DESTINATIONS GULF COAST THE US


LEFT: Ace New Orleans


RIGHT: National Naval Aviation Museum


BELOW: Gulf Shores


 MOBILE TO GULF SHORES How far: 49 miles See: Mobile is a walkable city that (as anyone here will gleefully tell you) hosted the first organised Mardi Gras, in 1703. Its Carnival Museum displays gem-encrusted costumes worn by carnival kings and queens. From here, it’s a short drive to


a very different side of Alabama – a wide stretch of coast with blazingly white beaches. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach make up Alabama’s Gulf Coast, with clusters of bars, seafood restaurants and shops selling inflatables and surf gear. Wild Native Tours’ Wildlife & Dolphins Kayak Tour (£50 for three hours) offers the chance to paddle close to bottlenose dolphins and through Bon


At Pensacola Beach, the best way to end the day is to sit, glass in hand, and watch the natural light show


Secour National Wildlife Refuge, where dunes trimmed with black needlerush provide a habitat for endangered Alabama beach mice. Later, The Gulf is a chilled-out


choice whose beachfront bars and street-food stalls are fashioned from shipping containers. Stay: The Lodge at Gulf State Park opened in late 2018, steps from the beach. It offers access


to the 28-mile Hugh S Branyon Backcountry Trail, which winds through pitcher-plant bogs, old- growth forests and sand dunes. Coastal-chic rooms have private balconies overlooking the sea or parkland. Doubles from £125. hilton.com


 GULF SHORES TO PENSACOLA BEACH How far: 42 miles See: Flora-Bama – on the border between Alabama and Florida – is the place for kitsch selfies. This tumbledown beachfront maze of outdoor and indoor bars has giant chairs, fairground cutouts and licence plate wall-art. Rock and country bands play across the five stages pretty much all day. The National Naval Aviation Museum, with its restored military


aircraft, is also worth a stop en route to downtown Pensacola, where 19th-century buildings mingle with modern murals and street sculptures. Suggest a potter around Quayside Art Gallery, which sells paintings, jewellery and pottery crafted by locals. At Pensacola Beach, a skinny spit of land with bars and hotels hemmed by the palest sand, the best way to end the day is to sit back, glass in hand, and watch the natural light show. On Jolly Sailing’s small-group cruises, crew hand out canapes and top up wine glasses as the sun sets over the bay (£50 for two hours). Stay: The Hilton Pensacola Beach is a huge, family-friendly hotel with a pool and direct beach access. Doubles from £200. hiltonpensacolabeach.com


40travelweekly.co.uk11 April 2019


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