South Padre National Seashore...Life's a Beach.
Written: Oct 25 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: reasonably clean, many activities
Cons: it's a tourist town with tourist prices
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| david.holmes's Full Review: Padre Island National Seashore |
Like most lives lived, this beach is not always perfect, but it is a lot of fun. South Padre's beach is sometimes soiled by tar, sometimes other debris, but great effort is expended to keep this beach clean.
I make a trip down to South Padre nearly every June and the beach is a different condition every time I go. I've seen the sand nearly perfectly clean, other times colored black with tar, and occasionally covered with thick seaweed.
You can not drive on the portions of the beach along the actual city of South Padre as you can at beaches like that in Daytona, Fl., but there may be areas along which you can drive further out.
The city of South Padre has a number of hotels ranging in price and amenity. I always stay in the condos run by the Bahia Mar Resort neighboring their high rise hotel. It is a nice facility with a couple swimming pools for those who don't want to get sandy, and it never hurts that the Ms. Texas pageant seems to be held there every year the same weekend I am there.
The city has a number of good restaurants and clubs to fill up the nightlife. My favorite restaurant on the island - where I eat breakfast every morning I am there - is Rovan's. They have large, inexpensive breakfasts and while the place is usually busy, it is large and can accommodate big crowds easily.
Another favorite place of mine is a nature walk near the South Padre Convention Center. I don't know the name of the place, but you can park in the convention center parking lot, walk the short trail to the edge of the water and see a beautiful sunset.
On the island there are a number of activities along the beach to fill up your day - sailing, fishing, dolphin watch tours, horseback riding, waverunners, golf, etc...
And if you've gone down as far as South Padre, you ought to make the short drive over to Matamoros, Mexico. There are always interesting things to buy there in the daytime and fun clubs to visit at night.
One last thing I feel I should mention is the Browsville Zoo. It, too, is just a short drive from the island and is possibly the best zoo I have ever visited. The animals are kept in simulated natural environment that allow you fairly close to them. It's just a great place.
South Padre is a great place to spend a few days at the beach and is close enough to other activities to keep you entertained if you get tired of the island.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
david.holmes
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Member: David Holmes
Location: Austin Texas
Reviews written: 47
Trusted by: 53 members
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