South Padre Island is an all year round popular vacation destination located on the southern tip of Texas. Such a great destination offering warm blue waters, beautiful sun soaked beaches and dunes, marine life’s, adventurous water activities and unique flora and fauna. One of the perfect vacation spots for all sorts of travelers like families, couples and crowds of spring breakers.
This barrier island is known for its subtropical seaside including beaches, warm weather, nature and a wide variety of adventurous activities. Visitors can enjoy activities such as swimming, fishing, surfing, and dolphin watching. South Padre Island is also home to a good number of resorts, restaurants, and bird view spots, fishing and hiking trails in order to make it a great choice for a relaxing beach getaway.
Top 10 Things to do in South Padre Island
1. Relax on the Beach
Beach here in South Padre Island is world recognized, especially its soft sand beach side, island’s sun soaked shores. Beaches postcard perfect setting has help to maintain year round beach atmosphere, even for family, and couples too. You can also spend the day with south Padres nightlife’s and popular beach hunts. In order to visit, beaches in the Island will be relaxing in the water, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the sound of the ocean. Snorkelling, kayaks and jet sky are popular travel activities here.
Beach Park is another fantastic thing to enjoy especially for children’s and family. It is an Oceanside water park that offers zooming down the body slides and uphill water coasters to experience underwater helmet diving and surf riders. Total 25 acres of aqua coverage includes 15 world class attractions for all sorts of backpackers.
2. Dolphin Watching
Never forget to take a dolphin-watching boat tour to see these playful creatures in their natural habitat. Origin of Dolphin watching takes passengers on a dolphin’s watching tour of the Laguna Madre, where even families can also enjoy. Boat tour also provides opportunities to passengers to observe other sea creatures that the boat’s net picks up, and informative talks on the animals before jumping into the water. It’s a more fun and memorable experience for visitors of all ages irrespective of the background of visitors.
The Dolphin Research and Sea Life Research center is a non-profit attraction that educates visitors regarding the preservation of wildfires in the Gulf coast. Even with children’s, adults can enjoy touch tanks with exciting native marine animals like Crabs, fish, octopus and starfish.
3. Visit Sea Turtle, Inc.
If you are really interested and curious about how to learn about sea turtle conservation and rehabilitation efforts, you can access it through this non-profit organization. One of the south Padre Island’s sparkling tourism gems, which offers rescuing and protecting marine turtles on the land for more than 40 years. South Padre Island is a nesting ground to the world’s most endangered sea turtles called ‘Kemp’s Ridley’. Here you can explore rescued turtles up close and even release a rehabilitated turtle back into the ocean.
Place where you can see turtle themed stuff like calendars, tea towels, wooden ornaments, T- shirts and hoodies. Kids section is really worth visiting with family where children’s can see flipbooks about oceans and cute stuffed toys. Sea Turtle, Inc. popularize to sell badges, pens and keyrings and also try to use eco-friendly items like reusable bags.
4. Try Water Sports
South Padre Island never disappoints when it comes to water based activities. Offers a variety of water sports activities for all sorts of backpackers including beginners. Activities include jet skiing, parasailing, kiteboarding, and windsurfing. Paddle boarding, scuba diving and snorkelling are even more popular here. Parrot Eyes is a more popular rental provider here, offering sunset dolphins cruise, banana boat rides, and paralyzing prices at the beginning price of $30.00 per person. Windsurfing is another popular water sport in South Padre Island.
You should know the basic and premium price of particular activities like $ 25 for kayaking (half days for singles) to $ 336 for 1 week windsurfing packages. $ 60 windsurfing basic and $ 80 for 2 to 4 people. Its calm waves are more challenging on the Gulf side of the surfers and borders. March month is more recommended to surfers and water activities. Because the water temperature is from the low 60s with air temperatures around the 70s to the 80s.
5. Visit Isla Blanca Park
Isla Blanca Park is renowned for some of the area’s best beaches. Moreover, the park is a great spot for picnicking, fishing, bird watching, and kite flying. It contains iconic spots like EL Cristo de los Pescadores, land for exploring the sea kiteboard or snorkelling, perhaps for a park home to many camping and lodging. It also has beautiful beach access and stunning panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico. Never miss indulge yourself in activities like fishing, snorkelling, jet skiing. Isla Blanca Park is available to customers 24/7 with the admission fees of $ 12.
Park has 2 large beachfront pavilions, several onsite restaurants, restrooms and shaded picnic spaces. There is more probability to see dolphins while exploring as surfers and shrimp boats. Once you enter the park you will get a tent and hook-up RV sites and cabana rentals for those who want to spend a few nights.
