This spring break, my friend and I decided to see as much as we could of the gulf coast and traveled to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Pensacola, Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, and Grayton Beach in search for all the fun activities in the area. Over the week, I compiled a list of all the awesome things you should do if you're visiting any of these beaches. We also decided to vlog our adventures, so you can check that out down below.
1. The Gulf (Orange Beach, AL)
The Gulf is a great beachside seafood restaurant and bar. It has plenty of outdoor seating on the beach and it overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. The view is beautiful, the food is amazing, and it's overall a great place to eat at. Word of warning: A side of chips and guac is $8, so don't let them casually ask if you want to add that to your meal. It's good, but it's enough for the whole table to split the bill.
2. The Hangout (Gulf Shores, AL)
The Hangout is famous for Hangout Fest, but if you're going over spring break, you can still expect to see a band or DJ play at night. There's a restaurant and bar as well.
3. Tanger Outlets (Foley, AL)
While all the clothes in the cute beach boutiques are tempting, this is where you need to shop if you're a college student. Outlets are the best thing that's happened to malls. Take advantage of this one because there are infinite opportunities. The H&M is phenomenal when it comes to deals.
4. The Flora-Bama (Pensacola, FL)
The Flora-Bama is a tourist must for anyone visiting the Gulf Shores-Pensacola area. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, it's the place to be at night-- especially over spring break. Just make sure you never go to the bathroom alone because you will get lost in the labyrinth of never-ending rooms.
5. Landshark Landing (Gulf Breeze, FL)
We found this little gem on accident when we were just looking for a place to park to sit on the beach. This is probably my favorite place we went to on our trip because the atmosphere was so nice and the food and drinks were excellent.
6. Harborwalk Village (Destin, FL)
OK-- so, we didn't actually go here on this particular trip, but since I'm in Destin all the time, I've been there other times. There's usually some sort of show every night, whether it be a band or a comedy act. It's a family-friendly touristy area, but there are also bars right beyond the village part.
7. Crystal Beach (Destin, FL)
If you're looking for a college spring break beach, this is the one for you. There are tons of college students all over this place-- unlike the other beaches, we went to in Pensacola and Grayton.
8. Cantina Loredo (Sandestin, FL)
This is basically my favorite restaurant of all time. It's not 100% unique to the area, but there aren't tons of Cantina Loredos across the country, so if you don't have one back home, go to this while you're here. The pescado tacos are the best thing I've ever tasted and they're under $10 if you go during happy hour (4-7pm). We also got free top-shelf guacamole because I signed up for their e-club.
9. The Village of Baytowne Wharf (Miramar Beach, FL)
Again, we didn't actually fit this into this particular trip, but I've been there before and it's adorable. If you like cute boutiques, local restaurants, and ice cream parlors, this is a stop you can't miss.
10. Blue Mountain Beach Creamery (Santa Rosa Beach, FL)
Speaking of ice cream parlors, Blue Mountain Creamery is a cute little beach ice cream stop you need to make if you're driving on 30A. It's honestly so adorable. However, they only take cash, so be prepared.
11. Grayton Beach (Grayton Beach, FL)
If you're so over college students, Grayton Beach is the beach for you. It's just as beautiful as Crystal Beach, but it's super peaceful and quiet. Grayton Beach is a more expensive area, so there aren't as many people at this one. However, the Red Bar is located on Grayton Beach, and although we couldn't fit that into our schedule, everyone highly recommended it to us.
Check out our travel vlog if you want to see some of these places up close!
Have fun on your trip!
