Travelling to Your Area, Any Suggestions?

Updated on July 26, 2008
V.S. asks from Gulfport, MS
4 answers

Hi Mama's! I am visiting from another area board b/c we are taking a family vacation to Gulfport, and we are leaving tomorrow! I don't know why it took me until today to think to come to your board for suggestions!

I am specifically wondering what the beaches are like there. I have never been to the beach, but we live in Texas and I hear that the beaches here are not that nice. So, what are the sand and water like at the Gulfport beaches? Are there certain areas that are nicer than others?

We are also planning to visit the chidren's museum, it looks great from the website, but do you recommend it?

Anything else that is a "must-do" with kiddos? We are meeting my brother-in-law and his family there, so we will have 5 kids total. Three are 7, one 5 and one 3.

And you may be wondering how we chose Gulfport . . . We wanted to meet my brother-in-law and his family somewhere for vacation this year, they take a beach vacation every summer and wanted to continue that. We wanted to go somewhere that is half-way point. They are driving from North Carolina, we are driving from Texas, and it ended up that Gulfport is very closet to being half way.

Oh, and we are staying in the area of the Legacy Towers (not directly in the towers.) I hope this is an ok area, if not it is too late, lol! We were hoping to cross over to the beach right in that area. How is the beach along there?

Any restaurants that are a must? We are looking forward to some good sea food, but will also be dining with the 5 kids.

Fill me in!! Thanks so much!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Thank you so much for your responses. Yes, we were aware this area had been devastated by Katrina and is still recovering. That really didn't have an effect on our vacation. The beaches were beatiful! In my reading about this area it never mentioned the lack of surf, Gretchen was right on about that. I was so disappointed! I had never been to the beach anywhere, but in my mind there were definitely suppose to be waves, lol. The first day we might as well have been at the lake, it was that calm. The other day we went there was a breeze and the water was moving, not much, but at least had the occasional breaking wave.

We did visit the Lynn Meadows center and the kids had an absolute blast! I think we stayed there around 4 hours. They loved it.

We had some great food, the best came from a little hole in the wall place called Taranto's. We ate there our first night and they set the standard high, we didn't find seafood that good anywhere else.

The pool in our complex was amazing! It was huge, had beach entry, water falls for the kids to play in, etc. We spent a lot of time there. The complex was so nice, gated and felt very safe, our condo was awesome.

I almost forgot to mention, some of the adults briefly visited one of the casinos one night and we had great luck there! Biloxi was kind to us, lol.

I am not sure we will vacation there again due to the water, the no waves and just icky looking water, but we had a great time this time!

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.H.

answers from Biloxi on

Hi Valerie,

You are aware that this area was devistated by Hurricane Katrina? There is not much on the beach, even almost three years after the storm! We do, however, have a very nice water park that I'm sure the kids will love! This is probably too late for you to read, unless you have access to a pc on the way or once you get here.

There is still a lot of restaurants and attractions to see. There is the Ship Island Excursions, the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center (I highly recommend it!), the Friendship Oak, and much, much more. Check out the attractions section on pages 24-26 of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Phone Book (AT&T Yellow Pages). Your visit will definitely help our economy! Have fun!!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.H.

answers from Biloxi on

Valerie,
I have lived in Biloxi since 1995. Ironically we moved to Prosper Tx after Katrina and recently moved back to Biloxi in April. Not sure of all of the attractions, but there is a great Waterpark in Gulfport (Gulf Island Water park.) It is about 27.95 per adult and your little one would be free. For the best food on the Coast, you guys must try Mary Mahoneys on the beach directly across from the Beau Rivage Casino and Resort. There is the George Orr museum and the Katrina monument. Again not sure what they have rebuilt since Katrina I just know they have those. They also offer Ship Island Excursions to the Island which is really cool. As far as the beaches, the sand is fabulous but the water isn't that great. I hope this helps and I hope you guys have an excellent vacation.

S.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.B.

answers from Biloxi on

Hi and Welcome!
You may want to check out the Ship Island Excursions (sorry I don't know their website). We went for the first time last week and had a great time. It's an uninhabited barrier island that's about an hour boat ride from Gulfport. The only thing there though is the beach, so bring plenty of really good sunscreen.
If you're interested in fresh gulf shrimp, a lot of the shrimping boats dock outside of the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, and you can buy fresh shrimp right off the boats. Just get there before 10:00am and there's a parking lot right behind the Hard Rock's parking garage.
Hope you enjoy your stay here

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

G.G.

answers from Biloxi on

Hi mom of 3,
The beaches on the MS Gulf coast area are pretty nice. The only thing that I think that you will miss is a surf. Because of the barrier islands there is none.
The Legacy is a very nice complex. The towers and condos are both nice. However, you will need to cross Hwy. 90 to get to the water. The pools are nice if you choose not to go to the beach. Please know that remnants of hurricane Katrina still linger and you will be able to see them simply by driving down hwy. 90. Lynn Meadows Discovery Center(Biloxi off of Hyw.90) is a great place to take kids and so is the Water Park (north of I-10 off of Hwy. 49) Also, New Orleans is only an hour away and there you have the aquarium, Audubon Zoo, and the Children s' Museum there.
Hope that I have helped you.
A little about me. I lived on the coast in Long Beach which is between Gulfport and Pass Christian. We lost our home in Katrina and now live in Alexandria, Egypt. I am sure that one day soon we will be back there.
Hope that you have a GREAT time!
G.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions