South Padre

Hi, I haven't been to SPI in a while, so have no idea about hotels, but I do always look into staying at a rental home when I travel. A good site that I have personally used is www.vrbo.com. The homes that I have stayed in Florida, California and rented a house here in San Antonio for family members attending a weddding, were all very nice and we saved money on eating out as we bought groceries and bbqd. Some places have pools, so it may be worth a shot looking into. Have fun!!!

Hi K.,
I'm from Brownsville and what the ladies have adviced you is correct. The Gladys Porter Zoo is one of the best in the Country. The Island has several activities for the family to enjoy. You can go horse back riding. The food is really good. I hope you all like seafood because you will get nothing but fresh seafood.

Good wishes,
Elisa

Dolphin watch is really great and there is a place at the end of the island where you can feed and learn about sea turtles called Sea Turtle Inc. If you have time you are close enough to go to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville which is really great for the kids. Have Fun!!!

I go to SPI every year, the last year of June. In the past I have taken my daughter. My about 2 years ago I started leaving all the kids behind and have a "mom's only" trip. I always stay at the Sheraton. It's on the beach. Service is out of this world! They have a kids club you can send your kids to so you can have some alone time. The club is only an hour or two long during the day. At the Sheraton, you can parasail and there are other activities (extra charge of course). And the pool is great. I have stayed at the Radisson once, also on the beach. I wasn't impressed. On the bay side of the island, there is a strip of clubs. Some are kid friendly, some aren't. There is bungy jumping, a small roller coaster, and the cage sling shot thing. And on Friday nights they have a free fireworks show.

Hi there! I am also from Brownsville and didn't see anyone mention The Children's Museum here. If you do visit the Gladys Porter Zoo, which is one of the best in the country, the museum is located across the street from the zoo in the Dean Porter Park. It is a hands on experience so your little kiddos should really enjoy it. Their website is www.cmofbrownsville.com if you'd like to check it out.
Have a great trip!

I liked the Embassy condos.

Turtle Inc. is fun for the kids. They do great little tours of their sea turtle rescue program. the kids can pet the turtles, etc.

A trip to Brownsville zoo is a really fun day trip. It's a really nice zoo.

We went to south padre last june.. We stayed at the copa capana it was nice... They had a dock that walked out to the beach... We stayed a week and our rooms were around 112.00 per night.. It was clean and good for the time we were in it.. You can bring it up on the net.. buy going south padre hotels.. Then copa cabana ... its nice.... also you can pay extra 15.00 more a night to let your pet stay too.. Thats what we did... good luck.. C.

There is a schlitterbahn on the beach there that is really nice and fairly new! I remember I had gone one year and stayed at the Travelodge on the beach and it wasn't that expensive. It even had it's own little private walkthrough to get to the beach. There are also places that you can rent out like condos but i'm not sure how that would fit into your budget. There were a whole lot of mom and pop type stores on SPI if your kiddos like collectibles.
I found this link for SPI ..hope it helps you!

http://sopadre.com/things/kidstuff.php

SPI is so great! We are going in June, and we found a great condo on the beach at www.vrbo.com. Don't be afraid to ask for a lower price than what they post in their listings. Since each condo is individually owned, the owners have some leeway and it doesn't hurt to ask if you find one you like that isn't quite in your budget. We were looking for a hotel room at first, and there are some nice amenities at resort hotels, but the rooms are expensive and with a condo you can prepare your own meals so you're not having to go out all the time.

Last time we went, we found a great condo which was a couple blocks from the beach and even though it was not a very long walk it was tough with two little kiddos and all the stuff to haul back and forth. We've got another kiddo now, so we decided beachfront is a priority (and will continue to be for future trips, at least until the kids start to be able to help carry stuff as opposed to us carrying them, LOL!).

We love the dolphin watch! Besides going where the dolphins are, they drag the net and pull out all kinds of neat sea critters to show the kids. Ask and make sure when you book, but I think they do this on all the dolphin watch cruises. This year for the first time we plan on visiting Sea Turtle Inc. and checking out the lighthouse and museums in Port Isabel. Schlitterbahn is fun to do, but we didn't like the one in Padre as much as the original in New Braunfels.

