Gulfport vs Biloxi vs Ocean Springs: which town to base a golf trip in

In the Gulfport vs Biloxi vs Ocean Springs choice, Biloxi wins for most golf trips: it is closest to Fallen Oak, Sunkist, Shell Landing and The Preserve, and it has the casinos. Gulfport suits groups playing Windance, Bayou Vista and The Oaks or flying into GPT. Ocean Springs is the pick for east-side rounds and a walkable, quieter town.

The three towns sit side by side on the Mississippi coast, from Gulfport in the west through Biloxi to Ocean Springs across the Back Bay bridge. Each one puts a different set of courses within 25 minutes. Below we compare drive times, hotels, evenings and who each town suits. Drive times are free-flow estimates from the map. Hotel rates were read on October 25, 2026 and are typical, not quotes.

Quick facts

• Biloxi: casino resorts, central to the most courses, the only base for Fallen Oak (Beau Rivage guests only).
• Gulfport: closest to the airport (about 10 minutes), Windance, Bayou Vista and The Oaks.
• Ocean Springs: walkable downtown, best for The Preserve and Shell Landing, no casinos.
• All three: Central Time, and hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.

Drive times from each town to the courses

Minutes by road, without traffic. Biloxi has the most of these courses within 30 minutes.

Biloxi: the casino base

Courses close by: Sunkist ($79-$89 with a cart, $59-$69 after 2 PM, seen October 2026), Shell Landing, The Preserve and Fallen Oak, all within about 30 minutes of the strip. Keesler's Bay Breeze is a military course and not open to visitors without base access.

Hotels: the big casino resorts. Beau Rivage is the only way onto Fallen Oak; the Palace packages The Preserve. Their room rates were not checked for this guide, so compare weeknights. Harrah's Gulf Coast had Deluxe 2-queen rooms at $121 on Tuesday, November 10 and $289 on Saturday, November 21, fees included. For a non-casino option, Hotel Legends has two-bedroom suites from $179 on that Tuesday.

Evenings: casino floors, steakhouses such as BR Prime at Beau Rivage, and dinner at Mary Mahoney's Old French House or Half Shell Oyster House, both walkable from Beau Rivage and Hard Rock. The Biloxi Lighthouse, the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art and the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum fill a spare afternoon.

Best for: buddies trips, first visits, Fallen Oak trips.

Gulfport: the airport and west-side base

Courses close by: Bayou Vista, the city course that was Tramark ($28 for 18 with a cart), Windance ($110 peak, $85 from 2 PM) and The Oaks in Pass Christian ($99 weekday, $109 weekend, $39-$49 late).

Hotels: Island View Casino Resort owns Windance and sells an Unlimited Golf package from $99, with no resort fee; room rates were not shown online. The Courtyard Gulfport Beachfront was $118 on the Tuesday and $161-$178 on the Saturday, plus $5 parking. The Hilton Garden Inn Gulfport Airport runs the other way, cheaper on the Saturday ($88-$96) than the Tuesday ($129-$138).

Evenings: quieter than Biloxi. The Chimneys serves waterfront seafood on East Beach Boulevard, and the Island View casino has several restaurants and a buffet. The Mississippi Aquarium is downtown, and the Ship Island ferry leaves the Gulfport harbor in season (no ferry November to February).

Best for: fly-in groups, Windance and The Oaks rotations, budget trips around Bayou Vista.

Ocean Springs: the walkable east-side base

Courses close by: The Preserve ($175-$225 in fall 2026, $150 late) and Shell Landing, the Davis Love III course in Gautier (rates not posted online). Gulf Hills' 18-hole course closed on October 31, 2019.

Hotels: The Roost, a boutique hotel downtown with kitchenette suites, was $229-$329 on the Tuesday and mostly suits couples. Gulf Hills Hotel, a restored 1927 golf resort on the bayou, had 2-queen rooms from $117 on the Tuesday and a suite that sleeps eight. The Hampton Inn Biloxi/Ocean Springs at I-10 exit 50 is the budget pick, $80-$96 on the Tuesday with free breakfast, 17 minutes from The Preserve.

Evenings: the best walkable dining on the coast. Vestige serves a chef's-choice tasting menu (book well ahead), and Desi Vega Steakhouse is in the OS1515 Hotel. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art and the Davis Bayou area of the National Seashore are close. The Peter Anderson festival fills the east end on its November weekend.

Best for: couples, small groups who prefer restaurants to casinos, and trips built around The Preserve and Shell Landing.

Gulfport vs Biloxi vs Ocean Springs at a glance

Getting there decides it for some groups

If you are flying, Gulfport-Biloxi International (GPT) is the obvious airport: about 10 minutes from downtown Gulfport and 27 from Biloxi by free-flow estimates. It has Delta to Atlanta, American Eagle to Charlotte and Dallas/Fort Worth, United Express to Houston and seasonal Breeze and Sun Country flights. That favors Gulfport for a short trip with an early tee time on arrival day.

From New Orleans (MSY), the drive is about 107 minutes to Gulfport and 119 to Biloxi on I-10, so the western towns come first. From Mobile Regional (MOB), Biloxi is about 81 minutes and Gulfport 94. Drive times do not include traffic, so add time on event weeks and at rush hour through New Orleans or Mobile.

Splitting the stay

On a trip of four nights or more, you do not have to choose. Two nights on the Biloxi strip for Fallen Oak and the casinos, then two in Ocean Springs or Gulfport, keeps every drive under about 30 minutes. If you are adding The Bridges or Diamondhead, a night in Bay St. Louis makes more sense than any of these three; see the Bay St. Louis golf guide.

For more on hotels, read where to stay in Biloxi for golf, non-casino hotels in Biloxi and the Ocean Springs golf guide. Our Mississippi Gulf Coast golf overview covers the whole coast, and fly into Gulfport-Biloxi covers flights.

Plan it on the map

Open the Biloxi golf map to compare all three towns at once: click a hotel to see drive times to every course. The $30 plan picks a base, or a split stay, that fits the rounds you want.