Gulf coast beach front vacation - need ideas and suggestions (1 Viewer)

Look at Fort Morgan, it is by Gulf Shores but without the crowds. Condo's right on the beach and the water and beaches are some of the best anywhere. LOOK AT FORT MORGAN.

I like Ft Morgan. I used to stay at Martinique. I can recommend it or the Alabama Beach Club next door which has better amenities but costs a bit more.
 
sounds like you want the Holman Hangout in grayton beach. me and 4 other buddies stayed for a week there last may. it was perfect. great weather, quiet (until the college kids came later in the week. even then they were gone most of the time). very welcoming and "home" feeling. i normally dont care where i stay, its just a bed and bathroom. as long as its clean. but when i walked in to this place, i really felt like i was staying at a familiar place. lots of memories for the family that grew up in that house. the layout is neat, also. lots of nooks and crannies, doors,etc. if you want an awesome sunrise to awaken you, make sure you call dibs on the back 2nd floor bedroom, above the porch, overlooking the lake.

heres just a few pics from our stay. not many, but it captures 90% of what i accomplished during the week. and thats exactly what i wanted. i only went to the beach one day. yeah, it was beautiful. however, i much preferred sitting by the lake with a beer and a fishing pole and crab trap.

grayton '10

oh and by the way...if you got out wandering around drunk and barefoot at 4am because you thought you saw your buddies truck in the driveway and you cant find him, the cops will pick you up.
 
sounds like you want the Holman Hangout in grayton beach. me and 4 other buddies stayed for a week there last may. it was perfect. great weather, quiet (until the college kids came later in the week. even then they were gone most of the time). very welcoming and "home" feeling. i normally dont care where i stay, its just a bed and bathroom. as long as its clean. but when i walked in to this place, i really felt like i was staying at a familiar place. lots of memories for the family that grew up in that house. the layout is neat, also. lots of nooks and crannies, doors,etc. if you want an awesome sunrise to awaken you, make sure you call dibs on the back 2nd floor bedroom, above the porch, overlooking the lake.

heres just a few pics from our stay. not many, but it captures 90% of what i accomplished during the week. and thats exactly what i wanted. i only went to the beach one day. yeah, it was beautiful. however, i much preferred sitting by the lake with a beer and a fishing pole and crab trap.

grayton '10

oh and by the way...if you got out wandering around drunk and barefoot at 4am because you thought you saw your buddies truck in the driveway and you cant find him, the cops will pick you up.

I love Grayton Beach and have to agree that it sounds right up Brennan's alley.

That place sure does look familiar. I think I stayed there many years ago.

I'm getting the itch to go back!!!!
 
sounds like you want the Holman Hangout in grayton beach. me and 4 other buddies stayed for a week there last may. it was perfect. great weather, quiet (until the college kids came later in the week. even then they were gone most of the time). very welcoming and "home" feeling. i normally dont care where i stay, its just a bed and bathroom. as long as its clean. but when i walked in to this place, i really felt like i was staying at a familiar place. lots of memories for the family that grew up in that house. the layout is neat, also. lots of nooks and crannies, doors,etc. if you want an awesome sunrise to awaken you, make sure you call dibs on the back 2nd floor bedroom, above the porch, overlooking the lake.

heres just a few pics from our stay. not many, but it captures 90% of what i accomplished during the week. and thats exactly what i wanted. i only went to the beach one day. yeah, it was beautiful. however, i much preferred sitting by the lake with a beer and a fishing pole and crab trap.

grayton '10

oh and by the way...if you got out wandering around drunk and barefoot at 4am because you thought you saw your buddies truck in the driveway and you cant find him, the cops will pick you up.

How far from the beach are you? And what were you catching and with what?
 
