Why You Need to Vacation on South Padre Island
Hopefully, you’re listening to your inner free spirit and planning your next beach getaway?!
Many people associate South Padre Island with Spring Break madness and college kids everywhere but the other 11 months out of the year it is a stunning beach oasis.
Understand:
South Padre is the closest to Mexico beaches you will get without crossing the border.
When is the Best Time to Go?
Let me reiterate:
If you are looking for a family getaway, do not venture anywhere near South Padre Island during Spring Break.
My family has been lucky enough to explore South Padre in the offseason multiple times, which is the time I recommend going. That is only because I tend to run the opposite direction of large crowds.
During the off-season, you will find less crowded beaches and cheaper hotel rates. Don’t worry about the weather because if you aren’t familiar with South Texas…it is always hot, ALWAYS.
We went one year in January and while we weren’t swimming in the ocean, we were still in our swimsuits on the beach and swimming in the heated pool at our resort….which leads me to my next reason I love South Padre.
Beachfront Resorts
There is nothing I love more than staying right on the beach, stepping out the door and hearing the ocean waves.
Most importantly beachfront resorts are perfect when you have multiple children and don’t have to mess with getting them in and out of the car (sand everywhere right?! No thank you!)…
Here’s the deal:
There are multiple resorts lining the beaches of South Padre Island but let me recommend my favorite – La Copa Inn Beach Hotel!
La Copa Inn is the perfect resort for so many reasons. I mean we opened our private patio door and there was the walkway leading right out to the beach! The rooms were so clean and beautiful. The pool was perfect with a cute little splash pad for the little ones and a poolside bar for the adults.
Also, there is a Starbucks in the lobby! Do I have your attention now?
Something else that may not mean much to others but when food is the way to your heart – it means a lot to me: their FREE breakfast is on point! A huge banquet room filled with food warmers full of yummy warm food and omelets made to order! La Copa Inn is where it’s at – a very nice resort for a very affordable price.
Ghost Crabs
Catching ghost crabs at night has been a tradition every time I have ever been to the beach and I love that I am passing it down to my kids.
Listen:
If you’ve never done it you need little else than a flashlight (to see the ghost crabs), a shovel to scoop them up and a bucket to put them in.
So head out to the beach after the sun goes down and let the kids run wild searching for ghost crabs. See how many you can catch then release them when you’re done.
Sea Turtle Rescue
If you’re looking for reasons to visit South Padre Island aside from the gorgeous beaches, (I rarely ever leave the beach but for the kids sake we typically try to find one or two things to do away from the beach), the Sea Turtle Rescue Center is the perfect educational opportunity that is fun for the whole family.
They just opened a huge new facility to house even more rescued sea turtles.
Their mission is to educate the public about sea turtles and what we can do to help save the sea turtles.
Visiting is a way to incorporate education into your vacation and teach our children the importance of recycling and less consumerism.
Dolphin Cruise
Most of the activities I plan for our family adventures are free or pretty close to it.
Look:
For me, vacations are not about constantly going, going, and spending money left and right. I like to trigger my inner free spirit and do my best to just relax, take in the moment, and enjoy the beauty in the simplicity of life around me.
HOWEVER, every once in a while I like to splurge on experiences that I know everyone will remember and going on a dolphin watch cruise was one of them.
There are multiple dolphin watch companies on South Padre but we used “The Original Dolphin Watch”. I cannot say enough good things about them.
We took the sunset cruise and the crew members were so good to us and constantly checking in to make sure we were happy – awesome customer service!
Prices for tickets were between $12-15/each so not bad at all.
Here’s the best part:
I bet we saw over 50 dolphins! Many of the dolphins swam right up to the boat. It was absolutely incredible and an experience that my family will never forget.
Visit South Padre Island, you will not regret it.
