Gulf Shores

[midwest22]

This is probably a shot in the dark, but my wife and I will be in Gulf Shores, AL June 16-19th. No kids trip for our 15 year anniversary. We are not boat owners yet and have never done any boating on ocean waters, beside a cruise (I don't think that counts). Anyone in the GS area planning on going out on the water and willing to have us tag along? Would love to get to check out a jet boat, learn something new, meet new people, and see if coastal trips are something we'd want to do in the future. Happy to help pay for gas! If you're in the area and would consider this shoot me a message.

In my welcome post I mentioned that we were leaning towards a 21' Yamaha. Since that post we put a deposit down at a dealer to get on the list for a 2023. At this point thinking either a 212S or 212SE. So getting closer to being an owner, but trying to be patient and not pay an arm and a leg just to have something now.

 

[sunbyrned]

Check this thread out and see if there are any folks in that area willing to let you test drive their boat. Hope this helps.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/considering-a-jet-boat-perhaps-need-a-test-drive-ride-look-here-volunteers-needed.34434/

 

[Dean P]

What part of the Gulf Shores you looking at? It's a pretty big place.

 

[midwest22]

What part of the Gulf Shores you looking at? It's a pretty big place.

We'll be staying at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL, but we are planning to do a day trip to Destin, FL. First time in the area, so open to drive a bit if needed.

 

[midwest22]

@Inthrustwetrust - Looks like you are in the Destin area, any recommendations?

 

[midwest22]

Check this thread out and see if there are any folks in that area willing to let you test drive their boat. Hope this helps.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/considering-a-jet-boat-perhaps-need-a-test-drive-ride-look-here-volunteers-needed.34434/

I did look at this thread, but didn't see anyone in the GS area.

 

[Dean P]

We'll be staying at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL, but we are planning to do a day trip to Destin, FL. First time in the area, so open to drive a bit if needed.

Sorry, I'm in the clearwater/St. Petersburg area. If you come here, I'll take you out. No problem. Destin is beautiful with beautiful water. Here, not so much until you get South of the Skyway Bridge. Good luck!

 

[midwest22]

Thanks @Dean P! Will keep that in mind if we head your way in the future.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

@Inthrustwetrust - Looks like you are in the Destin area, any recommendations?

What’s your cup of tea? I don’t venture out to Gulf Shores much but for your Destin day there is a lot to do. There are several shuttle boats that will take you on adventures in the crab Island area. Some just take people out to the Island for a couple hours, they usually have floats/mats etc. I don’t think the prices are to bad. They also have some that do some sea shell hunting in the bay and then go out the pass looking for Dolphins. All the other typical tourist stuff, parasailing, jet ski rentals, etc. Also a bunch of deep sea fishing charters. Renting a boat is pretty pricy and probably over kill for just two people. If your wanting to do Crab Island I would look at the tide charts and try to go a couple hours before high tide, that’s when you get that beautiful blue/green water.

The harbor walk is a cool little spot, it’s not super big, but there are a couple shops with tshirts and souvenirs, and a bunch of bars/restaurants to grab some drinks and lunch/dinner over looking the harbor/east pass, and drool/dream at some of the boats coming and going. After 9pm it turns into a bar/nightlife scene.

That’s all on the West side right by the bridge. If your looking for Outlet/shopping that’s more on the east side of Destin. Depending on traffic/time of day that can be anywhere from a 10 minute to a 90 minute drive. There is nothing over there that special that I would waste my Destin day checking out, but if the weather bad it’s not a bad backup option.

 

[midwest22]

Thanks @Inthrustwetrust. Doing a shuttle boat out to the crab island sounds like something we'll need to do. Thanks for the tip on the timing! Will probably also plan to check out the harbor walk. Might stick around for the nightlife depending on what type of transportation we can get back to our hotel.

 

[adrianp89]

You can check out GetMyBoat if you want to rent a boat for the day as well.