6. Go to Deep-Sea Fishing
Fishing is a more common and interesting hobby or activity to many backpackers, in order to spend quality of time to catch a fish. South Padre Island will be heaven of game fish in the warm gulf waters. The fish you catch depends on the season, but you can fish year round. Plenty of fish here in the deep water surrounding South Padre Island. Take a fishing boat and head out into the Gulf of Mexico for a day of deep-sea fishing. You can catch a variety of fish, majorly snapper, grouper, and even shark.
Here many fishing charters and tours provide bait and tackle, which keep you from costly investments. It is better to make proper plans before leaving to go fishing, like carrying water bottles, snacks and fishing equipment. Because your trip will start from 3 hours to 5 hours. Amberjack, Blue Marlin, Bonita, Grouper, Jack crevalle, Kingfish, Ling, Mahi- Mahi, Red snapper, Sailfish, Tarpon and Tuna are more popular fish in this island.
7. Laguna Madre Nature Trail
Trail in the Laguna Madre will be a next level travel adventure. It is a peaceful trail journey with 1,500 ft. loop trail stars near to the South Padre Island Convention Centre. It is a center where you can find vibrant mural paintings on the face of the buildings. You can also experience 4 acres of pristine salt marshland where you can see vibrant and unique flora and fauna of the extensive Laguna Madre wetland complex. If you are a bird water or nature enthusiast, you will walk amidst the 300 species of coastal and migratory birds. You can also use binoculars for more experiences.
Laguna Madre Nature Trail route generally considered as easy routes, naturally take 20 to 25 minutes to complete. You can also enjoy some of the solitude during the quieter times of the day. The trail is open year round, which is so friendly to explore even for 3 seasons. Admission fees to the center cost $ 6 for adults, $ 5 for students, $ 3 for children’s.
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8. Visit South Padre Island Birding and Nature Centre
Another incredible thing which must and should do by travelers while visiting South Padre Island is visit South Padre Island Birding and Nature Centre. Explore walking trails, boardwalks, and bird blinds to observe a wide variety of bird species in their natural habitat. It is a year round destination to see unique sorts of birds like butterflies, crabs, egarts, alligators, and turtles. However you can also expect to watch documentary films in the auditorium hall and learn about salt marshes, dunes and intertidal flats. Such a great place like Isla Blanca Park and Laguna Madre Nature Trail for nature lovers.
Its 5 storey spotting tower is another intrinsic feature here. Offers panoramic views of the lagoons, beaches and dunes of South Padre Island. ‘Gator Talks’ and ‘Birding Tour’ are the center’s weekly program which presents all about island birding and nature. Operating daily from 8 am to 5 pm weekly. One of the most convenient and cost effective ways to educate people is to know about the island’s birds and conservation and environment awareness.
9. Experience Sunset Horseback Riding
As we knew that South Padre Island is full of beaches and it is very interesting to explore through horseback riding especially during sunset. Sunset here in South Padre Island is the most beautiful in the world. Its adventurous park offers more fun beach activities. It is very important to take a guided horseback ride along the beach at sunset for a magical and unforgettable experience. Totally 90 minute tours are next level travel experience to see a variety of marine life in different zones or remote sections of the island. It’s a great way to admire the beauty of South Padre Island from a different perspective.
You can choose Horseback Riding in 3 times a day, like morning or sunrise, afternoon and evening or sunset. Under this, a moonlight ride is a more magical and crazy experience to travelers especially during a full moon. It is available to the visitors every day from 9 am to 5 pm.
10. Experience Sailing Cruise
Last but not the least, Sailing Cruise in the South Padre Island can be a more enthusiastic one. No such thing in this list offers a better way to see the nature of this island and the Gulf of Mexico in a 360 degree view than sailing. Enjoy an unforgettable morning of relaxing and sun tanning or snorkelling in clear waters or an exciting afternoon of dolphin spotting. Join any two hours of relaxing cruising along the bay front with the great island, water, and sunset and nature views.
If you are a couple or single, wishing to celebrate special occasions can end the day with romantic cruise tours. While on your cruise tours you are fortunate to watch the sunset over the dazzling waters of the Laguna Madre. Most of the cruises include ice cold sodas and bottled waters.
Such a great destination for those who are looking for relaxation, adventure, nature, flora and fauna, South Padre Island has something to offer for all sorts of backpackers.
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Q: Is South Padre Island safe?
A: South Padre Island is generally a safe place for travelers and you can expect low crime and theft on visitors. Place which is suitable for walking even during night too.
