South Padre Island, Texas: The Caribbean of Texas

Spring Break! Girls Gone Wild! That's usually what people think of when they think of South Padre Island. In February, it's quite different. 

South Padre Island is a resort town that was incorporated in 1973 to manage the tourism industry. It was named for Jose Nicolas Balli, a priest, Padre Balli. He was a rancher priest and he owned the island via a land grant from the King Charles III of Spain to his grandfather! In 1804, he established a small settlement at the southern tip of the island called El Rancho Santa Cruz de Buena Vista. In 1828, he had the island surveyed and it was described as "high sand dunes, some of which covered with grass." Sounds about the same. 

The only way on the island is via the Queen Isabella Causeway. The island has beautiful beaches on the Gulf of Mexico and calm waters for swimming in Laguna Madre Lagoon. There's boating and fishing, swimming and other water sports and...that's about it.

When we went in February, we thought we'd have the island to ourselves. Ha! Apparently there are "Winter Texans" that come down from places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and other northern cold states. Our hotel was packed! It's because they, like other hotels on the island (and I'm sure some VRBOs) have reduced rates to induce the snowbirds to stay. I had no idea!

Our hotel from the beach at night. The "winter rates" for our room were not bad. $3,000 for one month which would include daily breakfast and daily maid service. There's a bar and a restaurant in the hotel, both of which were crowded, as well as laundry facilities. There were also supplemental packages where you could include other meals at nearby restaurants. Our room had a fridge and a microwave. Not a bad deal if you want to get out of the freezing cold. The rates start in October and run through the end of February. If a month is too long, then they have a weekly rate as well.

The view from our balcony at night. Hmm...a week might not be so bad.

That same view in the morning. John wanted to know what people did all day here when they came for the winter. The same thing they would do at home, I would think. Our hotel had various "gathering" areas where there were puzzles and places to sit and read. It sounds very relaxing. At breakfast, it seemed like several of the people knew one another. Maybe they meet here every year. 

This is the reason to come. The beautiful ocean. There were some hearty souls actually in the water. I guess if you're from Wisconsin, 60 degree water isn't bad. My thin blood finds that way too cold. I didn't even dip my feet in.

There are miles and miles of beach for walking. 

As I mentioned, there's isn't much going on in South Padre Island except the beach. They have tons of these kitschy stores where you can get souvenirs and stuff. There's one where you have to walk through a shark's mouth to get into the store. 

For a long time, this was a big Spring Break destination. With these amazing sunsets, who can blame them? Of course, the spring breakers were probably more interested in the bars.

We watched the Superbowl with our fellow "Winter Texans" at a place called Louie's Backyard. We had a great view of the sunset and the TV.

A final walk along the bayside of the island before we headed out.

About 2K people live on the island full time. I don't think I could be one of them. While it's a nice place to visit and it's very laid back, there's only one way on and off the island. There's a grocery store but it's not great for full time living. Of course, there's the H-E-B in Port Isabel but going back and forth over the bridge isn't always pleasant. And finally, the population swells during spring break and the summer would make me want to leave. No, it's better just to come for a visit for a few days, or, if you're a Winter Texan, a few months.