Have fun!!!!!

We went last year and rented a beach house for a week. If you are only going for a few days you'll want to plan carefully. Here's a couple of websites to check out.
http://www.exploresouthpadreisland.com/
www.homeaway.com

Have fun!!! God bless!

Hi K.,

We've stayed at a place called Suntide--I think they have I, II and III but can't remember which one we stayed at! They are condos. They also have a place I've heard is nice (but never been to) called Seabreeze. We also stayed somewhere called Inverness a couple of times...one year we got a beautiful, completely remodeled unit, the next it wasn't so great, so that one is hit-or-miss. Same with Bahia Mar. I recommend staying on the beach if you can with little ones b/c it is such a pain to shlep all their stuff to the beach! They have horseback riding on the beach(lots of fun but your 3-year-old is too young to do more than ride the pony in the pen), parasailing, those banana boat things, jet skis, and there is a Schlitterbahn water park on the island. There are also plenty of nice restaurants and lots of t-shirt/curio shops. Oh, you can also take a boat tour and dolphin watch--we always see lots of dolphin. Of course you can also go deep sea fishing. We never run out of things to do. There should be a magazine in your room/condo that will give you contact info for all the activities. Have fun!!

You might check with SPI Chamber of Commerce and see which hotels were damaged last year from the hurricanes that hit the area. Three have not reopened yet, but not sure which ones. They should be able to give you up to date info and send you a tourist package, if they have one available. We love Corpus Christi for the beach, the awesome State Aquarium and the USS Lexington. All are lots of fun. Good luck!

Hi K.....we love South Padre, we make it over there every summer. We have stayed at Suntide I- Condominums and it's very safe and great for the kids, great access to the beach. You can also cook your own meals, since these condo's do have full size kitchens, so it saves you some money. Hope you have a great vacation

There is a Schlitterbahn in Padre. If you go before noon the tickets are really cheap. THere is also a great all-you-can-eat seafoof restaurant right beofer you cross the San Luis bridge going into Padre. The beaches are beautiful and you are really going to have a good time. We rented a two-bedroom condo several years ago. The name of the listing agent is Terra Mar (I believe).

We went there for our honeymoon- which was about 8 years ago. We stayed the first night at the Howard Johnson inn- paid way too much ($110) - and then discovered the Red Roof Inn was about $60 and was just as nice! We were not on the beach but close enough for us. While there we para-sailed (sp)(which was so much fun) and went on a boat to see dolphins, shopped and took in the sights. I am sure there is alot to do there- even more so now probably- but we were only there 2 days. Have fun!
***I forgot we went to Schlitterbahn too--it is so much fun! The kids will love it.****

HTH!

We love to vacation there... only for added activities we stay a little off the island (10 min) at the South Padre Island Golf Club. You can find them online, if not I will search for the # for you. We love it here because they have a pool that overlooks the ocean, boat docks, golfing for my husband, a gym (not that we really work out... hehe) and a wonderful restaurant onsite. They also have a pizza place to die for right at the street entrance (we like to take pizza and a movie home after a day at the beach). My husband also fishes right off the dock at night with the kids. The condos back up to the very part of the ocean that the glass bottom boats take people who pay big money to fish all day. Rather than having a small hotel room to yourself, you have an entire house (condo) which for us results in less stress and more family time... a place to get away from the public and be together. The unit we stayed in had DVD player and several TV's with cable, just in case you have a rainy day. We try to book on harbor view because then you wake up to beautiful sunrise over the ocean out a large picture window.... seriously you see nothing but water!! The other condos are nice and we have stayed in them but last time we stayed in 49 harbor view and felt like we had walked into a travel magazine. We love to go to louise backyard for dinner too except it is 20 per person. There is a fun restaurant on the beach that serves THE BEST BURGERS and has a pool the kids can swim in while they eat....Its called boomerang billies and its on the beach. You can find sclitterban coupons, or it is cheaper to pay online before you go... FYI there is a walmart, and HEB close buy just so you know... Hope you have so much fun!

