Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Alabama
My family and I love to visit the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama. It is a quiet area without a tremendous amount of tourist traps.
When we go we love staying at The Beach Club, it is pretty far off the main drag, ok really far off the main drag. It is a good choice for my family because we like to hunker down for the week after arriving and eat meals made in our condo or at one of the restaurants on site.
If hotels are more your thing, there are a number of great hotels in the area. Check out The Island House Hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, or the Perdido Beach Resort.
Places to Eat in Gulf Shores Alabama
When we go we always stop at Lulu’s they have delicious food and a beautiful view where you can watch boats go by. The best part is that if you have to wait there are areas for kids to play and dig in the sand. Waiting at restaurants is hard especially when your kids are so tired from a day in the sun, Lulu’s makes it easier.
The first time that we went to Gulf Shores, everyone told us that we had to go to Lambert’s. This is the restaurant where the waiters throw rolls at you if you want one. The food was ok, but to be honest, it was very loud in the restaurant and we were crammed in, the tables are very tight to one another. The wait was also very long in a very crowded space so keep that in mind with your little ones.
While you are there, you absolutely have to go to Gelato Joe’s. We didn’t find this restaurant until the last night of our stay. If we had found it sooner we would have eaten there every night and totally blown our grocery budget. It is that good.
Things to do
We have always enjoyed going on dolphin cruises while we are in Gulf Shores, there is just something so magical about seeing dolphins swim up beside your boat.
Real Moment: On the Dolphin Cruise: After we had paid our youngest was at the time 2 years old. He wanted off from the moment that we got on the boat, my husband had to walk back and forth with him from one end of the boat to the other for the entire dolphin cruise. Keeping it real ya’ll.
There are the typical beachy tourist shops in the area, but just on the outskirts of town is the outlet mall. I recommend this if you can sneak away from the kids for a few hours. Mine always get antsy when I have tried to take them along with me.
Have you been to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach before? What are your favorite things to do when you are in the area? 
Where do you stay?