Biloxi is a working seafood town on a narrow peninsula between the Mississippi Sound and Back Bay, and it wears three identities at once. There is the maritime one, built on oysters, shrimp and the schooners that carried them. There is the beach, a long ribbon of imported sand running the length of US 90. And there are the casino resorts, which are a genuine part of the modern coast and also the part first time visitors most often misread. The spine of a family trip here is the water, the lighthouse and the boat out to the barrier island, and none of that requires setting foot on a gaming floor.
The top 15, ranked
Ranked by how consistently each pick appears across official Biloxi sources, the local destination marketing organization, and recent independent roundups.
- Top pick
1Best for Outdoors · #1 of 15
West Ship Island
ParkGulfport and the island boatThe island itself is open sunrise to sunset year round, but the ferry, the fort access and the island facilities run only from the middle of spring through October. Sailings are weather dependent and sell out on summer weekends.Varies by ferryThe barrier island sits about twelve miles offshore in Gulf Islands National Seashore and is the reason people say the water is clearer out there: the island chain absorbs the Gulf swell before it reaches the mainland. Fort Massachusetts, a brick coastal fort, stands at the west end, and the Gulf side has a swimming beach with lifeguards in summer, pavilions and restrooms. There is no entrance fee for the Mississippi areas of the national seashore. The concession ferry is run by Ship Island Excursions, a Skrmetta family business operating since 1926, and leaves from Jones Park in Gulfport rather than from Biloxi.
Local tipTake the earliest sailing you can and carry everything you need, because the crossing runs about an hour each way, the boat schedule sets your day, and once you are on the island the only supplies are a small snack bar.
- Top pick
2Best for Landmarks · #2 of 15
Biloxi Lighthouse
LandmarkThe beachfrontThe lighthouse is visible and photographable at any hour from the roadside. Climbing tours run in a narrow morning window on a Monday to Saturday pattern, weather permitting, with group reservations handled separately.Varies by ticketBuilt in 1848 and standing 65 feet on a traffic island in the middle of US 90, this was one of the first cast iron lighthouses in the South and it is now the symbol of the city. Maria and Miranda Younghans, a mother and daughter, kept the light for 63 years between them. The Coast Guard ran it from 1939 until 1969, when the City of Biloxi took ownership and opened it to the public. Climbing it means 57 spiral steps and an eight rung ladder into the light room, past waterlines left by more than a century of hurricanes.
Local tipTurn up right at the start of the day, because climbing tours run only in a short morning window, they go weather permitting, and there is a minimum height requirement of 42 inches for the ladder into the lantern.
- Top pick
3Best for History · #3 of 15
Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum
MuseumDowntown and Point CadetOpen six days a week on a full daytime window with a shorter Sunday afternoon opening. The schooners run on their own seasonal sailing pattern from the pier complex rather than from the museum.Under $15Founded in 1986 and sitting at 115 First Street on Point Cadet, this museum covers more than 300 years of Gulf Coast maritime and seafood history: oystering, shrimping, boat building, net making and the Yugoslav, Cajun and Vietnamese communities the industry drew in. It also holds the Hurricane Camille Memorial to the storm that hit on 17 August 1969. The museum runs the Biloxi schooners from the Schooner Pier Complex further west on Beach Boulevard, so a visit here and a sail can be booked together.
Local tipAsk about the schooner sailing schedule while you are at the desk, because the boats work from a separate pier a couple of miles away and the sailings are not posted anywhere at the museum building itself.
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4Best for Outdoors · #4 of 15
Biloxi Beach
ParkThe beachfrontOpen and free all year with no admission. Lifeguard cover and rental concessions are seasonal, and the county posts water quality advisories and closures from time to time, which are worth checking before swimming.FreeThe sand along US 90 is man made and it runs for miles, maintained by the Harrison County Sand Beach Authority and free to use with no gate and no ticket. Because the barrier island chain twelve miles out takes the force of the Gulf swell, the water here is calm and shallow rather than surf, which suits small children and suits nobody looking for waves. Rules are enforced: no glass, no animals other than service animals, and no vehicles without county authorization.
Local tipSet up west of the lighthouse rather than directly in front of the casino strip, because the parking pull offs along US 90 are easier there and the crossing to the sand does not involve a resort driveway.