We were down there a couple years ago.
We found a big difference in price b/w the ones on the beach and the ones a short walk from the beach. We saved quite a bit in 3 days by staying within easy walking distance, but no view of the Gulf.

http://www.bahiamar.com/

awhile back we went and spent the 4th of july weekend at south padre with family.we stayed at the bahia mar condos.i cant remember the price,but it was really nice.

Brownsville Zoo is one of the best in the country and is only about a 30 minute drive, we go there everytime we go to SP. Turtle rescue farm is neat if they are into animals. 3 days isn't much, relax and enjoy the beach.

Hi K.~

We all went down there March of 2008. We have been to the Schlitterbahn there which is nice and you really don't have to wait in long lines to get on rides. We also took a drive one day over to the Brownsville Zoo. (Gladys Porter Zoo) Great Zoo!! Better than the San Antonio Zoo! There is also an Outlet Mall in Mission, Tx. Have Fun!!

There is a Schlitterbahn in South Padre.

But, you need to check out the hotel/motel/rental house possibilities. I was just reading last week about spring break there. It said that 3 of the largest hotels have not reopened since Hurricane Dolly last July and it was making the rates at the available hotels very expensive. Check with the Chamber of Commerce or Visitors Bureau. Somethings may still be closed because of hurricane repair.

I live in Galveston and we have made a tremendous comeback since the devastation of Ike in Sept. Almost every hotel has re-opened. A lot of the tourist sites like Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn, flight museum, etc. have reopened. The stores on the Strand are working feverishly to re-open.

We love staying at the La Quinta (north side)...it has a pool, jacuzzi, and beach access. Very affordable and nice rooms-one of the newer places on the island. We live only an hour away so we go to padre all the time. Schlitterbahn is a great water park right on the island. There are also places where you can rent waveriders, go on sunset cruises, dolphin watches, horseback riding on the beach etc... We are actually going in May for a week so I have been putting together a list of contacts-here it is (hope this helps):
WaveRunner Rentals:
1. Sonny’s Beach Service (Waverunners $65.00 per half hour/$10 per person) www.sonnysbeachservice.com
3 locations:
Sheraton Hotel ###-###-####
Holiday Inn SunSpree ###-###-####
Radisson Resort ###-###-####

Horseback Riding on the Beach:
1. Island Adventures (1 mile north of SPI convention center ###-###-####) www.horsesonthebeach.com

2:30 p.m. (1 hour ride)=$45
4:00 p.m. (1 ½ hour ride)=$60
(printed coupon for $2 off per person)
***Reservations Required***

Dolphin Watch/Sunset Cruise:
1. Breakaway Cruises ###-###-#### one mile sth of causeway next to sea ranch restaurant
Live, narrated tours, cash bar, enclosed bottom deck, two story catamaran, snacks/Rated #1 Dolphin Watch
*Arrive 20 minutes before departure
www.breakawaycruises.com
Dolphin Watch Sunset Cruise: $18 per person (call for reservations and departure times)
Fireworks Cruise on Friday nights 7:30-10:00 p.m. ($25)

****USE $3.00 OFF COUPON IN SMALL COUPON BOOK****

2. Sea Ranch Marina ###-###-#### One Padre Blvd-under the big blue flag) (coupons on flyer-call for prices/times)

I use Latitude 26 Vacation Rentals and have been very happy withthe loging

Our family loves South Padre! We've enjoyed staying at the Sheraton and the Holiday Inn Sunspree. Both are right on the beach. We started staying at the Holiday Inn because the Sheraton rates had doubled. I'm not sure what rates are now with either. You can also compare hotels if you google-south padre island. They will give you an idea of rates and hotel/condos and their location. We've enjoyed visiting the lighthouse in port isabel. Which is right before you get to South Padre. We love to visit the shops in port isabel. They have homemade ice cream etc. In south padre they also have a sea turtle rescue center which you can visit. We love to eat at Dirty Al's. They have great seafood and are recommended by the locals there. Hope this helps!

I know a great place to eat down there. It's call Momma Ore House if its still open. Best food and used to be reasonably priced. Have fun it is a beautifull place. I havent been in years but I have fond memories.