Direct Flights from Des Moines to Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores · Alabama
Nonstop service from DSM to GUF on Allegiant. Here's the schedule at a glance — plus what to do once you land.
How rare is this nonstop?
Only 14 cities have a nonstop to Gulf Shores, so this is a route worth knowing about — most travelers connect to get there.
How long to go to Gulf Shores for, from Des Moines
2h 10m in the air, 845 miles — a Friday-evening departure still leaves you most of the evening in Gulf Shores. Two nights works.
The schedule narrows it further. This route does not fly daily, so assuming the return runs the same days, your trip is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 nights — or a full week. Worth checking before you book time off.
About Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores is a city in Alabama on the Gulf Coast. It has beautiful white sand beaches, but is quieter and cheaper than the Florida beaches nearby.
Summary from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA).
Top things to do in Gulf Shores
- USS Alabama, hull number BB-60, is a retired battleship. She was the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1940s during World War II.
- USS Massachusetts was an Indiana-class, pre-dreadnought battleship and the second United States Navy ship comparable to foreign battleships of its time.
- USS Drum (SS-228) is a Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named after the drum, a type of fish. Drum is a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.
- Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama.
- Fort Morgan is a historic masonry pentagonal bastion fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama, United States.
- The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, US.
- The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic cathedral in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mobile.
- Fort Charlotte, Mobile is a partially-reconstructed 18th-century fort in Mobile, Alabama.
- Bellingrath Gardens and Home is the 65-acre (26 ha) public garden and historic home of Walter and Bessie Bellingrath, located on the Fowl River near Mobile, Alabama, United States.
- The Pensacola Museum of Art (PMA) is an art museum located in downtown Pensacola, Florida. PMA is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
- Blakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. During the height of its existence, Blakeley was a thriving town which flourished as a competitor to its western neighbor, Mobile.
- The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, is the seat of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. It shares this distinction with the Co-Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Tallahassee.
Attraction descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); place data from Wikidata (CC0).
Gulf Shores weather, compared with Des Moines
16° warmer than Des Moines on average across the year, on daytime highs:
- January
- Gulf Shores 61°F · Des Moines 31°F · 30° warmer
- April
- Gulf Shores 75°F · Des Moines 62°F · 13° warmer
- July
- Gulf Shores 89°F · Des Moines 86°F · 3° warmer
- October
- Gulf Shores 79°F · Des Moines 64°F · 16° warmer
Gulf Shores is the steadier of the two, moving 28° between its coldest and warmest months where Des Moines moves 55°.
Daily highs averaged from Meteostat station records (CC BY 4.0), measured at each city's airport.
Planning a trip to Gulf Shores
- Best time to visit
- The best time to visit Gulf Shores is October–April, when daytime highs are a comfortable 61–79°F.
- How long to stay
- Gulf Shores rewards a longer visit — a full week lets you explore its many sights, from USS Alabama (BB-60), USS Massachusetts (BB-2), and USS Drum (SS-228) and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a direct flight from Des Moines to Gulf Shores?
- Yes — you can fly nonstop from Des Moines (DSM) to Gulf Shores (GUF) on Allegiant.
- Which airlines fly nonstop from Des Moines to Gulf Shores?
- Allegiant flies nonstop between Des Moines (DSM) and Gulf Shores (GUF).
- How far is Gulf Shores from Des Moines?
- Gulf Shores is about 845 miles from Des Moines by air.
- How many days can I spend in Gulf Shores flying from Des Moines?
- Because this route doesn't operate daily, your trip is effectively 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 nights — or a full week — assuming the return flies the same days as the outbound.
- What is there to do in Gulf Shores?
- Popular things to do include USS Alabama (BB-60), USS Massachusetts (BB-2), USS Drum (SS-228), Battleship Memorial Park, and more.
More nonstop destinations from Des Moines near Gulf Shores
Airports near Des Moines
The closest other departure airports to Des Moines — each opens up more nonstop destinations.