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5Best for Art · #5 of 15
Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art
MuseumThe beachfrontOpen Tuesday through Saturday on a daytime window with last admission shortly before closing, and closed on Sundays and Mondays plus a handful of holidays including Mardi Gras Day.Under $15The campus at 386 Beach Boulevard was designed by Frank O. Gehry, and the museum frames itself around two American masters: the potter George E. Ohr, who worked in Biloxi, and Gehry himself. Inside are galleries of Ohr's warped and pinched ceramics, including his puzzle mugs, alongside Gulf Coast collections and the Biloxi Center for Ceramics on the upper floor. It is the most architecturally serious building on the Mississippi coast and it costs less than a movie ticket to enter.
Local tipWalk the outside of the campus before going in, because the clustered metal pods facing the beach are the point of the Gehry design and they are almost invisible once you are inside the galleries.
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6Best for History · #6 of 15
Beauvoir
Historic SiteThe beachfrontOpen daily on a full daytime window, with guided house tours leaving hourly through the middle part of the day. Grounds, museum and cemetery can be walked outside tour times.Under $15Sixty acres at 2244 Beach Boulevard hold an 1852 raised cottage that was the last home of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, along with a Civil War museum of more than 9,500 square feet and a Confederate Memorial Cemetery holding over 780 remains from the period when the property operated as a veterans hospital. The house was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and restored afterward. House tours are guided and leave on the hour.
Local tipArrive on the hour rather than between them, because the house interior is shown only by guided tour on a fixed hourly rotation and the grounds alone are a much shorter visit than most people expect.
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7Best for Family · #7 of 15
Mississippi Aquarium
Family AttractionGulfport and the island boatOpen through the year on a daytime window, with a published daily schedule of presentations and feeds. Paid encounter experiences run at limited times and book out ahead of general admission.Varies by ticketA short drive west along the beach highway at 2100 East Beach Boulevard in Gulfport, this nonprofit aquarium spreads across a 5.8 acre campus with indoor and outdoor habitats, more than 200 species and over a million gallons of fresh and salt water. Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, American alligators, North American river otters, penguins and a touch pool all sit on one site. Paid encounters with dolphins and penguins and a helmet diving experience are sold separately from general admission.
Local tipLook at the daily schedule the moment you walk in, because the dolphin and keeper presentations run at set times across a large outdoor site and it is easy to spend an hour indoors and miss all of them.
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8Best for Tours · #8 of 15
Biloxi Schooners
TourThe beachfrontSailings run seasonally rather than year round and are scheduled around charter bookings, with sunset sails on selected evenings in the warm months. Everything is weather dependent.$25 to $50The Glenn L. Swetman and the Mike Sekul are working replicas of the Biloxi oyster schooners once known as the White Winged Queens, the sailing fleet that harvested the Sound before motors and changing regulations killed them off. Both are run by the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum and sail from the Schooner Pier Complex at 367 Beach Boulevard. Walk on sails are sold at the pier only, need a minimum of six passengers, and are priced well below a typical harbor cruise.
Local tipBuy at the pier and call ahead the same day, because walk on tickets are not sold online, the sail only goes if six people show up, and the schedule is set week by week around private charters.
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9Best for Family · #9 of 15
Ocean Adventures Marine Park
Family AttractionGulfport and the island boatOpen daily on a morning to late afternoon window, with presentations and feeds running on a fixed daily rotation. Special encounter programs and camps are booked separately from general admission.$15 to $30This is the public facing arm of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, a nonprofit founded in 1984 that runs the Gulf Coast's marine mammal and sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation operation within the national stranding network. The park at Dolphin Lane in Gulfport puts dolphin and sea lion presentations, a macaw and parrot show, a walk through aviary, a stingray touch pool and an underwater viewing area on one compact site. Admission is modest and the rescue work is the reason the place exists.
Local tipGo on a weekday morning if you can, because the presentations run to a set daily rotation on a small site and the whole park is easier to get around before the school and camp groups arrive.
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10Best for Art · #10 of 15
Walter Anderson Museum of Art
MuseumOcean SpringsOpen six days a week on a late morning to late afternoon window with a shorter Sunday afternoon opening. Free admission is offered to military families through the summer under the Blue Star Museums program.Under $15Across the bay in Ocean Springs, at 510 Washington Avenue, this museum is devoted to Walter Inglis Anderson, the Mississippi artist who worked from 1903 to 1965 and spent much of his life drawing and painting the Gulf's plants, birds and barrier islands. The museum's stated mission is to connect visitors to the natural world through his work and that of kindred artists, which makes it a natural companion to a day on the water. It sits beside the Ocean Springs Community Center, which the museum also programs.
Local tipDo this on the same run as the national seashore's mainland unit a few minutes further east, because Anderson rowed out to these islands to paint and the two together explain each other.
