beach trip to gulf coast in may

[sphillip11]

My boyfriend and I are interested in a road/beach trip to the Gulf Coast in late May and are looking for ideas on where to go? We're both 35 and are looking to relax on a nice beach for a few days but are also interested in history and great food/drink and to a lesser degree parks and nature. Our budget is flexible...typically we like to be pretty cheap-to-moderate for most of the trip and then splurge a little on the last night or two. We're driving from Madison, WI and have 7-8 days for the trip total. Any ideas? Is it worth the extra driving to go to the Florida panhandle or are there good places in MS or AL?

[AZBuck]

Madison to anywhere on the Gulf Coast between Beaumont and Tallahassee is a two day drive, minimum. So just getting there and home takes up four of your available days, so at best you'll have just a few days to enjoy the Gulf. With your stated goals of some nice beaches and a little history, I really don't think you're going to be able to do better than Gulfport, MS as a destination and home base. The nearby Gulf Islands National Seashore and other off shore islands reachable by ferry offer some great beaches and wildlife refuges. New Orleans is an easy day trip, as is Mobile Bay. And by heading for the nearest point on the Gulf shore, you'll be keeping your expenditures for fuel to a minimum. I just don't see where you gain much, if anything, by traveling farther afield.

AZBuck

[sphillip11]

Thanks AZBuck. I agree...it seems that the MS beaches have as much to offer as the FL ones. Do you think there's any advantage to staying in Gulfport over Biloxi? I see they're close together but it looks like Biloxi might have some more interesting accommodation options than the regular chain hotels.

[Midwest Michael]

Its only 20 miles between the two, and if memory serves, the two towns basically have grown into each other. If you find a hotel you like in Biloxi, I'd say go for it. Even in the worst case, it would only mean an extra 30 minutes of driving.