Gulf Shores beaches vs. TX coast beaches

I live in TX, and we are planning an extended weekend get away for the summer, %26amp; we are trying to decide where to go. I was thinking about Destin, but it%26#39;s a little further drive than I would like since this will be our 1st vacation with our baby. Then I remembered hearing about Gulf Shores, AL. From the pictures, it looks really nice, but I was wondering how it compares to Port Aransas, TX or South Padre Island. I%26#39;m hoping it%26#39;s much cleaner, but I don%26#39;t want to make the extra drive if the beaches are similar to those in TX. TIA for your response :)

Lisa

Gulf Shores beaches vs. TX coast beaches

Have never been to Port Aransas or South Padre, but have a daughter-in-law who has lived in TX all of her life. When she first visited the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area, she was amazed at the difference. She thought our beaches were beautiful!

Gulf Shores beaches vs. TX coast beaches

There is quite a bit of difference in the beaches and water..

Gulf shores has the snow white sand, and the water is really clear as long as there isn%26#39;t any major storms at sea....

I have an uncle who lives in texas and he came one year with us to gulf shores and was shocked to see how clean the beaches were, He metal detects and said in texas you find alot of junk on the beaches...

I believe you will like the family atmosphere of gulf shores, there are no large groups of loud teen beach goers, drinking ...

We have been going to either fort morgan and gulf shores almost every year for several years...

We tried saint george Island in florida one year, we liked it, But it wasn%26#39;t worth the extra drive, and the water wasn%26#39;t as nice as gulf shores.

With the gas prices, you can%26#39;t go wrong with choosing gulf shores...

The traffic going into town is really busy, but driving around the area, is easy and almost everything is right there,,

I lived in Ingleside, TX for a few months and the beaches here are much nicer than South Padre. I did like the atmosphere at Port Aransas, but there is no comparison to the water and sand here. Come on over. You%26#39;ll love it here!

We have friends who are originally from Texas. They have a brother with a beach house in Galveston, yet every summer they(the beach house owners) come over here to rent a beach house in Orange Beach because it%26#39;s prettier.

Thank you so much for the responses. I think we will definitely go to Gulf Shores this year. In defense of S. Padre though, the beaches are only crowded w/ teens/college students during spring break. The rest of the year, it%26#39;s mainly families. However, the last time we went (last May), you can still see oil in the sand, and we happened to go when the seaweed came rolling in that sometimes invades the TX coast. I hate the way that stuff gets tangled in your legs. However, we had great boogie boarding waves!

Thanx again!!

Lisa

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