Corpus Christi vacation---any ideas?

[rainbow4321]

My kids and I are going down there the beginning of March for their spring break/my 40th bday-midlife crisis kinda getaway. Any suggestions for tourist/fun stuff to do? How about hotels? We'll have 4-5 days there. I was wanting a hotel near water/lake/bay and close to whatever there is to visit.
Thanks!!

:bounce: :bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

[Coventina]

1. According to my husband: Go somewhere else

That's his opinion, though.
I've never been there.

He went there for work and didn't like it at all.

[Castilleja]

26. Aww, it is not that bad here........

Getting better, I think. But it is not very cosmopolitan here, and if you are a major party animal it may seem dull, but people are nice and the weather is usually good.

[crispini]

2. Go to the Padre Island national seashore there.

I like to go down and camp on the beach. Also there is a bird sanctuary nearby. Port Aransas is a nice little town with a few good bars.

Honestly, I go down there every year or two, but now that I think about it, I don't do a damn thing but camp out, swim, drink, lie on the beach, and read. Oh, and watch birds.

You can probably find a condo to rent for that long for cheaper than a hotel, I would think.... if you get one with a kitchen then you can cook your own food instead of going out to eat all the time.

Corpus Christi itself -- I mostly tend to drive through it on the way to Mustang Island. :)

[rainbow4321]

4. Hmmm...looks like Corpus is not the place to go...

judging from the responses I am getting...guess we will go to South Padre instead. Never been there but I hear it is nice! Our spring break is earlier then most places so maybe it won't be too crowded!!

[crispini]

13. Important point. As made below,

SOUTH Padre Island is not the same as Padre Island. ;)

[Les BOOGIE]

3. Holiday Inn Emerald Beach is on the bay, the others on the bay

are across the street from the bay. All the hotels on the island have a seawall so you don't just walk outside to the beach. Better idea: go to south Padre Island and get a hotel on the beach.....or go to Pensacola FL

[Princess Buttercup]

5. Corpus is fun

I was just there in January. The Texas State Aquarium is fun for kids (and adults). They have touch tanks where kids can pick up sea urchins and touch sharks and rays (small non-dangerous ones). They have dolphins, sea turtles, and otters. They do a lot of rehabilitation work with injured animals.

The Lexington aircraft carrier is right by the Aquarium. You can tour the carrier. It has an IMAX theater too.

There are hotels and a beach near the Aquarium and Lexington.

On the other side of the big bridge is the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History. Sounds boring, but they have some interesting exhibits, especially the replicas of the Columbus ships.

I don't know how old your kids are but there is a nice playscape facing the bay as you drive along whatever the street is that runs by the seawall. It's kind of near a monument to the people who died in the 1919 hurricane, I think. It's a huge playscape. My kids loved it.

Hope that helps!

LE

[Longhorn]

6. The beach is nicer at South Padre and it will be warmer.

At South Padre, you can go to the Schlitterbahn water resort and there are harbor tours to take you out to see dolphins. You can also go to Mexico for the day. Other than that and the beach, there isn't that much for families to do in South Padre, in my opinion.

Corpus, as already mentioned, has the Aquarium and the Lexington. There is a Holiday Inn right on the beach on North Padre Island, or there was a few years ago. Also, Corpus isn't that far a drive from San Antonio which has LOTS of fun things to do. In fact, unless you're absolutely crazy about going to the beach, I'd go to San Antonio over just about any place in Texas. Or base your trip in SA and go down to Corpus for an overnight to enjoy the beach.

Another choice to consider is Galveston. Though the beach isn't as nice as South Padre and maybe not even as nice as Corpus, there is lots to do in Galveston, including the Moody Gardens, the Strand, historical homes, a great seawall, harbor boat tours, etc. And it's just an hour from Houston and even closer to the Johnson Space Center (NASA) at Clear Lake.

I live outside of Austin, by the way, and have lived in Texas since 1971. My kids are now grown (20 to 25) but most of our vacations were taken in Texas. In fact, we spent a long weekend in Galveston just last August before our son, a Marine, left for a two-year assignment in Japan.

Have fun!

[Les BOOGIE]

7. at South Padre you can go to the convention center where the

pier goes out over the shallow bay. There is the lighthouse and another museum in Port Isabel. You can ride horses, rent wave runners and there are lots of good restaurants. There is a Confederate Air Force Museum at the Brownsville Airport.

[Les BOOGIE]

31. if you go to S. Padre, skip Kelly's Irish Pub, they've got some

clown whining about it being a Locals Only place

[2bfree]

8. How old are the kids and what sort of stuff do you like to do?

If you stay in the down town area there are several museums on one side of the bridge and you can take a water taxi to the other side where there is the Lexington and the Aquarium both are good, there are some nice resturants down town as well. I would stay at the Holiday Inn (it is called the Emerald Beach)because it is right on the water and next to a nice beach. Some of the bayfront is under construction though. I think the hotel next to the Lexinton is the Radison on North Beach.

