Texas is such a cool state, because it literally has a little bit of everything! There is city, mountains, desert, plains, and coastline! When people think Texas though normally they think more cowboy and desert vibe, which is a great part of Texas. But one of the best parts of Texas is the coastline!! Our particular favorite, South Padre Island, Texas!
This adorable island is located at the very tip bottom of Texas on the Mexico border. It is so unique with its half wetlands and half beach terrain. There are pelicans flying all around, alligators in the marshes, and jellyfish floating on the waves. It is such a beautiful and unique island.
There is something here for everyone, whether you just want to relax beachside in the sand, souvenir shop at a quirky museum, feast on the best seafood, or check out the wildlife. This is such a fun island for all ages, but is definitely the perfect toddler vacation destination.
Know Before You Go:
- It may take you a while to get onto the island. There is really only one road on and off the island. That is not what slows you down. The reason it takes so long to get on to the island is the back up of traffic in Port Isabel. You have to drive through Port Isabel to get to the bridge and there are a lot of lights in this town, which in turn creates traffic.
- Book in advance, things get booked fast. If you are planning on visiting the island I would book your accommodations at least a month in advance, 2 months if you are planning on visiting during a holiday.
- Budget in money to park your car. Just like most coastlines, parking is limited and you will most likely have to pay for a parking spot.
- For the cheaper accommodations stay off island, but you will most likely have to fight traffic to get onto the island. Choose your battle. Either you can stay for cheaper and fight the line of cars to get over the bridge, or you are looking at spending a lot more.
- Weekends, holidays, and summer are the busiest times of year. If you want to go when it is least busy, weekdays are the best option.
- Sea Turtles come to the beaches between April and August to nest. You might see them at this time.
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Family Friendly Things To Do On South Padre Island, Texas
Find all 30 Sand Sculptures on the Sand Sculpture Trail
You can not visit South Padre Island without seeing a sand castle! Most beaches have a sand castle festival once a year, well South Padre Island has sand castles all year long, all over town!!
You know how some towns have a bunch of painted sculptures around town. Like Odessa, Texas has painted jackrabbits, San Angelo, TX has painted sheep, and Pecos, TX has painted boots; well South Padre Island has 30 sand sculptures around town! Follow the trail and see how many you can find!
Location Of The Sand Sculptures On South Padre Island:
Admire rescued Sea Turtles at Sea Turtles Inc
My first thought when I think of South Padre Island is sea turtles! This island is covered in sea turtles! There is Sea Turtle art, a sea turtle festival, sea turtle hatching areas, and even a sea turtle rescue center! The Sea Turtle Inc is a rescue center for injured sea turtles to help the rehabilitate and heal before returning them to the ocean.
In the center, there is a small museum that teaches about ocean pollution and the life of sea turtles. Then you can head outside to see the actual sea turtles! There are several giant tanks with sea turtles that have lost limbs or have permanent injury that prevents them from being returned to the ocean. They are beautiful and huge!
They also have a turtle/tortoise area, and during our visit we were able to pet a box turtle! Not only do they occasionally allow you to pet some turtles, they also have turtle talks to teach you more about he sea turtles and what they do at the facility.
As you leave you can walk through the sea turtle hospital tent, to see even more sea turtles! It is a small center, but it was a really cool and fun experience!
Location: 6617 Padre Blvd, South Padre Island, TX 78597
Hours: Tues-Sun 10am-4pm, CLOSED MONDAY
Admission: $10 adults, $6 seniors, $4 ages 5-17, FREE ages 4 and under
Hold a snake or baby alligator at the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center
There aren’t really any lighthouses on the island, but South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center has the next best thing! Right next to Sea Turtle Inc is a building that almost looks like a lighthouse minus the light at the top! You can climb all the way to the top for a beautiful view of the wetlands surrounding the ocean. It is such a gorgeous view!
This is a super cool nature center! Inside there are talks and presentations about the local wildlife, which consists of a variety of birds, herons, turtles, snakes, and alligators! That’s right there are wild alligators on South Padre Island! There are several indoor exhibits with pythons, fish, and baby alligators. Some of which you can even hold and get a picture with!
There is a small museum that teaches about the wildlife in the area, and then you are outside on the boardwalk. There is a boardwalk trail around the center. Along the walk you will see a couple of exhibits of larger alligators and tortoises. If you pay a little bit extra you can even buy food to feed the alligators!
While walking the boardwalk, you will walk around the wetlands and even out over the ocean. My toddlers loved the boardwalk over the ocean because there was a glass floor that you would look into the ocean. We didn’t see any wild alligators, but we saw a huge assortment of birds. My favorite was watching a giant white heron catch a fish in the ocean right next to us!
Location: 6801 Padre Blvd, South Padre Island, TX 78597
Hours: everyday 8am-5pm
Admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors/military/students, $5 ages 4-12, FREE ages 3 and under
Find the Painted Sea Turtles
Like I said before, South Padre Island is a very Sea Turtle place! Throughout town there are 12 permanent sea turtle art sculptures! They are so pretty. Each turtle is unique and has its own theme. My kids were so excited every time they found one! My favorite part was that this activity was fun and FREE!
