In the South, the summers swelter and the winters can get just a little too muggy, foggy and cold for beach time. Thanks to temperate weather, March marks our return waterside, whether we’re strolling a boardwalk, casting a line or slathered with sunscreen in a lounge chair with a good book. With thousands of miles of shoreline and almost 400 miles of beaches, the Gulf Coast of the Southern United States offers a bevy of possibilities. You’ll find charming communities awash in local culture from Texas to Florida, each uniquely characteristic and full of allure. Whether it’s art studios in Mississippi, a Texas island lined with Victorian mansions, a pink palace hotel in Florida or an Alabama town’s pedestrian streets and its boutiques, you’ll discover the Gulf Coast’s bounty is composed of a plenitude of possibilities. Honest to goodness Southern hospitality and deep-rooted traditions along the way sweeten and complement the Gulf Coast’s natural gifts from inky waters to fried shrimp joints to long piers. There are bird-profuse wetlands, dreamy sunsets and genteel stories to tell.
Ready to head to the coast? Put these waterside oases on your springtime travel list.
St. Pete Beach, Florida
Sometimes a hotel can define a destination. Don CeSar, a veritable pink palace, regally lords over a tumble of white dunes on St. Pete Beach, a barrier island that faces the Gulf of Mexico. A favorite of glamorous holiday makers since the Jazz Age, the hotel has hosted scores of glitterati, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lou Gehrig, Clarence Darrow, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Al Capone. Restored, but still sporting Roaring Twenties flair, awash in Art Deco elements, The Don (as those in-the-know call it) continues its reign with an 11,000-square-foot spa, a 1920’s cocktail menu that pays homage to its history and myriad activities from beach yoga to wine tasting. West of St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach offers St Pete Pier for those who like to cast a line, but also delights sailors, sunset cruisers, paddle boarders and other active travelers.
Where to Stay
Choose Don CeSar’s Gulfside Penthouse Suite within the hotel. For more secluded stays, book the villa-like Beach House Suites, planted a half mile down the beach from the main hotel.
Where to Eat
At Don Ce Sar, guests can choose from six restaurants and bars. Treat yourself with favorites such as the Gulf Crab Salad and the Wagyu Tomahawk at Maritana, the resort’s most elevated restaurant.
Rockport/Fulton Texas
The sort of place you’ll see eye-catching sculptures looming beside serious fishers and skilled painters with canvases raised on the marina before sunset, Rockport, on Aransas Bay’s Live Oak Peninsula, isn’t your typical small Texas town. With a vivified Main Street, rich with unique boutiques and galleries and a newly minted $9 million Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport reigns as an artists’ colony, as well as a birding and fishing bolt hole. Its history as a wealthy post-Civil War cattle port and turn-of-the-century resort town prevails in its tony mood and exemplar Victorian architecture. In season, it’s one of the few places to spot a rare whooping crane, among other bucket-list birds. Famous for its festivals — from hummingbird homages to artsy gatherings — Rockport, along with its close-enough-to-touch, sister town Fulton, host events galore. Don’t miss the Fulton Oysterfest and the Rockport Crawfish Cook Off & Tasting in March.
Where to Stay
With a slew of RV parks, Rockport/Fulton features a variety of inns and cabins, too. Enjoy a restored, 1960’s-era tourist court, Reel ‘Em Inn, home to a 1,000-foot pier and nine bayside rooms.
Where to Eat
Combine your love of art and upscale coastal cuisine at LATITUDE 28°02’ Restaurant and Art Gallery.
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Call it slow travel. Once you meander around picturesque Ocean Springs — ideally in a golf cart — you’ll begin to notice the region’s sublime flora and fauna with the perspicacity of an artist. Think bent live oaks, their limbs akimbo, persimmon trees laden with fruit and faraway islands, like mysterious Horn Island, accessible only by boat. Indeed, this idyllic waterside haven has inspired artists aplenty. The stomping ground of revered painter and creator Walter Anderson, whose eponymous museum downtown brims with his landscape-focused artwork, Ocean Springs also is famed for its pottery, art festivals and modern-day galleries. On the eastern shore of Biloxi Bay, near the Gulf Island National Seashore, it delivers with distinctive boutiques and restaurants, as well. Victorian homes add gingerbread frill, and the sound of the Gulf whispers an ongoing sweet serenade. Though more serene, Ocean Springs evokes New Orleans’ undercurrent of joie de vivre, an invitation to look closer and live deeper.
Where to Stay
Springs Hotel, a boutique hideaway near the Walter Anderson Museum, has 15 creatively decorated rooms. Plan to visit the hotel’s stunning in-house florist shop.
Where to Eat
For a gastronomic treat, reserve a table at highly touted Vestige, a James Beard-nominated and Michelin-recommended restaurant.
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
They call it Mississippi’s secret coast, and if you’re like most revelers you aren’t quite sure where Bay St. Louis lies. You’ll find it looking toward the Bay of St. Louis and the Mississippi Sound, 60 minutes from New Orleans. Applauded for its historic Old Town and trendy arts scene, the charismatic village has an energized waterfront, home to art galleries, seafood cafes and waterfront fetes. Bike the boardwalk, linger in the Mardi Gras Museum, groove to live tunes at hotspots like 100 Men Hall or partake of the kitschy Crusin’ Tiki sunset cruise boat tour. For a touch of culture and a moment of aesthetic reverie, visit the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum.
Where to Stay
Slightly retro, super chic, The Pearl Hotel on the beachfront has been designed as an ode to oyster production.
