Coastal Distancing: The Beach In Alabama Is The Perfect Place For A “Workcation!”

This post was sponsored by Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism. As always, all opinions are completely my own!

Like many of us, our family was quarantined and stayed home for all of 2020. So when we decided to take family vacation, we decided to head south to lower Alabama for “Coastal Distancing” and to visit the beautiful beaches our state has to offer!

But instead of taking off work and school for the week, we decided to pack up our laptops and textbooks and take work and school WITH us! Keep reading to see why Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are the perfect place for a workcation!

Safety and Physical Distancing

Safety was a top priority for us when choosing to vacation at Alabama Beaches. There is currently a mask mandate from the Governor’s office, so we knew that all of the restaurants and activities we chose would require masks. We also opted for outdoor dining whenever possible and ate lots of take-out in the condo. Our activities were also chosen with physical distancing in mind.

These things allowed us to have an enjoyable vacation, while still being mindful of ourselves and others.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in a condo hosted by Gulf Shores Rentals in the Island Tower Resort. Island Tower Unit 1903 is a gulf-front 3 bed/3 bath condominium directly overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It’s approximately 1600 square ft with 9-foot ceilings, 20 inch tile floors, floor-to-ceiling tinted windows and sliding glass doors. The kitchen has stainless steel appliances with double ovens all set in granite counter tops. The condo has 8 foot interior doors and high efficiency air conditioning system. The master en suite bathroom has double vanities, jetted tub and separate shower. The two guest bathrooms have tub/shower combinations.

For our family of 6, this was the perfect amount of space. Our 3 youngest children shared a bedroom, as they do at home, The boys slept in the queen bed and we brought our pack n’ play from home and it easily fit in the room. We also brought their night light and a portable sound machine, to mimic the way they sleep at home which worked like a charm! We also brought the baby’s walker so that she could have a safe spot to hang out, since condominiums often do not have the same baby-proofing that we have at home.

My 12 year old had her own room, and especially enjoyed the spacious balcony attached. She also completed school from the bedroom, for the most part, because she prefers to work in quiet.

The master suite was absolutely that – a suite! The en-suite bathroom was massive and made me dream of giving our bathroom at home an overhaul.

My favorite part of this unit at Island Tower was that it is directly on the beach with the balconies on from the living room and master bedroom facing directly gulf front! We were able take our laptops on the balcony and work while looking out over the ocean. Absolute perfection!

Where We Ate

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach boast some of the most amazing restaurants and beautiful waterfront dining arenas in the country! We dined at some familiar favorites that are on our list for every trip, but also tried a few new places. Click here to check out some fan favorite restaurants from the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism Board.

Highlights were our meals from Lucy Buffett’s Lulu’s, The Gulf, The Southern Grind Coffee House – which all are equipped with amazing areas for outdoor dining! We also grabbed To-go meals from the Original Oyster House, Desoto’s Seafood Kitchen, and a new favorite for us, Bahama Bob’s Beachside Cafe.

What We Did

When you plan a winter beach trip to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, you may be surprised that it actually can get pretty cold at the beach. Despite that, we still spent as much time on the beach and in the sand. We also visited the Wharf at Orange Beach which has tons of shopping, dining, entertainment, and more!

And our favorite activity, hands down, was an educational field trip The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Our family loves zoos and this was our first time getting a chance to visit while visiting the beach. It was absolutely incredible!

One of our favorite exhibits at the zoo were the animal encounters. Our kids were able to feed both the giraffes and the goats in the petting zoo. They had a blast!

We also worked and homeschooled/virtual schooled from the beach! Our oldest is in virtual middle school, while our 2 and 4 year olds are both homeschool preschoolers. But with the beach as our backdrop, we really didn’t feel like we were missing a thing. We spent our days at the condominium, and as soon as the work and school-day was done, we headed out for some socially-distanced fun!

If you are looking for a safe, local road trip for your next vacation, look no further than Alabama Beaches!

Have you traveled yet this year? If so, where? I highly recommend a trip to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to get your family back on the road for a “Coastal Distancing” vacation!