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11Best for Outdoors · #11 of 15
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Davis Bayou
ParkOcean SpringsThe entrance gate is open from morning until sunset year round, with the boat launch and picnic area opening earlier. The visitor center keeps a daytime window and the campground office runs a shorter midweek to Saturday pattern.FreeThe mainland unit of the national seashore sits at US 90 and Park Road, three miles east of downtown Ocean Springs, and it is free. The William M. Colmer Visitor Center has exhibits, a park film and an observation deck, and it is the only place in the Mississippi district issuing national park passes and Junior Ranger material. Beyond it are boardwalks over the bayou, hiking trails, a fishing pier, a picnic area and a campground. Swimming is not allowed here, which surprises people who expect a beach.
Local tipStart here rather than at the ferry dock if you plan to visit Ship Island, because this is the only place in the Mississippi part of the national seashore where you can pick up passes and Junior Ranger books.
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12Best for Sports · #12 of 15
Biloxi Shuckers
SportsDowntown and Point CadetA defined baseball season running from spring into early fall rather than year round, on a published home schedule of multi game series. The ballpark also hosts events outside the season.Varies by gameThe city's Minor League Baseball club plays in the Southern League as the Double A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, at Keesler Federal Park just off the beach in downtown Biloxi. The ballpark sits close enough to the water that the Sound is part of the view, and tickets and concessions run at a fraction of major league prices. Theme nights run through the season and are aimed squarely at families rather than serious fans.
Local tipSit on the third base side for the view back toward the water and the sunset, because the first base side puts the sun straight in your eyes for the first hour of an evening game.
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13Best for Family · #13 of 15
Lynn Meadows Discovery Center
Family AttractionGulfport and the island boatOpen every day of the week on a daytime window, with a later Sunday start. A free extended evening opening runs on the last Friday of each month.$15 to $30A nonprofit children's museum at 246 Dolan Avenue in Gulfport with indoor galleries, outdoor exhibits and the Seagull Splash water pad, aimed at younger children rather than teenagers. It is the reliable answer to a rainy afternoon or a heat index that makes the beach unwise, and it runs a free evening opening on the last Friday of each month. Everyone over twelve months pays the same price, adults included.
Local tipBring swimwear and a towel in warm weather, because the outdoor water pad is a full part of the museum rather than an extra and children who arrive dry generally leave wet anyway.
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14Best for Nightlife · #14 of 15
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi
ResortThe beachfrontThe hotel, restaurants and casino operate around the clock all year. The spa, pool deck and live music room run to their own hours and event calendars, and the concert schedule is published in advance.Varies by venueCasino resorts are a real part of how the Mississippi coast works, and they are integrated properties rather than gaming halls: this one at 777 Beach Boulevard carries a hotel, a spa, a pool and cabana deck, a music memorabilia collection, a live music room and a run of restaurants including an oyster house and a steakhouse. The guitar outside is a beach highway landmark in its own right. The gaming floor itself is restricted to guests aged 21 and over, and nothing else on the property requires setting foot on it.
Local tipUse the resorts for what they are actually good for on a family trip, which is the beachfront dining, the pool decks and the touring music acts, and book those directly rather than through a package that bundles gaming credit.
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15Best for Food and drink · #15 of 15
Palace Casino Resort
ResortDowntown and Point CadetHotel and restaurants operate through the year, with the buffet, fine dining room and lounge each keeping their own daily hours. The golf club runs on its own tee time schedule off site.Varies by venueThe second resort worth naming is at 158 Howard Avenue on the Back Bay side, and its distinguishing feature has nothing to do with gaming: it is Biloxi's first entirely smoke free casino resort, which matters a great deal if anyone in the group reacts to indoor smoke. Six restaurants run from a buffet and bakery to a fine dining steak and seafood room, and the property also carries a spa, a fitness center and its own golf club. Other operators on this coast include IP Casino Resort Spa, Golden Nugget Biloxi, Beau Rivage and Treasure Bay.
Local tipChoose this one if smoke is an issue, because it is the property that made the smoke free commitment across the whole floor rather than setting aside a section, and that is not the norm on this coast.
Where things cluster
Biloxi runs east to west along one beach highway, with two neighboring towns close enough to belong on the same list. These clusters keep each half day in one place.
- The Biloxi beachfront on US 90The long run of Beach Boulevard, holding the lighthouse on its traffic island, miles of free county sand, the Gehry designed art museum, the Jefferson Davis house, the schooner pier and most of the beachfront resorts.
- Downtown and Point CadetThe eastern end of the peninsula and the streets behind the beach, with the maritime museum on Point Cadet, the minor league ballpark, the Back Bay resorts and the working small craft harbor.
