The Shore Thing
South Padre isn’t just a beach anymore: It’s a resort town with better food than Florida, cooler bars than the Carolinas, and more action than the Mexican Caribbean. A complete guide to the best summer vacation in Texas.
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Other Things To Do
Learn About Marine Life
One of the biggest drawbacks of the South Padre boom is that there is precious little of the place left in its natural state, but if you hit the right spots, you can get a glimpse of what it used to be like. Start at the Sea Turtle (761-2544), the home and research facility of Ila Loetscher, who has single-handedly raised public awareness of the plight of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. Now in her late nineties, the Turtle Lady, as she is known, doesn’t get around much anymore, but for a donation of $2 per person, her staff puts on a good presentation, starring rehabilitated turtles, Tuesday and Saturday mornings at ten.
The University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies Laboratory (761-2644), in Isla Blanca Park, has twelve small tanks containing native sea life, including sea robins, rays, and sea horses; shelves full of specimens; and a small screening room, where nature films are shown every half hour. The lab is open to the public Sunday through Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Also in Isla Blanca Park, UT-Brownsville (761-7806) runs a summer nature studies camp for kids at the old Coast Guard station.
The new South Padre Island Aquarium (761-7067), at Louie’s Backyard, is a single forty-foot-diameter tank with nine portholes for viewing sea life. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for kids. In the great Louie’s tradition, you can pay an additional $20, climb inside a cage, and swim with the sharks and fishes.
Tour the Island
If you want to appreciate just how beautiful the area is, nothing compares with an aerial view of South Padre, the Gulf, and the laguna. Parrot-Eyes Water Sports (761-9457) books flyovers in a two-seater ultra-light for $45 per person.
Watch the Sunset
Tracking the sun’s daily descent is one of the most popular island rituals; the question isn’t whether to do it but where. For the best viewing, I like the 1,550-foot Laguna Madre Nature Trail walkways by the convention center, which are elevated above the wetlands and the tidal flats and have several blinds for viewing birds and waterfowl. (Be sure to check out the 160-foot Whaling Wall #53, a mural painted on three of the convention center walls.) Another terrific spot is Dolphin Cove, which sits at the southern tip of Isla Blanca Park overlooking Brazos Santiago Pass; here, bottlenose and spinner dolphins compete with the sun for your attention. For $10 to $15, you can also take a sunset dolphin-watching cruise booked by American Diving (761-2030), Aquatic Wildlife Tours (761-7646), Breakaway Cruises (761-2212), or Jim’s Pier (761-2865).
The restaurants and bars along Laguna Boulevard offer sunset happy-hour prices and have the finest waterside views of both the show and the elaborate fireworks extravaganzas that are staged on Friday nights from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Unfortunately, these establishments have a habit of blasting music on their speaker systems, which can be distracting if not downright unpleasant.
Road Trips
Port Isabel
The antithesis of South Padre’s gleaming glitz, Port Isabel exudes the charm of the Texas coast back when life was considerably slower. To sample the local ambiance, head back over the causeway, go right on Yturria Street, and inspect the lobby of the Yacht Club motel and restaurant and all the sailing rigs docked in the neighborhood. Or take the first left off the causeway and follow the road as it twists around to where the local shrimp fleet docks. Or take a slow cruise on Texas Highway 100 and behold the bizarre larger-than-life sculptures along the road, including various octopi positioned in front of shell shops, a twenty-foot gorilla in a tank top and baggies peeling a banana, a grinning tooth advertising an orthodontia clinic, a snub-nosed sienna-toned shrimp suspended above a seafood store, and a swash-buckling pirate who stands watch over the Lady Bea shrimp boat, which is dry-docked next to the library. Whatever you do, be sure to stop in at the most important landmark of all, the Port Isabel lighthouse, which was built in 1852. The lighthouse is open from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. daily; admission is $2 for adults.
