Port A for a day? (Corpus Christi, Rockport: extended stay, rentals, how much)

[justanothercalifornian]

We don't have the moola for overnight lodging but we want to play in the sand with the kids. Can we do Port A in just one day? Is the drive just too far for that?

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by justanothercalifornian

We don't have the moola for overnight lodging but we want to play in the sand with the kids. Can we do Port A in just one day? Is the drive just too far for that?

That would be a hard one.

6 hours there - approx
6 hours back

10 minutes at beach ?

Check out some campsites..you can "rough" it maybe and just sleep in the car. Would make for an interesting weekend

[Trainwreck20]

Prt A is about 3.5 - 4 hours, so you are really looking at 7 to 8 hours round trip. Personally, I would find that kind of exhausting, but there are people with more stamina than me .

[justanothercalifornian]

before kids that would be an easy trip but with them I am thinking about trying to find a cheap motel or something.
has anyone been there for Fourth of July?

[atxcio]

Yeah, it's definitely not 6 hours -- 3.5 is about right, 4 with a couple of quick stops. Still kinda long for a single day trip. If staying on Port Aransas is too expensive, I'm sure there are some cheap options in Corpus.

[CptnRn]

It does not take 6 hours to drive there. It is 3.5 hour drive one way to Rockport/Fulton. and about 4 to Port Aransas. I've done it dozens of times.

You could make it in a 12 hour day
4 hours drive to Port A
4 hours at the beach
4 hours drive home
There are free showers on the beach where you could rinse the sand and saltwater off before heading home.

There are areas where camping is allowed on the beach. Such as this one
TPWD: Mustang Island State Park
but I think I'd wait until the fall when the air cools down to do that, the bay water will still be warm.

The Tarpon Inn is a pretty cool old historical inn that has some inexpensive rooms.
Tarpon Inn

There are a number of funky little auto court cottage rentals, some of which are pretty cheap. Such as Rock Cottages Rock Cottages - Accommodations Page Rates range from $39.00 - $159.00 per night excl. tax

Here is a bigger list.

TPWD: Mustang Island State Park

We usually stay over in the Rockport/Fulton area on Aransas Bay and take the short drive over to Port A to spend the day at the beach or exploring the island. There are lots of less expensive places to stay in Rockport/Fulton such as
Rates at Bayfront Cottages - newly remodeled waterfront cottages overlooking Aransas Bay
Balboa Courts in Rockport Texas Property Map and Rates

Some of them might be a little funky, but that may be better if it allows you to enjoy the trip more. The first place we ever stayed in Port A was the Paradise Motel, near the north end of the cutoff road. It was really funky and cheap but we still had a good trip.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by justanothercalifornian

We don't have the moola for overnight lodging but we want to play in the sand with the kids. Can we do Port A in just one day? Is the drive just too far for that?

I would say that rather than port A, if you want a beach go to north padre island or padre island national seashore. You dont take the ferry and it is about 3.5 hours. If you want to go to port A, you can go through mustang island and it takes about 15 extra minutes. We were just there this past weekend and I monitored drive times very closely as we plan to do the drive a lot and im trying to optimize the drive. I drive 5mph over the limit but never faster.

If you priceline hotels I would think you could get a hotel room for under $50/night. Check out biddingfortravel.com. People routinely get the raddison downtown for $60 and sometimes the omni. If you go 2* you should be able to pay around $30.

Alternately you can camp on the beach. Padre island national seashore costs around $15 (I got the annual pass and bird island basin pass and I dont remember the exact price). Not sure how much camping on the beach is though, maybe $8?

If you leave at 7 in the morning and leave at sunset that would be more than plenty of time. 4th of july is prob a zoo so I probably would not go there then.

I might be more inclined to go to bob wentz park at windy point which has a beach (lots of pebbles) because of the low water levels.

[LindaGrace]

Be warned that some of the hotels/motels on Port A have a 2-night minimum stay in place on most weekends during the summer.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by justanothercalifornian

We don't have the moola for overnight lodging but we want to play in the sand with the kids. Can we do Port A in just one day? Is the drive just too far for that?

Just wanted to add a few more things. I would prob just stay in corpus, hotels are cheaper than in Port A it is a pretty quick drive to north padre island - 15 minutes, and an additional 15 to port A. There is lots to do in corpus as well. Here are some rates that people have gotten through priceline over time

3* Radisson Hotel Corpus Christi Beach (Downtown) 3/3 - 3/6 $61 *(topic)
3* Corpus Christi - Radisson at $60/night 12/27 - 12/30 *(topic)
3* Corpus Christi Courtyard By Marriott $55 12/5/08 *(topic)
2* Best Western Marina Grand Corpus Christi Beach 8/30-9/1 $75 *(topic)
2* Bahia Mar Suites Corpus Christi-North Padre Island 7/19 $81 *(topic)
3* Omni Bayfront/Marina Corpus Christi Beach 4/19/08 $66*(topic)
2* La Quinta Inn Corpus Christi North $41 12/28-29/07*(topic)
3* Corpus Christi Omni $75 (10/06)*(topic)
cheaper than travelzoo!*(reply)
3* Corpus Christi Omni $75 9-12 1 night 2 rooms*(topic)
2* Corpus Christi - Beach: Bayfront Plaza for 6/28-29 @ $48*(topic)
3* Corpus Christi Omni on 7/13-15 @ $80 Accepted*(topic)
2* BayFront Plaza Corpus Christi Beach $48 accepted 6/30/07*(topic)
2* Extended Stay Deluxe Corpus Cristi 3/28/07 $44*(topic)
2* Corpus Christi North - La Quinta $35 2/12/07*(topic)
2* CORPUS CHRISTI Extended Stay Deluxe $40 2/4/07*(topic)
Corpus Christi Best Western Marina*(reply)
Re: Corpus Christi 2* 12/06/06-12/07/06 32.00BestwesternMari*(reply)

[mimimomx3]

Try Volente beach! There's sand, and it's a lot closer. Not technically a beach, but with a little imagination....
Volente Beach Waterpark