We recently took a trip down to Orange Beach, Alabama with the kids just as the states began to reopen after the Covid-19 lockdown. I have many memories of visiting here as a kid but this was my first time back in over 20 years. I was amazed to see how much things have changed and how many new places were popping up!
If you are making the drive from Nashville you have to make a stop at Peach Park. One of our favorite places to stop on the way to the beach! You can guess what they’re known for and I will say they have the best peach ice cream! They also have peach cobbler and other flavors of ice cream. My favorite thing about the place is the playground for the kids and rocking chairs for the adults. It’s the perfect place to break up the trip and let the kids run around!
Where to Stay
This trip we stayed at The Admirals Quarters in Orange Beach. We booked our room with Simpson Properties and they were wonderful to work with. The Admiral was located right on the beach with access to rent beach chairs and also a pool. Our unit had 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms with a huge balcony to watch the sunsets! There was plenty of room and a fully equipped kitchen. Simpson Properties offers other great condos or houses as well in the area. They also offer great deals for summer!
Where to Eat
We are pretty low key on vacation so we usually eat breakfast in every morning and just make sandwiches for lunch. However one day we did use Gulf to Go for some Totolos pizza on the beach! Each night we tried a new restaurant. When we go to the beach we love to find great local seafood preferably with an ocean view. Here are a few we tried:
This was honestly my favorite. It may of been because of the large outside seating area or the live music! The food was amazing. The Ahi tuna was so fresh and the red fish is a must try! The oysters were also a hit. The kids even said the chicken tenders were the best they had ever had.
Cosmos is the sister restaurant to Cobalt just without the water. The menus are similar which is actually we chose to come here after eating at Cobalt. They also have live music and a happy hour. You have to save room for dessert and try the banana fritters! They are the best!
If you want the best deep fried seafood with french fries, Doc’s is the place! Docs has been in Orange Beach for almost 40 years and famous for their fried shrimp!
The kids voted The Gulf as their favorite. Its located, you guessed it, right on the Gulf. With sand and picnic tables it’s the perfect place to bring the kids. You do have order food and drinks from the walk up bars, but everything moved pretty fast. The fish tacos were amazing as well as the grouper sandwich.
We sat at Fisher’s Dockside one evening for dinner and enjoyed seeing the boats return from the day. The sandwiches were the best as well as the oysters!
We ended our trip at Big Fish and this was a surprise. We went early for happy hour where we were able to try some great appetizers for the half the price. Big Fish has a mix of dishes with sushi and many fish entrees, as well as steak and pasta. If you like sushi this place was amazing!
We did not do any extra activities this trip. With everyone still on high alert and many places not open yet we did not venture out too much. We were able to entertain ourselves and the kids each day with the beach or relaxing at the condo. The air force is nearby so seeing all the planes go by each day was a great treat for the kids as well. The only thing the kids begged to do was go crab hunting every night! So we found some great cheap entertainment. We will have to try and go back when the kids can explore a little more. Overall the kids had fun, the beaches were clean, the restaurants were great and rental was perfect! I would highly recommend to visit with the kids and have fun!
