Traveling to Gulf Shores

I've been blessed to live in some of the most beautiful areas. I've regretted not blogging about Chattanooga and the very many things that are available to do there. Now, that we live on the gulf coast, I want to share what I know about living here. As I've visited other cities, I wished I could get info from the locals. They really know their community. So, this is my way of serving my community. I am going to try my best to share what I know about the Mobile/Baldwin County, Gulf Shores area. Please remember, this is my observation and my opinion. I do not declare in any way that my information is 100% correct and without error.

As I travel to Gulf Shores 2-3 times a week to clean condos, I took notice of how many visitors we have visit the gulf coast every day. My kids and I took a tally on how many out of state visitors we could find in one minute. 1/12 were locals. We have seen tags from just about every state. There's a since of pride that comes over me as we drive down the road and see "Gulf Shores, here we come" or "Alabama, here we come" written on the windows. It dawned on me that people really spend a lot of time planning, saving, scheduling their vacations to this great place that I call home...Gulf Shores.

So in this blog I want to help those traveling to Gulf Shores with some traffic tips. I live just off Hwy 59 in Baldwin county and have the unfortunate event of having to deal with the heavy traffic. I have learned the busy traffic times.

FOR A "SHORT CUT" - If you are southbound on I-65, take exit #34-Hwy 59/Gulf Shores Parkway. Turn left to go south. This will take you right into Gulf Shores in about an hour. By doing this you will cut off going through Mobile, AL. Hwy 59 is a safe four lane highway. My family and I used to take it every year when visiting Gulf Shores from Chattanooga.

The busiest times to head into Gulf Shores are on Saturday and Sundays. Most condos and beach houses rent for 7 days from Sat. to Sat. or Sun. to Sun. The traffic triples in size from 11:00am CST to about 6:00pm CST. So, plan to enter into Foley/Gulf Shores early morning. There is plenty to do until you can check into your place. (More on things to do in Foley/Gulf Shore in another blog) During July, every day of the week seems to have a lot of traffic with Saturday and Sunday being the heaviest and Monday and Tuesday being the lightest. The traffic generally doesn't get too bad until you actually enter Gulf Shores.

The worst time to exit Gulf Shores is before 12:00pm CST. That's because you have to be checked out of your place by 10 or 11:00. You could check out of your place and hang around until at least 2:00pm CST. Or leave before 8:00am CST.

So here's a re-cap on how to avoid traffic.

• Travel into Gulf Shores on Monday or Tuesday before 11:00pm CST.
• Exit Gulf Shores before 8:00am CST or after 2:00pm CST.
• Leave early to be ready for any unforeseen traffic jams. 
• Avoid I-10 at all cost. Take exit #34 from southbound I-65. Turn left off exit.

Most of all...HAVE FUN and ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

For any questions, please leave them in the "comments" section.

P.S. Need a condo? Ask me, I have family and friends who own condos with a boat launch, deck/pier, pool with beach access!

Happy Traveling
    ~Dee Dee~