the traffic on the road from the interstate to the beach. Thus, really, it%26#39;s faster to go all the way to Pensacola.

Gulf Shores is mostly rental houses - so they rent by the week. It%26#39;s very nice, and you have much more space, since it%26#39;s not full of high rise hotels and condos.

Pensacola Beach is now quite built up, so the areas of the beach in front of the condo towers and hotels gets pretty crowded. I would stay at a small hotel there for that reason.

Busternfruss......... I actually live 45 min from Pensacola. We frequent Destin, Gulf Shores (step mom lives there) and P%26#39;cola Beach. Destin does have the beautiful green/blue water and great outlet mall. I%26#39;m not a big fan of P%26#39;cola Beach. IMHO Gulf Shores and Destin draws people I prefer to be around. I%26#39;m not into the biker scene,etc. I feel Destin and Gulf Shores has more of a variety of activities for the whole family.Plus, great nightlife places.I know, someone gonna be pissy but P%26#39;cola beach would rate #3. Gulf Shores is nice and not as wild as Destin. Maybe the sense of more of a snowbird community in Gulf Shores.

Plan and simple, my kids would pick Destin and I would pick Gulf Shores (not as crowded).Pensacola Beach for the Blue Angel airshow and a quick daytrip to the beach when I can%26#39;t get to Destin or Gulf Shores.

It is definitely true that Destin and Gulf Shores have much better activities apart from the beach, such as putt putt, water slides, good restaurants, and they both have close outlet malls.

If you are looking for activities to do besides sit on powder white sand and swim in the clear green water, then definitely do spend the extra time (and expense) and head to Destin or Gulf Shores.

If you are just going over for a day or two, and just want a pretty beach, I still say that Pensacola Beach is a great option. The Portofino resort at the end of the island is upscale, though I have found plenty of other places to stay that are not geared to bikers (BTW, though I have nothing against various modes of transportation, I happen to dislike motorcycles, so think it%26#39;s funny that the above poster would make such a reference - I%26#39;m extremely conservative, and go to the beach for the sand, water and sun, and not to socialize - I try to stay as far from other people as possible - for the peace and quiet factor).

In any case, you really can%26#39;t go wrong with a trip to any of the beaches in Alabama or Florida. I%26#39;d skip right past those on the coast of MS, as neither the sand, nor the water, are very nice. And, the casinos have totally taken over anyway.