Awards & Honors


Awards and Honors

  • Family Vacation Critic included Gulf Shores in the "Top 10 Best Family Beaches for 2018"
  • Coastal Living included Gulf Shores in "The Best Little Beach Towns to Visit in the Spring"
  • USA Today ranked Gulf Shores as #5 "Top 10 in Best Coastal Small Towns"
  • Reader's Digest included Gulf Shores in "The Best Weekend Getaways in Every State" 
  • Travel + Leisure included Gulf Shores in "Best Small Beach Towns for People Who Want to Escape the Crowds"
  • Orbitz included Gulf Shores in "Best Places for a Bachelorette Party in All 50 States"
  • Women's Health included Gulf Shores in the "Best Wellness Destination in Every State"
  • TravelPulse.com named Gulf Shores one of "America's 30 Most Charming Seaside Towns"
  • Fodor's named Gulf Shores one of "America's 25 Favorite Beach Towns"
  • SmarterTravel named Gulf Shores one of the "4 Hidden, Cheap Beach Destinations on the Gulf Coast"
  • U.S. News & World Report included Gulf Shores in 30 Top Family Weekend Getaways in 2018
  • County Living named Gulf Shores one of the best beach towns to visit in the Fall of 2017 
  • Expedia named Gulf Shores the most beautiful town in Alabama in 2017
  • Time.com ranked Gulf Shores #9 for Best in Travel 2017
  • FlipKey.com included the Gulf Shores National Shrimp Festival in the "20 Small Towns with the Most Unique Festivals in America"
  • Birmingham Parent named Gulf Shores and Orange Beach a "Birmingham Parent 2017 Family Favorite"
  • PopSugar.com named Gulf Shores as one of "13 Coastal Towns in the U.S. that are Worth the Visit"
  • Niche.com ranked Gulf Shores as Alabama's 4th Best Overall Town
  • AOL named Gulf Shores as one of 20 Most Charming Beach Towns in America
  • BuzzFeed included Gulf Shores on its list of 27 Underrated U.S. Vacation Spots You Should Visit Before You Die
  • TripAdvisor featured Gulf Shores on its list of America's Top Beach House Destinations
  • 10Best nominated Gulf Shores as America's Best Coastal Small Town
  • Horizon Travel America featured Gulf Shores in their list of 10 American Cities to visit in 2015
  • TripAdvisor included Gulf Shores in its top 10 list of Destinations on the Rise for 2015
  • USA Today named Gulf Shores to its list of 10 Best Southern Beaches for 2014
  • SportsEvents Media Group named Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission to its 2014 Readers' Choice Award list.
  • Just Porter named Gulf Shores to its list of the 10 Best Summer Getaways in the U.S. for 2014
  • The Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association awarded the 2014 Outstanding Planning Award to Gulf Shores for its development of Waterway Village
  • National Geographic named Gulf Shores to its 2014 list of 7 Great American Beach Towns
  • Yahoo! ranked Gulf Shores as one of its 8 Low-Stress Spring Break Destinations
  • AOL Travel named the Alabama Gulf Coast as one of the Top 9 Cities Not Named New Orleans to Celebrate Fat Tuesday
  • CNN named the Alabama Gulf Coast in its "50 states, 50 spots for 2014" article.
  • The Travel Channel named Gulf Shores to its list of best Gulf Coast beaches.
  • Country Roads ranked the Alabama Gulf Coast as its favorite family-friendly escape.
  • SmarterTravel.com named Gulf Shores to its list of the "10 places you should go while they're still cheap."
  • Nashville Lifestyles listed the Alabama Gulf Coast and its 32 miles of sugar-white sand as one of the "best luxury locations in the U.S. for discerning travelers."
  • Budget Travel readers named Gulf Shores as on of America's coolest small towns
  • Gulf Shores Public Beach and the Gulf State Park Beach both received 5-star ratings from the National Resource Defense Council and were ranked among the top 13 beaches nationwide for the second-straight year.
  • FamilyFun recognized Gulf Shores as one of the top 10 tourist towns in its 2013 Travel Awards.
  • Coastal Living placed West Beach in Gulf Shores at the top of its list of America's 21 Best Beaches.
  • Parents magazine named Gulf Shores to its list of America's 10 Best Beach Towns.
  • Guyism.com placed Alabama's Gulf Coast on its list of the 50 most underrated summer vacation spots in North America.
  • TravelNerd named Gulf Shores to its list of the top 10 small U.S. beach towns.
  • Travel + Leisure ranked Gulf Shores as one of America's best little beach towns.
  • Readers of AAA Southern Traveler selected Gulf Shores as the Best Small City for a Weekend Getaway and the Alabama Gulf Coast as the Best Beach for a Weekend Escape in the publication's Best of the South poll.
  • CNN named Gulf State Park among its "22 can't-miss U.S. beaches."
  • MSN listed West Beach in Gulf Shores in the website's "best beaches to visit before summer ends" list.
  • SavingsAccounts.com included Gulf Shores in its "top 5 affordable destinations for end-of-summer fun" as a great choice for post-Labor Day travel.
  • SmarterTravel.com listed Gulf Shores among its "10 Sleepy Beach Towns Perfect for Fall."
  • Readers of Birmingham magazine voted Gulf Shores as the best beach getaway for 2013.