Southern hospitality meets the sunshine in Alabama’s Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Our lively beach towns offer everything you need to host a dynamic meeting, incentive trip, conference or event.
Want to see for yourself? Our CVB team hosts FAM trips 365 days a year. Come and meet the hoteliers, chefs and hospitality teams who are ready to treat your attendees to an event they’ll never forget. You’ll visit Gulf Shores’ and Orange Beach’s most popular—and unique—venues. You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes tour of the region’s top restaurants, attractions and hotels.
Our group’s goal is to make your job as easy as possible. Blame it on our Southern roots. In addition to our FAM visits and planning services, our CVB team also offers a marketing toolkit full of customizable promotional assets you can use to get attendees hyped about the big event. The toolkit includes custom save-the-dates, digital banner ad packages, and photos and videos you can feature on websites, in email and on social media. You’ll also receive pre-written destination content that helps create a sense of place and excitement.
As dedicated as we are to serving meeting planners, we also want to ensure your guests have a great time. Whether you want to host a preconference event or an after-hours teambuilding activity, here are four ways your attendees can go beyond the boardroom in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Signature Experiences
Make your meeting memorable by treating your guests to one (or two or three) of Gulf Shores’ and Orange Beach’s Signature Experiences tours. These one-of-a-kind adventures allow attendees to experience the region’s history, culture and cuisine firsthand.
Let chef David Pan, a graduate of the esteemed Le Cordon Bleu Mendota Heights, prepare a multicourse tasting menu that highlights the best of our region’s farms, vineyards and purveyors. His Chef’s Table at Orange Beach Concierge experience offers your guests a chance to sample some of the area’s finest and freshest cuisine. Wine pairings are also available.
The Angler Academy is another top Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Signature Experience. Your attendees will learn the ins and outs of saltwater fishing, including tying knots and selecting bait. Afterward, they can put their newly learned skills in action with a Gulf fishing excursion to our 1,540-foot Gulf State Park Pier.
Encourage your guests to get face to face with our local fauna at one of Gulf Shores’ and Orange Beach’s animal attractions. The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo’s anteater, lemur and sloth encounters are always a hit with kids and adults alike.
Gulf Coast Adventures
Our 32 miles of sugar-white beaches are an attraction in themselves. But there’s way more to do along our shoreline than basking in the sun.
Your guests and their families can learn more about the nine distinct local ecosystems at the new Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism & Sustainability. Founded in 2018, the center offers a variety of day and overnight programs designed to highlight the best of Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
Host an executive retreat at the Gulf State Park Learning Campus. Complete with dining, meeting and accommodation options, the facility offers multiple ways for your team to connect with nature and one another. The campus’s trained naturalists lead a variety of hands-on experiences, ranging from arts and crafts workshops to field studies and guided hikes. Whether you want to offer your guests an adventure or a chance to reflect, the Learning Campus’ tours and programming exceeds expectations.
For more laid-back nature encounters, don’t miss Gulf State Park. With 2 miles of coastline, 28 miles of paved hiking and biking trails, and The Lodge at Gulf State Park – a Hilton Hotel, it’s easy to see why this is one of our region’s most popular destinations.
Hit the High Seas
Whether guests feel like paddling or partying, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach offer a wide selection of boating excursions perfect for teambuilding activities, reward experiences and incentive trips.
Take a 52-foot catamaran tour of the coastline with Cetacean Cruises. During a two-hour sail guests can watch dolphins swim and play as they cruise the smooth, pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico and back bays.
Sail Wild Hearts is another popular vendor for nature and adventure catamaran tours for up to 49 people with easy access to beachfront convention hotel Perdido Beach Resort. Guests can sail to Robinson Island, where they can kayak, snorkel and sunbathe. Sail Wild Hearts also has a sunset tour which is a relaxing way to end an eventful day of networking.
The calm inland waters of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores also offer the perfect conditions for stand-up paddleboarding, or SUP, excursions. Conference attendees can paddle through the serene waters of Lake Shelby, a 900-acre freshwater lake in Gulf State Park. The brackish waters of Wolf Bay in Orange Beach Waterfront Park offers miles of shoreline to explore.
No matter how your attendees want to experience our gulf coast, our CVB team can help you arrange transportation, gear rental and more to ensure it’s a perfect day on the water.
Sand Castle University
For more teambuilding activities, let the experts at Sand Castle University teach your group how to make a seaside stronghold. Your attendees will learn the art of tamping, draining and sculpting the sand. They’ll also become skilled at smoothing and carving unique details like turrets and doors.
Sand Castle University’s coastal coaches will bring all of the equipment to your site (don’t worry, our team will help you find the perfect spot). Every class also includes a takeaway tip sheet as well as a time-lapse video of your group constructing their work of art. In addition to celebrating your team’s creative skills, the video is the perfect promotional asset to get attendees excited for your next event.