How far from the beach are you? And what were you catching and with what?

eh, its not far from the beach. maybe the equivalent of 2 city blocks? or a little more. its a nice little stroll. its not close, like say crossing the highway to the beach from a condo. the "hard" part is the beach is so wide it takes as long to get to the water as it does to walk to the edge of the beach. but nothing tiring or enough to make you want to not go. you could drive your car/truck for one minute and be at the edge of the beach. they also allow driving on the beach with a permit. we never looked into that so i dont know the details. imo the short walk was worth it to have the peace and quiet and seclusion. plus youre walking through a neighborhood and the traffic is light and courteous.

fishing...i personally didnt catch anything, lol. we were using frozen shrimp and squid from the little bait shop up the street. we also had a minnow trap and used those. we even netted a few small crabs and gave those a toss. the only good fish caught was the black drum in the photo, and another drum about 3/4 its size. the rest was pin fish, that we started using for cut bait. im sure there would be rewards for a more dedicated angler. we were just relaxing and getting drunk.

the address for the house is 11 banfill road santa rosa beach, fl 32459 if you wanna look it up on google maps to give you an idea of the houses location in relation to the beach and the red bar, etc.
 
My wife is finishing grad school the 3rd week of May. After a 3.5 year program, we're both due for a quick, but relaxing vacation. I'm thinking something that's easy, relatively cheap, and very relaxing. So a gulf beach 4-5 day weekend it is.

I'm basically looking for recommendations and experiences. We've never taken a north gulf coast vacation on our own dime. We've met people at expensive beach houses, but I think that's likely out of our price range, though it'd be awesome. It doesn't have to be cheap, but we're not rich. We need something with a kitchen and direct access to the beach. We probably won't eat out much, favoring the option of decanting a nice wine while we cook dinner. All we want is to enjoy the water and sun while reading a book during the day.

Thoughts, ideas, and suggestions are all much appreciated.

:)

For a romantic getaway in Gulf Shores try this Bed and breakfast. We've been a couple of times and it is very relaxing. http://www.bigbeachhouse.com/ Check out the reviews. Cheers KM
 
eh, its not far from the beach. maybe the equivalent of 2 city blocks? or a little more. its a nice little stroll. its not close, like say crossing the highway to the beach from a condo. the "hard" part is the beach is so wide it takes as long to get to the water as it does to walk to the edge of the beach. but nothing tiring or enough to make you want to not go. you could drive your car/truck for one minute and be at the edge of the beach. they also allow driving on the beach with a permit. we never looked into that so i dont know the details. imo the short walk was worth it to have the peace and quiet and seclusion. plus youre walking through a neighborhood and the traffic is light and courteous.

fishing...i personally didnt catch anything, lol. we were using frozen shrimp and squid from the little bait shop up the street. we also had a minnow trap and used those. we even netted a few small crabs and gave those a toss. the only good fish caught was the black drum in the photo, and another drum about 3/4 its size. the rest was pin fish, that we started using for cut bait. im sure there would be rewards for a more dedicated angler. we were just relaxing and getting drunk.

the address for the house is 11 banfill road santa rosa beach, fl 32459 if you wanna look it up on google maps to give you an idea of the houses location in relation to the beach and the red bar, etc.

Do they still have those "old" cottages down closer to the beach?
I stayed at a few on Banfill and one that was over on Garfield.
I heard that they've all been knocked down for new houses/condo's.

The point you made about the depth of the beach is VERY true. It's got to be the deepest beach around.
 
Do they still have those "old" cottages down closer to the beach?
I stayed at a few on Banfill and one that was over on Garfield.
I heard that they've all been knocked down for new houses/condo's.

The point you made about the depth of the beach is VERY true. It's got to be the deepest beach around.


We're definitely looking here. I'd love to chill with a line in the water. But the ladies want the beach. And it looks like a long haul to the water with an infant and a 4 year old. That said, it's still on the table. We're still hoping to find a house somewhere like Dauphin Island. The problem is that everything is booked already.
 
Try here:

http://www.seaspraycondos.com/

It's a very small place right on the beach. Not too far from anything and not too close to noise. Not like a hotel or highrise at all.

But I would not get the 3 bedroom. I would rent a 2 and 1 right on top of each other as they are closer to the beach and you would have a little more room.

5 minute drive to Destin and 10 minute beach walk to the Okaloosa Island Pier and boardwalk

http://www.okaloosaislandpier.com/
 

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