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Planning a Trip to South Padre Island

This past October, my family and I traveled down to the southern tip of Texas and spent a long weekend on South Padre Island This island makes for a great family beach vacation, as long as you stay away from the Spring Break crowds.

Beach Access, Marinas, Boogie Board Rental, Sea Turtles, Board Walks, Bird Watching, Sand Dunes, and Fireworks

Where to Stay

South Padre Island is long and skinny. The main road that runs north / south up the island is Padre Blvd. There are several hotels, and most are along the east side of the island while private homes are along the west side. Beach access points are also along the east (gulf-facing) side of the island. All hotels that are on the east side of Padre Blvd will be within walking distance (1-2 blocks) from the beach. There are a few hotels on the west side of Padre Blvd though. Padre Blvd is a busy street you will need to cross to get to the beach, so I would recommend verifying the hotel location on a map before you book to make sure it’s on the east side. The parking lots for beach access are relatively small and fill up quickly, so being able to walk is a great advantage.

Beach Access

Beach access points are free with the exceptions of Isla Blanca County Park (southern tip) and Andy Bowie Park (northern part of beach access). If you plan on going to the beach after you’ve checked out of your hotel, these are nice options as there are showers. But the beach is the same no matter where you access it, so if you have showers available for use still in your hotel, you don’t need to spend the money, just walk to the beach from your hotel.

In addition to the above parks, there are 25 beach access points (all along the east side). (Note: the Laguna Madre is on the west side, and the water is very calm.) Reference the above Googlemap for beach access locations.

There are parking lots at access points 1-7, 9, and 11-22. Additionally there are bathrooms at access points 3 and 11. There are exterior facing rinse off stations at beach access points 3, 11, 18, 20, and 21.

Boogie Board Rental

Our favorite beach activity was playing with Boogie Boards, which we rented from South Padre Island Watersports for $10 per board per day. We rented 2 and shared them. If you’ve never boogie boarded before, you’ll want to get on your board just as the wave passes you, so you catch the front part of it. And the best waves are the stronger ones (not necessarily the highest ones).

Sand Castles

South Padre Island touts itself as the Sand Castle Capital of the World, and there are a lot of castles and other shapes made out of sand that you’ll find around the island. The largest outdoor sand castle in the USA can be found next to the parking lot of the South Padre Island Visitor Center. This was sculpted as part of Sand Castle Days in 2018.

Largest Sand Castle in the USA - found at the South Padre Island Visitor Center

The two primary professional sand sculptors on the island are Lucinda “Sandyfeet” Wierenga and Andy Hancock. Both offer sandcastle lessons. If we had an extra day, this was something we all thought would have been fun. They each have a website www.sandyfeetsandcastleservices.com and www.sandcastlelessons.com, with an email address to reach out to them in order to set up a class.

There are several other locations along the island to find sand creations. Some of our favorites were on the beach in front of Clayton’s Beach Bar and Grill (near beach access #24).

Dolphin Watching / Eco-Tours

The ocean off of the west side of the island (Texas-facing) is known as the Laguna Madre. This lagoon is home to several pods of bottlenose dolphins. You’ll need to be on a boat to be able to see the dolphins, but they are not hard to find once you are out there. There are lots of boat cruising options: Osprey Cruises, The Original Dolphin Watch, Breakaway Cruises (probably others that I’m missing as well). They all take off from the marina just south of the bridge. We used their websites to set up tours, but if you’ve got extra time in the morning, you could just stop over at the marina to pick the right option for you.

We choose The Original Dolphin Watch and went on an Eco-Tour. In the eco-tour, they let out a net for a few minutes and whatever they catch they put into small containers so everyone on the boat can see and they talk about the creatures. The tour guides were very knowledgeable, and the dolphins were fun to watch. The downside is that the water is very calm in the Laguna Madre so the boat doesn’t rock in any waves, there wasn’t much excitement factor for our boys. I enjoyed myself on the cruise, but my oldest spent most of the time looking longingly out at the ocean wishing he could be swimming in it.

