U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-28-2010, 07:10 PM
 
2 posts, read 49,557 times
Reputation: 13

Advertisements

We've spent the past few summer vacations in Port Aransas and have enjoyed them but...I'm wondering if the South Padre Island beaches are really any nicer. I'd really like to avoid tar on our belongings and this seems to be common place for Port A also wondering about sand and water. Is it really any clearer?
Since my kids are horrible road trip passengers I'm wondering if the extra drive from Austin is even worth it vs the shorter drive to Port A.
Thanks for any feedback!
~b
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-28-2010, 07:27 PM
 
Location: Austin,Tx
1,694 posts, read 3,547,737 times
Reputation: 709
South Padre beaches are nice my parents have a place down there I haven't been to Port A in a long time

South Padre Island - Be Yourself

South Padre Island, Texas Chamber of Commerce
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-28-2010, 07:35 PM
 
7,730 posts, read 14,707,978 times
Reputation: 4284
Quote:
Originally Posted by baaar View Post
We've spent the past few summer vacations in Port Aransas and have enjoyed them but...I'm wondering if the South Padre Island beaches are really any nicer. I'd really like to avoid tar on our belongings and this seems to be common place for Port A also wondering about sand and water. Is it really any clearer?
Since my kids are horrible road trip passengers I'm wondering if the extra drive from Austin is even worth it vs the shorter drive to Port A.
Thanks for any feedback!
~b
south padre island beaches and water are definitely nicer. South padre water is often times blue (not clear, but still nice). I personally dont think it is worth the extra drive on a regular basis, but if you havent been there you should go at least once.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-28-2010, 10:24 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
2,102 posts, read 4,451,908 times
Reputation: 2737
If you're willing to drive a little farther, northern Florida has better beaches than anything I've been to in Texas on the Gulf Coast. But, if you're going to stay in Texas, South Padre Island has the best beaches.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-29-2010, 10:09 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 48,099,572 times
Reputation: 9474
I agree, North Florida has much nicer beaches and cleaner water. See photos.

Panoramio - Untitled photo

Panoramio - Photo of West of Destin pass

It is however a 735 mile drive. Could be worth it if you stay for several days.

South Padre's beaches and water are a little nicer then Port A, but I did not care for the community and restaurants as much. If your kids don't do well on long boring road trips, then the trip is probably not worth it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-29-2010, 01:24 PM
 
2 posts, read 49,557 times
Reputation: 13
Thanks for the feedback, I would imagine that FLA has much prettier beaches. I was just trying to compare these 2 particular TX beach options.
Thanks again, the opinions have helped me decide.
~b
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-29-2010, 01:29 PM
 
Location: Austin,Tx
1,694 posts, read 3,547,737 times
Reputation: 709
South Padre Beach
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-29-2010, 05:59 PM
 
Location: somewhere in Texas
535 posts, read 1,251,635 times
Reputation: 524
We are originally from the Gulf Coast Florida area so we are very familiar with nice beaches.

Although we have not been to South Padre (we also have a kid that hates being in the car for long periods of time) we have found that we enjoy the North Padre/Mustang Island area better than we do Port Aransus.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-30-2010, 09:59 AM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,329 posts, read 17,720,169 times
Reputation: 5529
Quote:
Originally Posted by Austin97 View Post
south padre island beaches and water are definitely nicer. South padre water is often times blue (not clear, but still nice). I personally dont think it is worth the extra drive on a regular basis, but if you havent been there you should go at least once.
Agree about the drive. We always go to Port A or Galveston.

How do the beaches compare? We have 8 hours more free time than those who spend most of the first and last day on the road travelling while we're already in the waves. And I don't consider the perceived better quality (debatable anyway) of S. Padre to be worth the extra drive time.

Anyplace along Mustang Island, Port A, even N. Padre along the seawall make nice short weekend trips for the kids. They've never once, ever, complained or said "isn't there a place with bluer water and a better beach". They don't even think about it because they're having a great time.

Steve
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-30-2010, 10:18 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
99 posts, read 184,962 times
Reputation: 151
I agree that Northern Florida (and Florida in general) has nicer beaches/sand and water than do any beaches in Texas, but does anyone know why that is? This question has been bothering me for like a century. Northern Florida, for one, is closer to the mouth of the Mississippi River, so one would think the water would be cloudier. But instead, Northern Florida waters and sand look tropical, even though that part of Florida definitely doesn't have a tropical climate.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2023, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top