Texas coast?

[cj7zrcool]

My new wife and 5yo son have never been to the coast, so I told them we'd take a long weekend and go this summer. I've probably been to most of the larger Texas coastal cities, but it's been years. I'm looking for a place that has good clean swimming beaches plus other things to interest a 5yo (& 29yo ) within close proximity. Good seafood is also a must. What say you? Corpus, Padre, Galveston,??

[glen]

Port Aransas/ good eats/ beaches are pretty nice/ national seashore is close/ I forget the name of the condo's but the one towards the jetties has a nice private lighted pier and the trout come in under the lights late at night.

[JimN]

Port a. You can make a day trip to Corpus to the Lady Lex & aquarium. In port A you can watch the party boats return whit their catch as well as beach it.

[Ground Checkin' Heavies]

South Padre Island by far!! Water is blue and clear most of the year, lots of putt putt places to take a kid, good food....The only draw back is the drive there.

Port A always has dirty water, and you have to drive 30 miles to Corpus Christi to do anything. I frequent the coast very often every summer, probably 8-10 times a year. South Padre is by far the best.

[cosmiccowboy]

I would second South Padre if you don't mind the drive. I love fishing at Port A and Baffin Bay but if I wanted to entertain a family/child South Padre wins hands down. beaches are better, they have schlitterbahn and tons of tourist stuff. My advice would be to avoid Spring Break, though...you would enjoy the scenery but it's not particularly G rated...

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

GCH, WHAT????? I spend about 40 days a year in Port A. the water is hardly ever dirty. You must be thinking about Galveston. Port A is the offshore capital of Texas. The brand new beach just outside of Corpus is the bomb. JP Luby Beach. It is just out of Corpus as soon as you turn left on 361. There is a new channel with two jetties. it is the perfect family place as you can fish the jetties while the family plays on the beach 50 yards away. It is 100 yards wide in places with pearly white sand. Tons of surfers and kiteboarders complete with lifeguards and towers. You should check it out this summer.

[Reaper]

If your going the camping route N. Padre can't be beat. Clean beaches, camp anywhere along the beach, good fishing, and good eats 15 mins down the road.

[cj7zrcool]

I always like South Padre the best as well, but Brendan (5yo) is usually asking if we are there yet before we get to the end of the driveway, sooo, the shorter the distance, the better.

Jeez, that boy has a DVD player, Gameboy, Leap Frog and a gillion other things to keep him entertained that my generation couldn't even dream about. I remember our family driving to Orlando FL around 1972 and dad telling my younger brother and me to quit fighting and count telephone poles!

[expressfish]

port a is overly packed..........dont come in from the aransas pass side, you'll be sitting in the ferry line for hours........the water can be clean or dirty any time of the year, you might want to call down there and see what time of year all that **** seaweed rolls in. There are times of the year when theres 10 yards of sargum seaweed piled at the waters edge---NASTY---if your boy gets it on him I promise he'll get the itches=== not a good day

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

Danged old dirty PA water:



That 45 inch King was about 30 feet down just off of the JP Luby Jetty.

[Breezy]

we live 20 miles from Port A and we love it. we go alot just for dinner. alot of cool local places to eat, shop, drink, drink, drink...... maybe because i have lived here most of my 34 years but i like Port A ten times more than south padre. just my .02

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

Let's PORTA!!!!!!!!!!

[deerplanter]

From Port A on down south is good, but deffently don't go to Galveston, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

[tvc184]

You need to be in the Corpus Christi/Port Aransas area or farther south if you want faily clear water. The farther south you go the better. If you start getting up toward Galveston the water becomes more murky. It is not dirt from pollution or trash but the outfall silt from the Mississippi River and some from the Sabine/Neches Rivers around Port Arthur. The farther south you go from there, the more the stuff settles and clears up the water.

[Tmag]

Port Aransas for family, South Padre for the rest

Lots of stuff to see and do near Port A - fishing, Aransas Wildlife Refuge, fishing, USS Lexington, fishing, Hooks baseball, golf, did I say fishing?

Eats - Water Street Oyster Bar in Corpus, Joe Cottons BBQ in Rockport