Welcome to Your Perfect Vacation

A myriad of cultures and possibilities await you in SouthCoastUSA. From beachcombing to festivals to historical tours - your adventure starts here on the "Southcoast Highway", where miles of scenic drives stretch over four states along the Gulf of Mexico. Nature and wildlife abound in protected forests and bayous teaming with life. Our diverse culture, history and southern hospitality remain intact while modern amenities meet your every need. Whether taking your family or planning a family reunion…taking a second honeymoon or traveling with best friends, the 13 SouthCoastUSA tourism agencies will provide everything for your Perfect Vacation.Come to our shores, where the sky is electric blue, the water is emerald green and the experience is all colors of the world.

Enjoy an out-of-this-world experience at the Space Center Houston. The $70 million, 180,000-square-foot, Disney-designed facility features simulated space voyages, mission control panels and Texas' largest giant-screen theatre. NASA’s Official Visitors Center features actual spacecraft, like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules, and a walk in space through state-of-the-art simulators. Visitors also see behind-the-scenes tours of the famed Johnson Space Center and a huge display of space flight hardware and astronaut memorabilia.

Gulf Coast's Adventure Island

Welcome to the land of pirates, alligators, volcanoes and prehistoric wetlands, a place where every day is an adventure. Adventure Island is conveniently located directly on Perdido Beach Boulevard in Orange Beach, Alabama. Adventure Island is home to the Gulf Coast's only Active Volcano. This five-story mountain of fire comes alive with an amazing show of power and beauty. Feel the vibrations, hear the boiling water, see the steam, and watch a musical eruption that will amaze the entire family. Adventure Island offers 218-hole adventure-style mini-golf courses, go-karts, laser tag, large family arcade, paddle boats, snack bar, virtual reality roller coaster and race car, kiddie rides, remote-controlled boats and much more.

Bellingrath Gardens

Surround yourself with beauty, history and ecology at Bellingrath Gardens, a year-round floral paradise with 65 landscaped acres within a 905-acre semitropical forest. The Bellingrath Home features a magnificent display of 19th-century furniture and the world's largest collection of Boehm porcelain china. While at the garden, you can also enjoy a river cruise aboard the famous Southern Belle.

Discovering a “Lost Island” – Perdido Key

Its name means "Lost Island" in Spanish, but Perdido Key is discovered by more and more people each day. One person who put Perdido Key on the map is "Dr. Beach," who considers it among the nation's top beaches. Dr. Beach - environmental scientist Stephen Leatherman - consistently rates Perdido in the top 20 beaches. Dr. Beach gives high marks to the sugar-white sand, emerald-green water, sprawling areas open to the public, and laid-back atmosphere.

Be Inspired by the Lush Natural Setting of Audubon State Historic Site, Baton Rouge

"The rich magnolias covered with fragrant blossoms, the holly, the beech, the tall yellow poplar, the hilly ground and even the red clay, all excited my admiration. Such an entire change in the fall of nature in so short a time seems almost supernatural, and surrounded once more by numberless warblers and thrushes, I enjoyed the scene."
So reads the journal of John James Audubon as he recorded his arrival in 1821 at Oakley Plantation.

The South Lafourche area is world renowned as one of the top five fishing destinations in the United States. Fish off the side of LA Highway 1, right from the banks of Bayou Lafourche and its surrounding marshland. Cast a net into the Gulf of Mexico at Fourchon Beach or choose from over 25 charter fishing guide services that include inland, coastal, off shore and deep-sea fishing.

Enjoy Delightful Regional Cuisine and Southern Hospitality in Ocean Springs

Aromas lingering along sidewalks transform Ocean Springs into a feast for the senses. Bustling restaurants, over 30 in all, have become the very lifeblood of our community. Ocean Springs' restaurants- celebrating our regional cuisine and southern hospitality- draw diners morning, noon and night.Menus include pond-raised catfish, po-boys, fresh Gulf seafood, soft-shell crab, shrimp, oysters, crabmeat and homemade gumbo – to name just a few.

Explore the Creole Nature Trail

Beyond the interstate... beyond the excitement of Louisiana's cities... Here lies a world of natural beauty and abundance whose people preserve the very heart of Louisiana's cultures. This is a land that beckons to everyone with a sense of adventure. This is Louisiana's Outback.In this fertile world where land and water merge and diverge, the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte hid treasure, and French explorers traded with the Attakapas Indians and created colonial Louisiana. In this world, Louisiana's Cajun and Creole cultures took root and grew in harmony with abundant life—a life you can share on the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road.