 

[PEARCE]

@midwest22 Are y'all camping at Gulf State Park? If you are then you'll want to take bikes to explore the park and take to the beach. Beach access for park guests is right across the main road from the park entrance. There's a bike parking area to lock your bikes up to go to the beach on the park side of the road. No vehicle parking at this access point. Be sure to go to Flora-Bama at least once to check out and have an adult beverage and maybe a meal. In case you don't know what it is, it's a bar/club/restaurant that straddles the Florida-Alabama state line. There's a liquor store there too.

The Alabama Gulfshores area is very chill compared to Destin. To me, Destin is very commercial and touristy. But if you've never been then please go and see what you think. We've gone many times with our camper and stayed at Topsail state park. It's at 98 and 30a. It's on the total other side of Destin and you have to go through Destin to get to it unless you want to take a tollway around it. Map it with whatever GPS app you like to figure out the best route if the Destin traffic is at a standstill. If you have the time, a drive down 30a is worth it.

If you have any other questions just fire away and you'll get an answer. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

Thanks @Inthrustwetrust. Doing a shuttle boat out to the carb island sounds like something we'll need to do. Thanks for the tip on the timing! Will probably also plan to check out the harbor walk. Might stick around for the nightlife depending on what type of transportation we can get back to our hotel.

All the shuttles are based out of the harbor walk so it’s a easy 2 for 1 kill. I would recommend booking in advance online. McGuires across the street is always a tourist favorite for food drinks. No real view though. I like eating at AJs right on the water. I’ve found most the other restaurants to be just eh. If you plan on spending the night in Destin it has plenty of Uber/Lyft etc. I don’t think you are going to find any transportation from Destin back to Gulf Shores, thats 1.5 to 2 hour drive at least. Night life is nothing special, a lot of the younger crowd partying, packed bars, music way to loud, maybe I’m just getting old. I would recommend just heading back to Gulf Shores after dinner and finding a local dive bar or something with live music closer to where you are staying. Something about being out in the water all day, the intense sun, a couple drinks, everyone is usually pretty beat after a crab island day.

 

[midwest22]

@Inthrustwetrust & @PEARCE - Thanks! We had a great trip down to Gulf Shores. We stayed at The Lodge at Gulf Shores State Park, so no camping but we did use the free bike rentals to bike the park. For our Destin day we used SunVenture Cruises as our shuttle out to crab island. That was our favorite part of the trip. We saw a Yamaha jet boat with a packers flag, so we ended up chatting with those folks for a long time. Which made us want a boat even more. We did an evening at Flora-Bama, was pretty cool to have a few different bands to watch while we were there. Also, we did end up renting a car. No way we could have gotten around without it between Pensacola, Gulf Shores, and Destin.

 

[WiskyDan]

Lots of Wisconsin Yamaha owners on the test drive link mentioned in reply #2. My boat is on Lake Winnebago if you're interested but I think there may be one or two others a bit closer.

 

[midwest22]

Thanks @WiskyDan, I didn't mention it on the forum yet, but I bought the white 212S on Friday that Wonderland Marine in Michigan posted last week. We've taken it out on Lake Mendota 3 times already since we have a state park with a launch about 5 minutes from our house. Planning on heading up to either Castle Rock or Lake Wisconsin on Saturday. I have family up in Neenah. Maybe we could meet up sometime and you could show me around Lake Winnebago.

 

[WiskyDan]

Would be happy to, we are on the lake most weekends.

There are some good places to eat/drink near Shattuck Park in Neenah which has a nice public dock. There are two sandbars very close as well - Waverly Beach and High Cliff State Park. You have to be a bit careful on the north shore of Lake Winnebago though if the wind is coming out of the south - it can create some heavy wave action.

 

[PEARCE]

@WhiskyDan We'll be literally in your neck of the woods tomorrow with our camper. We're in Door Co. now and getting ready to go to a fish boil for dinner. We're really enjoying the area and the beautiful weather. We're moving to a campground on Lake Winnebago tomorrow to spend a week since we're going to the EAA Flyin at Oshkosh. We are so excited! Be on the lookout for seaplanes landing on your lake this week.