West Ship Island in Biloxi

Finally made it out here after 10 years! I know. Procrastination. The fort is cool, the ranger was super knowledgeable about the history and its fascinating. They had seats for his presentation and youre allowed to explore the fort itself! Climbing the spiral stairwell to the top was so cool. Stepped in ants instantly. Have no fear, the gift shop has benadryl, sunscreen, hats, swimsuits, food, and beer eyyyyy. Water is $3 a bottle. The chairs and umbrellas are 25. Cool shells to be found.We saw all the sea life! A school of baby sharks, sting ray, tons of blue crabs and ghost crabs, and these weird jellyfish! The ranger was telling us about them. They look like pink fluffy flowers and were huge. Some a foot across. Maybe bigger. So cool.

Beautiful beach water, wonderful ship crew. The views are amazing.

Enjoyed my ship island excursion cant wait to go again

Nice beach

Great experience outside of the other beaches in MS. Definitely the clearest water in this area and a tour of Ft Massachusetts is also available.

Beautiful secluded island with a short tour of Fort Massachusetts by a National Park Service ranger if you’d like to take it. Some food and drink available for purchase on the island as well as bathroom and showers. Beaches were nicely kept and perfect for walking on to look for shells. Also there are umbrellas and beach chairs for rent.

Nice day, but windy so ferry excursion was very choppy. Several pavilions to sit and eat if you want to bring your own lunch and drinks are allowed. No pets. Nice staff with the ferry company.

We took the ferry and spent the day on the island. We had a great time. Found lots of shells and saw dolphins from beach.. Clean restrooms, nice snack bar, and beach chairs/umbrellas for rent. Did the free guided tour of the fort which was interesting. Great day!

I go every year when the island is open the beaches and the water are beautiful well worth the trip

The island is currently closed

The first time I went here I was a little girl with my Grandma. We made some amazing memories there! I cant wait to bring my son and hubby!! The water and sand were gorgeous as well!

Absolutely beautifulWhite white sand and the history is amazing

Nice clear water. Nice beach. If taking the boat you have to walk across island, about 1/3 mile carrying your stuff. Pack only what you will need

I love the weather out here 😍

This location was very beautiful I give more information about it on my YouTube channel called Off The Beaten Trail

It was very interesting and fun. I would recommend this place to anyone

Beautiful water and beaches! Great place to visit on your boat, highly recommend!

Not bad. Not a lot to do but you can make due.

Loved the ferry ride there, saw lots of dolphins. Water was calm and we didnt get sea sick. Ship island was great too with a small little snack bar that you can eat in if you get too hungry or hot.The fort seemed interesting. Make sure you dont miss the boat.The walk from the boat to the beach felt like a half mile, a few people had to stop to rest on the benches along the way.

This is by far the best day excursion for any one visiting the Mississippi Gulf Coast. PS bring plenty of sunscreen burns occur quickly and without much fore warning. Coolers are ok to bring just remember its a long walk from the dock to the swim side of the island. Rental of chairs and umbrellas is reasonable but during peak times/days they might not have any available without reservation.

Loads of fun waves are awesome

Staff is the best ever.

There is nothing spectacular about this island. It takes a hour to get to the island and you may see a dolphin or two along the way. Its a considerable walk from the dock to the side of the island where the umbrellas and chairs are located. Flies were terrible. Everywhere you walk, thousands of flies. Sand along beach was black. $32 per person for cruise. Another $15 for umbrella and $8 for chairs. A complete waste of time and money to see nothing.

Good time even tho it was hot!

We went for July 4th and had a great time! Everyone on the boat was friendly and helpful. When we arrived at the island we saw everyone else from the boat walking the boardwalk to the other side, the popular side I guess, and since we had our own umbrella my husband and I decided to stay on the side where the boat drops you. Best decision ever! There were only about 6 other families the whole day, it was like having a private beach. We will definitely be back soon. PS. Hat and sunscreen are a MUST!

Inexpensive day trip and great for younger children

Great place to be during warm sunny days!

Big DisappointmentFirst, its a 1.5 hour each way. The beach has black sand and no full shells, only broken pieces. I found more small intact shells on the beach in Biloxi. Just a stretch of beach on the south side. Nothing to do except sit on the beach under an umbrella. Snack bar - bring your own. Was a waste of my day and money spent on the ferry. Restrooms and showers have no windows or circulation so you can imagine the temperature inside when its 89 outside. I could have driven 75 miles east and had a great day on the beach in Gulf Shores Alabama where the water is blue and the sand is white. Wish I had not wasted my money or time.

Black dirt, horse flies that attack you unless in the disgusting water. Oh and the water was green just like the hotel water. Clear blue water was nowhere to be seen. Way too expensive for the attraction, if you want to call it that!! Not to mention my 20+ bites that are insufferable. 👎👎

Always a blast on this trip! Friendly staff both on and off the Boat. Highly recommend for a quick day trip.

