We are looking for a new beach vacation spot for my extended family. Our favorite beach is on Anna Maria Island, Florida. It%26#39;s a small, quiet place. We love it there, but this year, we need to find a place closer to home. (One fmaily member who lives in Montgomery, can%26#39;t come for the entire week.) Our group includes 7 children, ages 11, 8, 5, 4, 4, 4, and 2. We mostly like to hang out at the beach. The kids love playing in the sand, wading in the water, etc. We like to be at a beach without the loud, rowdies and drunks. We prefer a beach town with little commercial development. We live in Atlanta, so if we wanted lots to do like go-carts, arcades, etc., we%26#39;d just stay home. :-)
So, those of you with experience at Dauphin Island, would this place be a good spot for us? From what I%26#39;ve read, it sounds like a quiet, family-friendly place. I just wanted to see if anyone else had an opinion, or another suggestion. I%26#39;m also looking at Mexico Beach and St. George Island, although Dauphin Island has better beach house rental prices.
Thanks!
A good place for young children?
You have no doubt perfectly described Dauphin Island. We are known down here as Alabama%26#39;s Family Beach. Go to www.acpinfo.com for more information on the Island. ACP also rents Vacation Rentals, but more important is the information you will find on their Home page such as a Dauphin island Map, directory, and Video put out by the Chamber of Commerce. No waterslides, and no stop lights. We%26#39;re just a good laid back Island with white sandy beaches and good folks around.
A good place for young children?
Dauphin Island is a perfect place for a family with young children. This year will be out third year in a row and we will be taking our complete family. My grandson loves it and so do I. Just go and relax and the island will do the rest.
I also think that Ft. Morgan (Gulf Shores) is a nice and quiet area for families. We stayed there last year with 2 toddlers and 7 adults and really enjoyed it. It was about 15-20 minutes to drive into Gulf Shores but was very quiet and private out on the beach (we rented a house). Just another thought...
I have a question for you about your extended family vacation. Does this include just your immediate family (for example, your parents, your siblings, and their children) or does this include aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.? I%26#39;m curious b/c I have an aunt who always talks about ';all'; of us going to the beach and that would be a large group. I%26#39;m just wondering about the family dynamics of such a mix of family members and wondered if you%26#39;d want to share a little. When I think of my extended family, I%26#39;m not quite sure I%26#39;d want us all in one house for a week!
Our group consists of my dad, brothers and their families. No aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. from any extended family. I don%26#39;t think that would work for us. :-) This might not work on my husband%26#39;s side of the family, either. There are too many strong and different personalities to coexist peacefully under the same roof. With my family, we all get along well and help each other with the work. We usually assign each couple (3 total plus my dad) a night to be in charge of dinner. One brother always loads the dishwasher. My dad washes pots and pans. One sis. in-law cleans off counters. Another organizes games in the pool. We help watch the littler kids so parents get a break. It just really works with our family.
One thing that helps is that each family needs a room to with a door that shuts. That helps get little kids their naps, or gives a place to go to have some privacy. Everyone splits the cost of the rental house. I usually do the ';leg work'; on the web searching for homes. I send around links and get feedback. We%26#39;ve been on beach trips 4 times before, and it is always the highlight of our year.
Good luck. I think it%26#39;s a great thing when it works.
Thanks for replying! My family did something similiar last year when we went to Ft. Morgan together--each couple had their own bedroom and we all split the rental equally. We did take turns making dinner and sometimes went out or brought in cooked seafood from a local market. It was a great trip and we are planning to try it again this summer. I think after doing it once, we have a better idea of how to plan (and not over-plan) this time around. Our one ';issue'; was that we bought too many groceries right off the bat and then didn%26#39;t use everything up by week%26#39;s end. We%26#39;ll try to watch that this summer.
It%26#39;s funny that you mention how it works with one side of the family but you couldn%26#39;t see it working with your husband%26#39;s side. ME EITHER! We can usually handle 2 nigths during the holidays (and that can often be pushing it) but a week--no way.
Nice talking to you. Please post a trip report if you get a house on Dauphin Island. My family might want to try something new in a few years.
We love going to Dauphin Island. You can talk to the property management company about getting houses next door or even a couple of doors down from each other if you want to give each other some space. I caught a ton of Red Snapper that I grilled up for my family. I hope you all have a great trip. Here%26#39;s where we stayed, probably not big enough for you though. http://www.boardwalk-realty.com/houses/88.htm
Have you looked into Cape San Blas?
It is sort of between Mexico Beach %26amp; SGI; a peninsula across the St Joseph Bay from Port St Joe.
If there was water on the Moon, it would look like this beach. BEAUTIFUL. Big tall dunes, great bike trails, hiking trails with wildlife, great fishing, crabbing, shelling, shallow, gentle surf, horseback riding, etc. I think back in %26#39;02 or %26#39;03 it was named the #1 beach in the USA (including HI).
You can drive 20 min over to Apalachicola for ';Old Florida'; charm, antique shops, estuary tours, and, IMO the BEST restaurants on the Gulf. Other than that, we always say the only nightlife is if you have a telescope. There are also some more reasonable rental houses than SGI, I think.
Mexico Beach is...umm... just my opinion...kind of gross. Quiet beaches, yes, but, narrow beaches, old run down properties, etc.
We do like Dauphin Island, and there is the Ferry across Mobile Bay to Ft. Morgan (west of Gulf Shores) that is inexpensive and fun. Good places to ride bikes at DI also, but we just love the Cape!
Have fun,
Miller
In my opinion Dauphin Island is great! I have been several times now. My sister and I went and stayed in a family friend%26#39;s house there last summer and had an amazing time. The island is quiet and not commercial at all, which is awesome and hard to find. There are a hand full of places to eat, a gas station, and the Ship and Shore... that is about it. Very laid back.. there is Fort Gaines, and a sea lab... bike trails... and the beach. If that is the trip you want DI would be great.
I love the place, if i could live there i would. The most peaceful and relaxing place. I will be going back this summer with a group of friends and cant wait.
Hope you found this useful.
(My sister also went to Cape San Blas with a friend last summer and she really liked it there too)
It%26#39;s absoulutely a great place to take the kids. The beaches are great and the natural beauty is terrific. Ft. Gaines and the Estuarium are educational activities, and then there%26#39;s the fishing. Overall, you couldn%26#39;t do much better.
Mike
My extended family (excluding the men - the husbands said, ';NO way!';- went to DI last July and had a great time. We stayed in a house on the gulf side (only side I%26#39;d stay on) with a great porch. I t was my mom, my 3 sisters, and our kids from 4-18. We had our own little spot right on the beach across the berm from our house. We put up a volleyball net and played in the sand and water. It is a great sot for families. Very quiet and laid back. We didn%26#39;t worry about the teens taking off ';fishing for sharks!'; Be aware though, there isn%26#39;t much on the island. No putt putt, no fast food drive throughs. YOu have to make your own fun. It isn%26#39;t as white probably as Destin, but much less expensive and closer, which is a big draw.
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