- Gulfport and the island boatA short drive west along the same beach highway for the aquarium, the children's museum and the marine park, and for Jones Park, where the ferry to West Ship Island leaves.
- Ocean SpringsOver the bay bridge to a walkable arts town with the Walter Anderson museum on Washington Avenue and the mainland unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore three miles further east.
Make it a day
Lighthouse, museum, beach
Climb the lighthouse in the morning window when tours run, then cross to the maritime museum on Point Cadet for the seafood industry story. Give the afternoon to the free county beach west of the lighthouse, and finish with dinner on the beachfront strip.
The island, then the coast
Give a whole day to West Ship Island, catching the first ferry out of Jones Park in Gulfport and taking in Fort Massachusetts before the beach. Spend the second day on the mainland between the lighthouse, the maritime museum and the Gehry art campus, then cross the bay to Ocean Springs for the Walter Anderson galleries.
Dolphins, then sand
Start west in Gulfport at the Mississippi Aquarium and catch the dolphin presentation early, or take the children's museum and its water pad if the weather turns. Come back east for the afternoon on the calm, shallow county beach, and add a Shuckers home game in the evening if the season is running.
Map
Best time to visit
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Spring and October are the strongest windows here. The Ship Island ferry and the island facilities run from the middle of spring through October, the schooners are sailing, and the humidity is bearable in a way it simply is not in July and August. Summer is the peak family season and the water is warmest, but the heat is heavy, afternoon storms are routine and the beach is at its busiest. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from the start of June to the end of November with the highest risk from August into September, so build flexibility and travel insurance into any late summer booking. Winter is quiet and cheap, but the boats stop, the island closes down and the trip becomes a museum and resort trip rather than a beach one.
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Biloxi things to do FAQ
Parking, timing, cost, and weather answers for a smoother visit.
How do you get to Ship Island from Biloxi?
By ferry, and not from Biloxi. The concession boat is run by Ship Island Excursions and sails from Jones Park at the Gulfport harbor, a short drive west along US 90, with a crossing of about an hour each way. The island and Fort Massachusetts have no entrance fee, but the ferry is ticketed and the service runs only from the middle of spring through October. Sailings are weather dependent and sell out on summer weekends, so book ahead and take the earliest departure you can.
Is Biloxi beach good for swimming?
It is calm and shallow rather than clear and wavy. The barrier island chain twelve miles offshore absorbs the Gulf swell, which leaves the mainland water gentle and warm and makes it well suited to small children, but it also means the water is murkier than Florida visitors expect. The sand itself is man made, maintained by Harrison County, and free to use. For clear Gulf water and a proper swimming beach, take the ferry out to West Ship Island instead.
Do you have to gamble to enjoy Biloxi?
No. The casino resorts are integrated properties, and the restaurants, pools, spas, concerts and hotel rooms are all sold independently of the gaming floors, which are restricted to guests aged 21 and over. Plenty of visitors use them purely for the beachfront dining and the touring music acts. The non gaming spine of the destination is stronger anyway: the lighthouse, the maritime museum, the schooners, the free county beach, the aquarium in Gulfport and the ferry to the barrier island.
How many days do you need in Biloxi?
Three days works well. One goes to West Ship Island, which the ferry schedule turns into a full day whether you want it to or not. One covers the mainland core: the lighthouse, the maritime museum, the beach and the Gehry art campus. The third goes either west to Gulfport for the aquarium and the marine park, or east over the bay to Ocean Springs. Two days is enough if you drop the island, but the island is the best thing here.
What is there to do in Biloxi with kids?
More than the casino skyline suggests. The county beach is free, calm and shallow. The Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport has dolphins, penguins, otters and a touch pool across a 5.8 acre campus, and Ocean Adventures Marine Park nearby runs sea lion and stingray programs tied to a real rescue operation. Lynn Meadows Discovery Center is a children's museum with a water pad for bad weather, the schooners take walk on passengers, and a Biloxi Shuckers home game is a cheap evening out.
When is the best time to visit Biloxi, Mississippi?
April to May and October. The Ship Island ferry and the island facilities operate from mid spring through October, the schooners sail, and the humidity is manageable. High summer brings the warmest water and the biggest crowds along with heavy heat and daily afternoon storms. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, peaking from August into September, so late summer bookings need flexibility. Winter is quiet and inexpensive, but the boats and the island shut down.
Keep planning
Use these nearby guides to extend your Biloxi trip with a different pace and a clear next stop.
Image credits. Hero: Deep Arrival media library.