Gulfport (Biloxi, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs: spring break, hotels, construction)

[reneestokes]

Hi! I am joining my fiance on a vacation to Gulfport this springbreak(next week) and I was wondering if anyone could tell me about it. Will there be alot going on during spring break? (parties,alot of tourist,etc.) Does this area still look bad after katrina? Are the beaches pretty? What is there to do for a young couple?

[brickpatio]

Yes, the Coast is absolutely fun. It's a little early for the beach though; normally the warm weather starts about April 1. Gulfport and Biloxi are regular cities that just happen to have a beach, rather than a typical scenic, tourist beach situation. The cool thing to do is take the ferries out to Ship Island and Cat Island, part of the Gulf Islands national park. That's where the real beaches are with green gulf waters etc. I'm not sure though if the ferries begin before April 1.

Otherwise the most fun thing is the casinos. At Beau Rivage in Biloxi, it feels like one big party. You can have your vacation without ever leaving the hotel, between the casino, restaurants, the spa, the huge pool with umbrellas, some shopping within the hotel, etc.

You can also go out on a charter boat for deep-sea fishing, take guided tours of the rivers such as the Pascagoula, cruises of the Mississippi Sound, and play on some really nice golf courses, many of which are associated with the hotels.

Downtown Ocean Springs is quaint with some cool little restaurants and shops. This is a great little town for biking around, with their own little town beach etc. Gulfport has a nice outlet shopping mall. There are some neat water-side restaurants such as at the marina in Pass Christian.

As far as reconstruction post-Katrina, they've got a ways to go. The beaches in Biloxi and Gulfport are beginning a reconstruction to make them look more natural; in a few years they will be covered in dunes, sea grasses, etc. And they just started building some 10 or 15 miles of bike and walking trails that will run between the beach highway and the beach.

Two scenic spots for walking and running are over the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge and over the Pass Christian-Bay St. Louis bridge. The point is that this is not like Florida where you get a hotel on the beach. This area is fun if you like a variety of things (islands, golf, casinos, biking, fishing, shopping, eating).

[reneestokes]

Well thank you very much...I knew that it would be too cold to swim in the beach...just as college students we enjoy going to any beach for spring break...thanks so much for the information..it was very very helpful but one question I still have is when I get there will everything be destructed enough to make me depressed or regret coming? Or, will things be stable and relaxing...I just dont want to get down there and feel that I'm not on vacation because of destruction.

[brickpatio]

You won't notice any destruction. The only evidence by and large is the empty lots along the beach highway. If you want to relax then yes you'll have a good time. I checked and the Ship Island ferries start March 20. For casinos (Hard Rock, Beau Rivage) or just a laid back trip to the beach for some reason Biloxi strikes me as a little more appealing than Gulfport. There are sections of the beach highway with dunes that add a little separation from the highway and the beach. Or a few minutes to the West Pass Christian is nice with no traffic along the beach highway and a great dockside bar at a huge marina overlooking the Gulf. Awesome. Personally the latter would be my choice as a place to hang out, or one of the nicer hotel pools etc. Also, Ocean Springs is a cool place to hang out with friiends, with a small town beach but also a nice walk to the little downtown for restaurants etc.

[reneestokes]

wow that was so helpful! thanks so much! I am so so excited