Grand Isle

If you could take just one photo: The Old Fishing Bridge at sunrise

If your idea of a beach vacation is flashy resorts, skimpy swimsuits, and cabana boys, Grand Isle is not for you. If, however, you long for unspoiled and undeveloped beaches, salty sea breezes, and the best deep sea fishing and migratory birdwatching in the Central Gulf, then Grand Isle just might be your cup of oyster stew. About the sea life—oysters, crabs, and the 280 species of fish who call this corner of the Gulf home—there are guides who can help you catch, clean, cook, and eat them. If you’d rather have someone else do all the work, stop at Spahr’s on Highway 90. There are plenty of places to stay. To feel like a bonafide Gulf coaster, rent a fish camp or beach cabin through Cheramie’s Landing.

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Feel an electric thrill as a pod of sleek, powerful porpoises frolic so close you can almost touch them in the year-round warm (albeit brackish) waters of Grand Isle Beach, formerly an elite getaway. Post-Katrina (and decades of erosion), the beach has lost the glory captured in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, but you can still pitch a tent, pick up crabs right and left, and boil them right there on the utterly relaxing public beach. En route, pass through tiny Cajun towns; stop at Mosca’s on Rte. 90, an old Italian mob hangout from Grand Isle’s glamour days.

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