Snorkeling

I’d read from multiple traveling sites that South Padre is the best place in Texas to go snorkeling. This was one of the reasons we decided to head here for vacation. Snorkeling happens in the Laguna Madre so the water is very calm for snorkeling in the ocean, and the water is extra salty due to the lagoon being very shallow helping you float. If you are a first-time snorkeler and are someone nervous to try it out, this would be a great place to get comfortable. My review however would be that the water is very cloudy and it’s difficult to see much of anything. This is compounded by how shallow it is. People would stand up in the water and then stir up more sand making it even more difficult to see. What we could see in the sea grass were very small fish and some shells. If you are looking to find some fish, pick Florida or the Caribbean and snorkel along a reef instead.

We used Breakaway Cruises to go snorkeling, and despite not being impressed by the place we were snorkeling, I liked our driver and other staff. We cut snorkeling off early due to the visibility issues, and instead took the boat down to the southern tip of the island. We circled a few pods of dolphins and clapped for them while they put on quite a show for us, leaping out of the water and going up on their tails.

Black Dragon Pirates

Our favorite boat cruise in South Padre was the Pirate Ship, Black Dragon. This is booked through Osprey Cruises. We went on the sunset cruise. I laughed straight for 2 hours and we had an amazing night. There was an entire boat squirt gun fight, sword fighting, booty hunting, and we all got mustaches. This cruise is also in the Laguna Madre, so there are more dolphin watching opportunities as well. This boat takes off from Port Isabel which is on Texas mainland, just north of the bridge. On your way to the boat, you’ll pass gift shops and pirate restaurants. Keep your eyes open on your right for some large bird cages. There is a Cockatiel and an African Grey Parrot that are quite talkative.

Bird Watching

South Padre Islands is an interesting place to look for wildlife as there are freshwater wetlands next to the ocean’s saltwater resulting in a variety of habitats. There is a free boardwalk (Laguna Madre Nature Trail) to watch for birds and alligators. You will park at the South Padre Island Convention Center. The Convention Center is on the Laguna Madre side of the island. The boardwalk begins next to the mural of whales on the south side of the convention center.

View of the boardwalks from the top of the Birding Nature Center

There is a second boardwalk option for a small fee through the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. This is just on the south side of the Convention Center. We were able to walk with a naturalist who talked about the various birds we saw. This center is also a rescue center for alligators. Inside the main building, there are tanks of smaller alligators, and along the board walks on the privately-owned part of the land, there are ponds with the larger alligators. This was the only place we saw alligators, although the publicly owned land has signs that indicate there are wild alligators as well. There is also a tower that you can go to the top of to get a better view of the wetlands. The staff here was very friendly and very knowledgeable and I felt it was worth the small entrance fee.

Sea Turtle Rescue

Just south of the Birding and Nature Center (also on the Laguna Madre side of the island) is Sea Turtle, Inc. This is a Rescue Center that you can also pay a small fee to enter. There are formal talks you can go to in the amphitheater to learn about the sea turtles, and there are volunteers walking amongst the tanks of sea turtles that can answer your questions. In the back, there are the permanent resident sea turtles that cannot be released back into the wild. In the front there are several tanks where injured sea turtles are being cared for with the intention that once healthy, they will be released. This organization also helps in nest conservation, meaning, they will move eggs to the safety of a hatchery. When the eggs hatch, volunteers help the turtles get to the ocean, shielding them from the city lights as baby turtles use moonlight as a guide to find the Gulf of Mexico. This was a special place to visit. Plan 1-2 hours to be able to participate in all of the activities and visit each of the turtles.

Allison is missing 3 fins but is able to swim freely at Sea Turtle Inc with her very own prosthetic fin

Sand Dunes

If we had more time, we would have ventured north on the island to South Padre Sand Dunes. This is a place for hiking among the dunes rather than swimming. It looks like fun, but we just didn’t have enough time to drive all the way up to this park. Note, there is an entry fee for your vehicle.

Fireworks

If you visit South Padre from Memorial Day to Labor Day, there are free fireworks every Friday night at 9:15pm. The best views are on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island from Palm to Amberjack streets (just north of the bridge).

Family Adventure Guide to South Padre Island