Slow Travel on Alabama Beaches

Slow Travel on Alabama Beaches means savoring the white sand beaches, enjoying meals at a local restaurant, biking through Gulf State Park, and taking your time to savor every moment.

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🏨Hotels and Vacation Rentals
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✨What's New in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach

Slow Travel on Alabama Beaches

Slow Travel is defined as traveling at a leisurely pace, enjoying a place for longer, focusing on experiences and the local community. Letting go of having to be in a hurry and check off every attraction and thing to do. Instead focusing on being in the moment and enjoying your time.

Gulf Shores & Orange Beach are the perfect places to enjoy a slow travel experience. The Alabama Gulf Coast embodies the laid-back beach vibe we all crave. We are so thankful that Visit Alabama Beaches sponsored this article so we can share our favorite ways to enjoy the area.

We loved it so much we moved across country to live in Gulf Shores full time. Living here means we embody slow travel on a daily basis and want to share that with you.

If you are looking for ways to slow down and enjoy all that the Alabama Gulf Coast has to offer these are our top suggestions.

Watch Sunrise and enjoy a leisurely beach walk

Starting the day with sunrise and a leisurely walk on the beach is the perfect way to savor the white-sand Alabama beaches. They say the early bird gets the worm but in this case the early bird gets stunning sunrises over the Gulf and hopefully a few shells along the way to remember your trip.

There are multiple Gulf Shores & Public Beach access points if you decide to stay in a hotel or vacation home that is not right on the beach. We also have amazing waterfront hotels in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach if you want to watch sunrise from the balcony with a cup of coffee and not worry about getting dressed quite yet.

Make sure to check the beach flags for any warnings before heading into the water.

Enjoy a Gulf Shores or Orange Beach Local Restaurant

One of the best things about slow travel on Alabama Beaches is the number of locally owned restaurants on the island.

There are fantastic restaurants with views of the Gulf, fresh seafood, live entertainment, and fresh Gulf Oysters. Savor sunset over the water with an epic meal from a local chef.

There are over 200 amazing restaurants between Gulf Shores & Orange Beach! We have made lists of specific types of restaurants so you can find the ones that fit your perfect slow travel plans.

• Mexican Restaurants
• Steak Restaurants
• Italian Restaurants
• Dog-friendly restaurants
• Fine Dining Restaurants
• Coffee Shops
• Orange Beach Ice Cream or Gulf Shores Ice Cream Shops
• Best Burgers
• Kid-friendly
• Gulf Shores Pizza or Orange Beach Pizza Restaurants
• Restaurants on the Water
• Donuts
• Breakfast in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach

Explore Gulf State Park

Gulf State Park sits right in the middle of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach making it a really easy area to explore.

The park encompasses nine distinct ecosystems within its boundaries. You can spend time walking along Gulf State Park Pier looking for sharks, turtles, dolphins, and other marine life.

There are benches along the pier, perfect for stopping and watching the waves go by.

Gulf State Park Nature Center offers amazing interpretive programs and classes to learn about local wildlife, history, and so much more! The nature center has animal ambassadors on-site to learn about their lives in the park.

The Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail is 28+ miles of paved trail system! Grab one of the free bike rentals in the park. If you want to guarantee that a bike is available, you can rent one in the park! They have e-bikes, manual bikes, and e-trikes that can be used to explore the park trails.. Keep an eye out for Lefty the Alligator who lives along the trail.

Lake Shelby is located in the middle of the park and is absolutely gorgeous! There are picnic areas perfect for a picnic, reading a book, or birdwatching. Have you seen the Lakeside Cabins on Lake Shelby? They are amazing.

You can rent paddle boards, single kayaks, or double kayaks and cruise around Lake Shelby!

For a really fun adventure around the lake you can take a 2 hour guided segway tour!

Learn about local history

If you enjoy learning about local history, we highly suggest checking out Historic Fort Morgan, the Orange Beach History Museum, and the Gulf Shores Museum.

The Swift-Coles Historic Home is just outside of town near the amazing Tin Top Restaurant so you can enjoy two local places. Enjoy a public tour of Swift Coles' house that was built in 1882 near the Bon Secour River.

