If you’re looking to stay local this Spring Break, here’s an idea: Make a Gulf Coast Bucket List and check them all off in a week!
Here is our “Mom Approved” list from Gulf Coast Moms Blog contributors to help you get started.
- Ship Island Excursions offers round-trip ferry service beginning Saturday, March 14. This is an affordable, single-day family vacation where you explore, swim, and relax. Enjoy the best beaches in Mississippi and tour historic Fort Massachusetts (circa 1858), all part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Kids will love watching for bottlenose dolphins.
- Ride an airboat or take a walking tour with the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch & Airboat Swamp Tours. You can buy cups of food and feed the ginormous alligators.
- A site for marine/coastal research and education, the Gulf Coast Research Lab has a suspension bridge that is definitely worth checking out.
- Walter Anderson Museum of Art and the George Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art make for great educational day trips.
- Plan a good day of park hopping. We suggest park hopping around Ocean Springs, lunching at a kid-friendly spot or packing a picnic and then take a trip to Pops Brothers or The Candy Cottage & Gourmet for a treat.
- B.Y.O. Brush in Ocean Springs always has kids’ paint times during spring break. Come by April 7, 9, 14, and 16 from 10 AM – 2 PM. $15 each. No appointment needed. Large group discounts available upon request.
- McCoy’s River and Swamp tours leave from the Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point. The tour, on average, last two hours and travels through the old growth swamps and tidal marshes of the river.
- Eco-Tours of South Mississippi offer two-hour tours and overnight trips for the more adventurous kids! The tours take you along the lower Pascagoula River as well as the coastal barrier islands.
- Head over to Ocean Springs and rent paddle boards or kayaks from Wild Flier.
- Check out the indoor Aquatics Center at the Kroc Center in Biloxi.
- Have you ever wanted to go shrimping? Learn everything you ever wanted to know about catching, cooking, and eating this delicious southern delicacy on the Biloxi Shrimping Trip excursion!
- There is no better way to enjoy the beautiful waters and scenery of historic Biloxi Bay than on a true old-fashioned paddle wheel boat. Whether young or old, the Betsy Ann Riverboat tour is sure to be a great experience.
- Has your little one ever wanted to feed a dolphin or kiss a sea lion? Then book one of these fun encounters at the Ocean Adventures Marine Park in Gulfport!
- From art exploration to jewelry making classes, the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center offers a plethora of activities and personalized classes.
- Grab a sweet pick me up from Dolce Bake Shop in Long Beach.
- Enjoy a movie at the new Biloxi Premiere LUX Ciné & Pizza Pub. This movie theater would impress any kid! With recliners, pizza bar and free refills, this is sure to be a great cinematic experience.
- Finishline Performance Karting is a state-of-the-art, outdoor go-kart racing complex offering the ultimate experience for both kids and big kids (ahem, husband). Karts can race from 35 – 50+ mph.
- Arcade, bowling, laser maze, two 18-hole mini golf courses, bumper cars and go-karts… the whole family will have a blast at Big Play Family Fun Center in Biloxi!
- Jump, jump, jump to your heart’s content at Altitude Trampoline Park in Gulfport. They also offer toddler time on Tuesday and Friday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Cypress Lanes in D’Iberville provides state-of-the-art bowling lanes for your family to enjoy. They are a one-stop entertainment hub with an arcade area as well.
- INFINITY Space Center will offer a glimpse into space suit technology, new space rockets, constellations and more.