Locations of each of the Sea Turtles on South Padre Island:
Play at the beach
It would be a crime to visit South Padre Island and not play at the beach! The unique part about this island is that the west side of the island is mostly marsh or wetlands and the east side is beach side. So if you are wanting to play at the beach make sure you are on the east side of the island.
The beaches here are beautiful! The water is murky and not clear so you can not see clearly in the water. We did see a jellyfish though while we were playing in the water. Be aware that Man O’ War Jellyfish have been spotted at this beach and they are very dangerous jelly fish!
My toddlers loved this beach. Not only was the water shallow for a good portion of the beach area, there are also several sand bars, so if you get deeper in the water you can find more really shallow areas.
These beaches do have shells as well, which my daughter spent the majority of the time collecting! It is a nice clean beach, that normally isn’t super busy.
My Beach Day Essentials For Kids:
- Lawn chairs
- Wagon
- Towels
- Sunscreen
- Mesh bag
- Umbrella
- Sand blanket
- Sand toys
- Life jackets
- Boogie boards
Eat your meal out of a pineapple at Pineapple Ninjaz
Who needs bowls when you have pineapples!? That’s right this food truck cooks their meals and places it all in a pineapple for you to eat! It is SO GOOD! I had the orange chicken, with fried rice, and the best zucchini I have ever had in a pineapple bowl. But they also offer shrimp (which is super good too, just a little spicy) and lobster in a pineapple bowl.
I mean nothing feels more like a beach meal than seafood served in pineapple, am I right? If you are not a fan there are multiple food trucks located on the property along with beachside mini golf!
Location: 1201 Padre Blvd, South Padre Island, TX 78597
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-9pm
Admire the sand castle art at Holiday Village
South Padre Island is covered in sand castles. I mean it makes sense right, you are on an island surrounded by ocean. There are sandcastles all over, but some of the most amazing sand sculptures are at Holiday Village.
Holiday Village is located right next to the Gravity Park amusement park. It is located in a large white tent beside the Ferris Wheel. This tent is donation based, but it houses the art of incredible artist. It is a short walk and you will be through it in about 5-10 minutes. But it is so cool. The art is just amazing and you will not want to miss it!
Location: W Ling St, South Padre Island, TX 78597
Hours: everyday 10am-9pm
Admission: FREE, donation based
Shop at the fun Souvenir Shops
A beach would not be a beach without being surrounded by cheesy souvenir shops filled with tacky shirts, the largest assortment of sunglasses, and a ton of objects made out of seashells! There are souvenir shops scattered all over the island and they all look so tacky and fun!
There was one where you had to walk through a sharks mouth to get in. Another a whale’s mouth. My personal favorite was the one with the giant sea turtle at the door. Even if you aren’t going to buy anything, the shops still offer really fun photo ops.
Ride The Ferris Wheel at Gravity Park
Can you think of a better way to end your day at South Padre Island, than riding to the top of the Ferris Wheel and look out over the ocean. I mean its not a giant Ferris Wheel, but still the effect is there. Gravity Park is a tiny amusement area with just a few rides. They have a Ferris Wheel, go karts, an arcade, a climbing wall, a giant swing, and mini golf.
Just be aware that it gets pretty busy in the evenings, and so the wait time can get pretty bad. When we went it was a 30 minute wait to ride the giant swing. Waiting is never a fun thing to do with little kids!
Location: 106 W Marlin St, South Padre Island, TX 78597
Hours: Sun-Thurs 6pm-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm
Prices: adult go karts $15 single/$20 double, mini golf $10 adult/$8 kids and seniors, bungee $25 per rider, giant swing $25 per rider, Ferris Wheel $8 per rider, kids go karts $8 per ride, climbing wall $8 per climber
Final Thoughts On South Padre Island, Texas
I loved South Padre Island!! My kids LOVED South Padre Island! Enough said, am I right!? For real though, my 4 year old son has asked me everyday since we left, if we can go back. It is a beautiful island, covered in art and fun activities. I loved everything we did and I didn’t want to leave either!
We visited on Labor Day weekend, and I was really nervous that it would be ridiculously busy. I was very surprised by the lack of traffic we experienced during the day. The worst traffic was trying to get onto the island, but once we were on the island it was easy to navigate and we had no issues with traffic until it got dark. Once the sun went down it was super busy, but having young kids when the sun goes down is when our party ends. Haha!
It isn’t the cheapest place to visit, but what beach or island is. It is one of those places that you need to plan and book your accommodations in advance or you will be spending a pretty penny on your stay. Saying that though, it is so worth the visit! It is one of those places you will want to come back and visit again and again!
Fun Things To Do Near South Padre Island, Texas
Feed Flamingos at Gladys Porter Zoo
Walk through quirky Bobz Journey at Bobz World
Walk around the gardens of the McAllen Temple
Climb the stairs of Port Isabel’s Lighthouse