Take a Sand Castle Class

Learn how to make epic sandcastles right on the beach! A fun way to enjoy our beautiful beaches and have great family fun.

We took a Sand Castle University Class and had so much fun! It was really cool seeing our finished sand sculptures and realizing we could use the things we learned any day on the beach.

Book a Sand Castle University class in Orange Beach/Perdido Key HERE or a Classs in Gulf Shores/Fort Morgan Here

Birding along the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail

Gulf State Park is part of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, which also includes Wade Ward Nature Park in Gulf Shores.

Birding hot spots include Lake Shelby, Gulf State Park Beaches, hiking trails, and the State Park Pier.

Take an art class at the Coastal Art Center

There is a great local art scene, including the amazing Coastal Art Center. They offer fantastic hands-on art classes, including glass blowing in the hot shop, make-your-own pottery classes (hand building, throwing on a pottery wheel, or pick-n-paint premade pottery).

The Fine Art Gallery is filled with fantastic art from local artists. If you are looking for an amazing piece of art to remember your time on Alabama Beaches this is the place to visit!

Create a Custom Souvenir from your trip

Take time to create your perfect souvenir to remember your trip to Alabama Beaches. The Party House at The Wharf has a great trucker hat bar. You get to pick the perfect patches to create a personalized hat.

Tiki Boutique in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores can create a custom charm necklace while you are there.

Souvenir City Gulf Shores offers airbrushed t-shirts, hats, bags, car tags, and more that can be customized. The airbrush artists have more than 60 years of experience in airbrush art.

Enjoy a local pier

We already mentioned the amazing Gulf State Park Pier but the area is also home to Orange Beach Waterfront Park and the Fort Morgan Pier.

Orange Beach Waterfront Park is located next to the Coastal Art Center. There is an amazing pier perfect for relaxing and watching dolphins and boats go by. Depending on the time of year you visit, you can watch the sunset over the water of the back bays.

Fort Morgan Pier is next to Historic Fort Morgan and offers the perfect area to watch the sunset over Mobile Bay. We also enjoy looking for dolphins and shorebirds from the pier. There are benches spread along the pier so you can relax and just be in the moment. Stop by one of the local Fort Morgan Restaurants for a great meal while you are exploring the Fort Morgan Peninsula.

Mo's Landing Park is another local park that has a great hanging swing next to Little Lagoon.

Spend time on the water

Slowing down and spending time on the water is one of our favorite ways to truly enjoy the local area. There is something special about being out on the water surrounded by nature.

You can enjoy a local dolphin cruise, tiki boat tour, or a sailboat cruise with Sail Wild Hearts or Cetaceans Sunset Sail and Dolphin Tour.

Enjoy a Picnic

A picnic is the great way to slow down and truly savor the area. There are picnic tables in Gulf State Park, Mo's Landing Park, and Wade Ward Nature Park.

Grab picnic supplies at these great local spots:

• Amelia's Deli - Sandwiches, salads, cake slices to go
• Chocolate Corner - epic chocolate and amazing mini fudge cups
• Sarah's Homemade (premade salads, dips, and treats)
• Olive Charcuteries (located at A Specialty Bakery) - Charcuterie boards and cups
• Shore Fizz - Custom dirty sodas
• Hog Wild BBQ - Grab a barbecue sandwich (pulled pork, pulled chicken, sausage, turkey, brisket, or chopped rib) and their epic banana pudding
• Soul Bowlz - Acai bowls, smoothies
• The Southern Grind - Sandwiches, coffee drinks, sweet treats
• Buzzcatz - Sweet treats, coffee drinks
• Gourmet World Market - sandwiches, pastries, European chocolates
• Isla Wine - Grab a bottle of wine that matches your mood
• Big Beach Brewing Company - Local Gulf Shores brewery with cans to go
• Happy Pappy's - Sandwiches, sweet treat, coffee and tea drinks
• Alabama Sweet Tea Co. - Pick up a jar of southern sweet or unsweet tea

You can also hire one of our local companies to build a posh picnic on the beach for you! Local companies include Southern Charm Picnic Company, High Cotton Picnics, and Beachside Blankets.

We hope you enjoy your time on Alabama Beaches! This area is truly made for slow travel and soaking in every moment you can.

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