The best road trip stops on the Memphis to Gulf Shores drive are Tupelo MS, Meridian MS and Mobile AL. The distance from Memphis to Gulf Shores AL by car is 444 miles, with a 7h10m driving time.
Planning a Memphis to Gulf Shores road trip itinerary
The Memphis to Gulf Shores drive takes you from western Tennessee to the Alabama coast.
Five great things to do in Memphis
- 🎸 Enjoy a private luxury tour of Memphis – with Graceland tickets included.
- 🍖 Get a taste of Tennessee – on a Downtown Memphis food tour.
- 🛥️ Take a Memphis discovery tour – with Mississippi cruise and Sun Studio add-on options.
- 🏙️ Discover Memphis beyond Beale Street – on a historic walking tour.
- 🚗 Hop on a day tour to Tupelo – and see Elvis’ childhood home.
Memphis, Tennessee, is a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans. The King’s Graceland mansion is one of the top tourist sites in the US. But the cultural heritage extends beyond music, as you’ll discover on an African-American history tour.
Music fans should also try the Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
Ways of seeing the city include ghost walks, Downtown food tours and musical bus tours. There are also guided walks down music central, Beale Street, and city tours that take you inside the legendary Sun Studio.
Outdoors, Shelby Farms Park is one of America’s great urban parks and the Memphis Botanic Garden is expansive.
Top Memphis accommodation options include the Peabody, famous for its marching ducks, and the Guesthouse at Graceland.
Gulf Shores has a touch of the Margaritaville lifestyle, which should come as no surprise given Jimmy Buffett’s sister runs restaurant and music bar LuLu’s here.
Beyond the turquoise water and white sand of Gulf Shores Public Beach and Gulf State Park, you can head through the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge to Fort Morgan or meet the creatures at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.
Fabulous beachside accommodation in Gulf Shores include the Lodge at Gulf State Park and the Phoenix All Suites West Hotel.
5 top experiences to book in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach
- 🐬 See Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in their natural habitat on a wildlife cruise.
- 🌅 Combine dolphin-watching with a sunset cruise from Orange Beach.
- 🍹 Go tropical on a sunset cruise aboard a floating tiki bar.
- 🏝️ On a three hour boat tour, head out to the Gulf islands for some beach time.
- ⛵ See the sunset under sail on an evening sailing cruise.
Memphis to Gulf Shores distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Memphis to Gulf Shores is 444 miles. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and ten minutes. Most of the journey is down the I-22 and US-45.
Memphis to Gulf Shores road trip attractions: Tupelo MS
Elvis lived in Tupelo, Mississippi, until he was 13 years old. The house where he was born, and lived his first few years, is now the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum.
The simple two room house was built by Presley’s father, Vernon. Attractions at the site include a statue of Elvis as a 13-year-old and the church the family attended.
Memphis to Gulf Shores drive: Meridian MS
The Meridian Museum of Art is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Mississippi Children’s Museum keeps younger visitors entertained.
Elsewhere, the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience celebrates Mississippi’s contribution to the arts world and the Greek Revival-style Merrehope does the historic home thing.
Best stops between Memphis and Gulf Shores AL: Mobile AL
The Alabama Gulf Coast port city of Mobile has a perhaps unexpected party spirit. This is best explored in the bars, or at the Mobile Carnival Museum.
You can also head on board the USS Alabama battleship or visit the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf. The latter includes a ship simulator, where you can have a go at steering a ship through the Gulf.
Elsewhere, Colonial Fort Conde is the top historic attraction and the Exploreum Science Center has plenty of button-pushing for kids.
Mobile experience options include a downtown food tour and a cruise around the port.
Top Mobile accommodation picks include the personality-packed Fort Conde Inn and the riverside Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza.
More Memphis and Gulf Shores road trips
- Gettting to Memphis: Guides to the Dallas to Memphis drive, Houston to Memphis drive, Nashville to Memphis road trip, Little Rock to Memphis drive and Louisville to Memphis drive.
- Road trips from Memphis: The best stops on the Memphis to Atlanta drive, Memphis to Austin drive, Memphis to Birmingham AL drive, Memphis to Detroit drive, Memphis to Hot Springs AR drive, Memphis to Montgomery drive, Memphis to Oklahoma City drive and Memphis to Orange Beach drive.
- Getting to Gulf Shores: The best stops on the New Orleans to Gulf Shores drive, Mobile to Gulf Shores drive, Destin to Gulf Shores drive and Pensacola to Gulf Shores drive.