Matamoros-Brownsville
One of South Padre’s greatest assets is its proximity to Mexico, a claim no other U.S. beach location east of California can make. After you cross the causeway into Port Isabel, it’s only 25 miles along Texas Highway 48 to Matamoros, where you can dine out and shop in both the market and the swank boutiques on Avenida Alvaro Obregon, including the original location of Barbara. On this side of the border, Matamoros’ sister city, Brownsville, has plenty to offer too: the Gladys Porter Zoo (546-7187), considered one of the best small zoos in the world; historic Fort Brown, a converted military site that predates the Civil War; the Sabal Palm Refuge, which has one of the last stands of native palms in the Valley; the shrimp fleet at Port Brownsville, where the best cheap seafood can be found; and the road to Boca Chica, the undeveloped shoreline south of South Padre.
Where to Stay
Condominiums are the preferred lodging on South Padre. There are three times as many condos as motel rooms on the island, and they come equipped with important extras, ranging from kitchens to bedrooms whose doors lock. Prices begin at around $100 a night in the high summer season, but you can save money by eating in.
One way to book a condo is to call a reservation agency, such as Island Reservation Service (800-926-6926), Service 24 (800-828-4287), Sunny Isles Rental Services (800-221-0169), or Padre Island Reservation Service (800-447-5223). These clearinghouses rent available space at several different condos.
Or, if you know what you want, you can call a condo directly. Among the popular complexes on the beach are the Saida Towers (800-426-6530), the Royale Beach and Tennis Club (800-772-3224), Franke Plaza (800-447-4753), the Sunchase IV (800-944-6818), the Padre Grand (800-638-4106), the Inverness (761-7919), the Suntide III (800-847-5728), and the Tiki (800-551-8454). My favorite is the Bridgepoint (800-221-1402), the tallest structure on the island, where my family spent three nights this winter. The rates were pricey—we paid $185 a night for our two-bedroom spread, and the price jumps to $300 during the summer—but the amenities included a full kitchen, a washer and a dryer, two bathrooms, three TVs, two balconies, and spectacular views of the Gulf and the Laguna Madre. When we arrived, my nine-year-old declared, “This is the best place I’ve ever been!”
The island’s big hotels are also an option, offering such conveniences as in-room maid service, big pools, and on-site restaurants and bars. The two best full-service hotels are the Radisson (800-292-7704), whose gift shop stocks the Sunday New York Times, and the Sheraton Fiesta (800-672-4747), whose two-swimming-pool complex is the island’s biggest swimming facility. The other two major hotels are the Holiday Inn Sunspree (800-292-7506) and the Bahia Mar (800-292-7502). In the summer, doubles at these four hotels run from $75 to $230 a night.
Doubles go for between $50 and $70 a night at four beachfront motels: the Surf Motel (800-723-6519), the Palms Resort Motel (800-221-5218), the Island Inn (761-7677), and the Capri (761-5832). The Motel 6 (761-7911), on the bay side of the island, advertises rooms for $43.99. The Sand Castle Motel (800-221-5218), also on the bay side, rents efficiencies for as little as $54 a night on weekends.
The island’s first bed and breakfast, the Brown Pelican Inn (761-2722), has eight rooms overlooking the laguna in a Nags Head-style two-story clapboard beach house. Rooms for two are $80 to $115.
Travelers pulling their own lodging behind them should try the Cameron County-run RV and trailer park (761-5493) at Isla Blanca Park or Outdoor Resorts (943-6449), a privately run park in Port Isabel. Some RV’s, campers, and trailers stake out turf on the beach north of town at Andy Bowie Park (761-2639), though overnight access isn’t permitted and no hookups are available.
Eating In
Given the popularity and preponderance of condos with kitchens, this is an easy—and economical—option.
Groceries
The best place to stock up on nonperishable supplies is the Blue Marlin Supermarket (761-4966). For fresh, cheap produce, pop over to one of the roadside stands on Texas Highway 100 between Los Fresnos and Port Isabel. B&A Seafoods (943-2461) in Port Isabel has fresh shrimp and fish, as does Ted’s Seafood (761-4674) in South Padre Island, though the selection of fish is more limited. Cheeses, cold cuts, and prepared sides and salads are available at Feldman’s Wines and Liquors (761-1488), the Pantry and Grill Room (761-9331), and Le Deli Cafe (761-2059) in Fiesta Plaza. Feldman’s and the Pantry also sell freshly baked French bread and stock an extensive selection of wine, as does the Sisters Texas Mercantile (761-9316) in Franke Plaza.
My Library