Where to Eat
Nosh at beloved beach bar The Blind Tiger for its smoked tuna dip and shrimp tacos.
100 Years Old and Worth the Trip
Celebrating a century of sailing across the Gulf’s waters, Ship Island Excursions launched in 1926 with “Captain Pete” Skrmetta, a Croatian immigrant and Biloxi entrepreneur at the helm. It’s been in the family ever since, and provides daily service to Ship Island and Fort Massachusetts, March-October, the company not only operates the ferry service but offers year-round chartered shoreline cruises for special events. These 2-to-3-hour charters, kitted out with optional catering and entertainment, tour the Gulfport State Ship Harbor and cruise near the Gulfport-Biloxi shoreline. Or board the boats to enjoy daily dolphin watching adventures or weekend sunset cocktail cruises.
Port Aransas Texas
Texans will tell you to hush your mouth and don’t tell a soul about Port Aransas. But this funky fishing and retreat town on Mustang Island about 30 minutes from Corpus Christi has a history of attracting celebutantes in the know — such as Teddy Roosevelt who fished for tarpon and pirate Jean Lafitte who purportedly buried treasure along its beaches. With 18-miles of beaches and a multitude of places to stay, this family-oriented beach town and its environs offer unpretentious fun in the sun, dolphin cruises, golf cart rental galore, coastal fare and classic waterside fun. A bonafide beach town rife with restaurants, shops, bars — even an old-fashioned candy store — it fits the sun-seeking bill.
Where to Stay
Ideal for those looking for swankier digs or traveling with a group, Cinnamon Shore more than suffices. An enclave not unlike Seaside on the Emerald Coast, this equally new urbanist community has tons of amenities and well kitted out homes with multiple bedrooms, perfect for reunions.
Where To Eat
Try beach-y glam Lisabella’s, whose award winning chef reigns with crave-worthy seafood such crab cakes and fresh caught red snapper. Don’t miss the Mermaid Soup, a rich lobster-coconut broth, accented with curry.
Point Clear/Fairhope Alabama
Famous for its sunsets, artsy Fairhope and its bijoux resort enclave of Point Clear, occupy prime real estate on the eastern side of Mobile Bay. Stroll Fairhope’s walkable streets, peppered with posh boutiques, restaurants and galleries. Fish off its quarter-mile pier, take a dolphin cruise or join a pottery class at studios such as Eastern Shore Art Center and Kiln Studio and Gallery. Honoring Fairhope’s heritage of brick, tile and clay craftsmanship, a tradition that dates back to Native American potters, the town maintains an arts-centric focus. Plan your trip to coincide with the first Friday of the month, when the popular Fairhope Art Walk brings live music to the streets and galleries open their doors to welcome tourists with the friendliness of convivial families. While in town, pose for photos in Arts Alley, a mural project with many Instagrammable possibilities.
Where to Stay
Beloved by generations, the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection, sits on the water with golf courses, tennis courts, restaurants, a marina, expansive lawns and a huge spa.
Where to Eat
For breakfast, make it Julwin’s where sausage gravy is the order of the day. At night, the Walsh House Restaurant serves classic steaks and wedge salads.
Destin, Florida
Called the “World’s Luckiest Fishing Village” due to its quick access to deep water and preponderance of fishing vessels, Destin stands out as one of many inviting coastal communities along Florida’s Emerald Coast, part of the Florida Panhandle. As the region’s hub, Destin holds the airport, but also shares the coastline’s mesmerizing gem-green water and snow-white sand, astonishing for its powdered sugar texture. Further afield along the coast, a range of other retreats and resort towns await, including Sandestin, Rosemary Beach, Seaside and Watercolor.
Where to Stay
Each town offers its own personality and accommodations.
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, adjacent to Destin, incorporates some 2,000 acres with beaches, golf courses, a marina and more. Its boutique-y Hotel Effie offers stylish hospitality by the water and boasts the region’s only rooftop pool and lounge.
Where To Eat
Dine as you hover above the water at The Edge Seafood Restaurant & SkyBar, a bi-level eatery, poised above the water on the Destin Harbor Boardwalk.
Galveston Island, Texas
Those hedonistic Victorians knew a thing or two about how to holiday. They chose seaside locations around the world, beautified them with stately architecture, added amusements like dance halls or casinos to fancy up their evenings, and worshiped the surrounding nature. Aptly, they dubbed Galveston the “Playground of the South” in honor of its gifts. Just 45 minutes south of Houston, the island, beloved by families for attractions such as Moody Gardens and thrill rides on its Pleasure Pier, makes a strong statement with a 10 mile Sea Wall, purportedly the world’s longest continuous sidewalk. Not unlike the great promenades of other Victorian favorites such as Brighton, England or Nice, France, this ample oceanside avenue showcases the setting, passing beside waving palms and Queen Ann mansions capped with Mansard rooftops. The Strand, Galveston’s historic entertainment district, located just off the waterfront, has au courant bars, restaurants and shops that fully envelop visitors in a beach town vibe. Touted as much for its 32 miles of beaches as for its rich history (including Black freedom stories and resilience), feisty festivals and museums, the island can be kayaked, surfed, fished and paddled to the delight of outdoor enthusiasts.
Where to Stay
For a fully restored historic hotel experience, choose Tremont House Hotel, which brandishes Italianate flourishes, ironwork elements, balconies with harbor views and a rooftop bar.
Where to Eat
Think of Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant as the Galatoire’s of Galveston. Celebrating its 111th anniversary, the local favorite serves Gulf Coast seafood. Don’t miss its famous pecan pie.