We go once a year. Its a nice day away from New Orleans. Always enjoyable. While there are better beaches and sand in Alabama and Florida, the beach on Ship island is much better than Gulfport and Biloxi. When the water is clear you can see skates, hermit crabs and such and dolphins on the boat ride is almost a given. We always rent chairs and an umbrella as to no have to schlep it all across the island. Just went this weekend and as always was very relaxing.

I like it

Great large boat cruise to and from the Island, 2 hour round trip and the Island was beautiful. The Island was a great place to spend the day with you family. Also had snack bar to get hotdogs, snacks and drinks. It is US National Park with alot of history.

Beautiful Awesome Beaches In The USA 😎

Best beach on the coast

Lets have fun

Water on the Gulf side of the island is very clear. Nice beach and not too crowded. Snack bar on the island.

Beautiful and secluded beach, accessible only by boat

Great place to spend the whole day. Nice snack bar to grab a bite of food. Seen lots of stingray dolphins and other fish

This may have been the highlight of the trip. Water was really pretty out here. Definitely a unique experience.

Pristine, easy-to-get to from New Orleans by ferry. A beautiful place for a beach day trip.

Volcanic sand will burn you badly. Also when they say to wear sunscreen DO IT.

Breathtaking gem off the coast of Gulfport, MS. White sand and clear water! There is a nice sandbar a decent way out, and it is perfect for swimming and relaxing. While we were there we saw a few smaller sea nettle jellies, however the water IS clear enough to see them. Just be careful! And if you do get stung, I believe they have bottles of vinegar available! While swimming, stingrays will just swim around you, and you can also see dolphins jumping in the distance. This is an idyllic vacay spot! Chair and umbrella rentals are very cheap, and they offer food, drinks, and all other amenities on the island! Even swimwear!!

Nicest beach water located in Mississippi exists here! Nice ferry ride over...both there and back. Wonderful and friendly crew, even held the boat over a few minutes after scheduled departure at noon the first time I traveled to the island, as I was running late with traffic and made a phone call to the ticket office, got my vehicle info and flagged me in to a front door parking space saved just for me to get me on that boat! Been again since and planning to go again! Thank you!!!

Beautiful relaxing serine

Super fun day. BRING LOTS OF SUNSCREEN! The ride there and back was fast on the Gulf Islander. They have chairs and umbrellas for rent. Highly recommended. Otherwise you have to bring your own And everything else you have to bring with you. They have a cafe with hotdogs, hamburgers, drinks including beer and wine cooler types, nachos, popcorn, etc. Be prepared to pay a modest price. They sell flotation products and will blow them up for you. Fort Massachusetts is a short tour, but well worth the time. If you bring kids make sure you bring something to put shells in. Theyre mostly just pieces of clam shells, but mine were excited to find them. Also, leave from Gulfport to maximize your day. Met some very interesting people. And made some wonderful memories. If youre down in area its a must to see. Already planning to take grandkids when they have them. Lol

Ship Island is a great value for a 1 day getaway. Unplug. Turn off your cell phones, your radios, and just relax. For $32, you get (245 minute comfortable boat rides where you see pelicans, dolphins, sharks, and all kinds of migrant birds. On the island, you walk down a long board walk, and you can rent chairs/umbrellas, and then just relax. Bring your own cooler or rely on their concession stand. Take a tour of the fort, or go fish. Love this place. Easy place to take friends, quick drive from New Orleans, and lets face it--it may not be hear for long as it is barrier island.

I went here on an educational field trip, but I will try to keep my views as unskewed as possible. The ride on the ferry was actually very nice. They had a pretty good selection of food items, but was slightly disappointed with the lack of cold foods. As of May 1st they only had popsicles and Ice Cream Bars probably from Klondike. When we arrived on the island it was cool to see all of the manta rays on the beach. The tour around the island was alright. There were two things that kind of bothered me, and one was kind of expected. One was that the Coast Guard had placed a whole bund of flags zoning where an endangered species of bird lives. So, we basically had to wade through the whole hike. But, the more annoying, but somewhat expected thing that happened towards the end was that I got blisters on feet. They HURT like fire. But, otherwise it was a decent trip to ship island. Would recommend if you like beach wildlife or unpopulated beaches with little trash.

WHERE SUNSCREEN!! Buy the strongest you can find and apply every 2 hours. No joke! They warn you multiple times about this and we both reapplied a couple times but turned lobster red anyway.But the sun is what we signed up for and the beach itself didnt disappoint! Ive never felt finer sand and the water was a nice 85 in mid-July. The food is not too bad and they sell beer too. Id go back in a heartbeat.

Clean beaches. Great ferry service. Soft, titanium-enriched sand. Lots of wildlife and marine life before you even get off the dock. Great for school science field trips. Friendly park volunteers. Definitely climb to the top levels of Fort Massachusetts. Convenient boardwalks for crossing the island. Pavilions for getting out of the sun and a decently stocked shop for lunch, snacks, or whatever you forgot to bring.