South Padre Island

ByLisa Dworkin Hours

South Padre Island is an island off of Texas on Texas’ Gulf Coast bordering the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of 8 inhabited barrier islands of Texas.

South Padre Island photo courtesy of Port Isabel Press South Padre .

Texas Beaches

Although these beaches border the Gulf of Mexico, they are often referred to as “Gulf of Texas” beaches. They include all the Texas barrier islands’ beaches from Galveston Island near Houston at the north end to Brazos Island, location of the Brazos Island State Recreation Area, at the south end.

Due to its Gulf of Mexico location, there are white sand beaches in Texas. One of the best examples is Padre Island National Seashore, however, don’t expect the pure white sand you’ll find along Florida’s Gulf Coast anywhere in Texas.

South Padre Island Directions

Corpus Christi is the closest major population center to South Padre Island. It’s about a 3 hour drive using the following directions from Google Maps.

You can also fly from nearby Harlingen to South Padre Island.

Once you arrive, you may find this South Padre Island hotel map helpful.

South Padre Island hotel map courtesy of spibreak.com.

South Padre Island photo courtesy of tripadvisor.com.

When people talk about South Padre Island it can be confusing because the name refers to both the barrier island and a resort town on the barrier island. The town is one of Texas’ most popular vacation spots. Many know it as a place crowded with college students at Spring Break. This has given it the reputation as a party beach. Most of the year, however, it’s a family resort destination.

Since South Padre Island is a beach destination most of the things to do there revolve around the beach and various beach activities. These activities include:

  • Swimming
  • Fishing
  • Boat rentals
  • Kiteboarding
  • Dolphin watching
  • Horseback riding on the beach
  • Eco tours

Photo of South Padre Island Sunrise courtesy of Bill’s Blog.

Many people also enjoy seeing the sunrise on vacation and this is a great place to see beautiful sunrises. That’s because of the island’s primarily north-south orientation. For the best place to see the sunrise, head to any of the beaches facing east across the Gulf of Mexico.

To many joyful beach experiences!

— Lisa Dworkin

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