[Frogtutor]

9. I love going to Corpus (Port Aransas), and I think it's better than

S. Padre! Sure, there's more tourist type stuff to do in S. Padre, but almost everything is very expensive including decent hotel rooms and restaurants. The last time we went to S. Padre (two years ago), the water was full of jellyfish! I never even got in. But last year we went to Port Aransas and didn't have any jellyfish problems. In all fairness, this may be a seasonal thing, but it was about the same time of year, so I don't know. Not to mention that from Fort Worth (where we live) it's an additional 5 hour drive on top of the 4 hour drive to Corpus Christi. Just not worth it in my opinion.
At Port Aransas the Padre National Seashore is a wonderful national park. There's a visitor's center with lots of cool information on history and the biology/ecology of the area. If you're lucky, you can get in on a sea turtle hatchling release! I wanted to do this SO badly last summer, but the turtles weren't on the same time schedule as we were...You can drive as far as your car (especially if it's 4WD) can take you down the beach, but there's also a section closed to vehicle traffic which is nice.
Also, the State Aquarium is in Corpus Christi. I thought this was very cool; wonderful animal exhibits and shows.
There is also an aircraft carrier you can tour; it's the U.S.S. Lexington. It has great museum type exhibits all contained within the actual ship. Pretty cool, especially for the guys!
You can also take fishing trips, dolphin watch tours, and horseback riding excursions.
Honestly, I've never looked for activities for younger kids because mine is 12 and happy to play on the beach and in the surf, but there's probably way more to do than I know about.
Ever since our trip to Port Aransas last summer, I have no desire to ever go to S. Padre again!

Have fun!

[crispini]

12. Oh, man, your post confused the crap out of me,

Until I realized that you were talking about SOUTH Padre Island, which is indeed waaaaay further south. But Padre Island starts just south of Mustang Island, across the bay from Corpus.

Viola, a map: :)

[Frogtutor]

14. lol; yeah, it's a really looooong island...

longest barrier island in the world, I think. I guess I probably meant Mustang Island in parts of my post, but the park is called Padre National Seashore, so, :shrug:?

[Frogtutor]

10. I think some people are confusing Galveston with Corpus...

I noticed people have mentioned the sea wall, and the hurricane of 1900 (?). These are in Galveston NOT Corpus Christi! Corpus is not much different than S. Padre as far as landscape goes; no sea wall, easy beach access, etc.

[Les BOOGIE]

16. visit Holiday Inn and check out the sea wall, you don't just walk

out the hotel onto the beach

[Frogtutor]

20. ok, my mistake! I was thinking more about Port Aransas...

but, I have still never noticed a sea wall in Corpus. Admittedly, we spend more time in Port Aransas, though, especially for going to the beach. I just remember Galveston's sea wall being really obtrusive, with little or no beach at all.

:)

[Castilleja]

24. On the beach in Corpus, the seawall causes

the beach to erode much faster in that area in front of the hotel, I bet it does the same in Galveston.

[2bfree]

17. Ummm.........have you ever been to CC?

http://www.corpus-homes.com/corpus_christi_tour.htm

They have a sea wall, a really nice one. You can check it out here.

[Frogtutor]

19. Umm, yeah, or else I wouldn't have posted about it

Just don't remember seeing a sea wall anywhere I visited. Have to admit, though, we probably spend more time on the ocean side of the island, around Port Aransas. And, since Port Aransas is not far from Corpus, I still say going to Corpus is better than going to S. Padre, in my opinion.

:)

[2bfree]

23. Didn't mean to be so snarky..........

But the sea wall is a big part of CC, it is really nice and is right by the downtown area, if you were in CC don't see how you could have missed it (unless of course you didn't go to the water there). CC is not on the island and is about an hour away from Port Aransas (both directions) so you may have some of that confused. Port A is great isn't it!

[Frogtutor]

27. I'm sorry, too

You know where the Lexington is? It's close to some of the hotels there, and I don't remember a sea wall right in that area...I mean, could be I just wasn't paying attention, but we walked from one of those hotels down to the ship, and the beach is right there, too...
:shrug:?
Yes, I do love Port Aransas; I decided last summer that I would rather go there than South Padre anytime. It doesn't seem like it's that far from Corpus Christi, though; an hour? I guess time flies when you're having fun!
:)

[2bfree]

30. The sea wall is on the other side of the bridge.

It runs from the art museum to Cole park.

[Castilleja]

25. S. Padre will probably be much much busier

The beach in Port Aransas is nice, too.

[BrightKnight]

34. The sand on South Padre Island is much whiter. - n/t

[alarimer]

29. It is under repair right now

The seawall was actually designed by the guy that built Mount Rushmore but it has developed some cracks so they are shoring it up. traffic is being diverted in the downtown area so I domn't know how much of it is accessible right now. You can't still get to the T-heads and the L-heads (where Landry's is) but it is not really tourist-friendly at the moment.

[Frogtutor]

11. sorry; dupe n/t

[alarimer]

15. I would avoid the beach either at North or South Padre Island

at Spring Break especially since I hate crowds!! S. Padre will be the worst. Since it is so close to Mexico, college kids go down there because the drinking age in Mexico is 18. There will probably be a lot more drunken shenanigans at S. Padre than in Port Aransas. The cops up here anyway are stricter. I don't know exactly when spring break officially starts so I suppose you might miss the crowds if you come earlier.

[2bfree]

18. If you do go to CC..............

You should check out Rockport, about 30 minutes north of CC on the water. It is a quiet little town with a great beach for little ones (it is on the bay so no big waves). Nice shopping and art galleries and a maritime museum.


http://www.rockport-fulton.org/

[easyreader]

21. Some suggestions

If you're feeling adventurous and don't mind camping, there's a part of the beach where you can camp. They keep it pretty clean and it's mostly other families camping, so you don't have to deal with all of the muscle shirt wearing locals doing donuts in their trucks.

The aquarium is pretty nice too. They have a dolphin show and some pretty neat exhibits. Also, the art museum across the bridge from the aquarium is nice. There's also a natural history museum with replica's of the Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria, that are on loan from Spain.

If you want to stay in a hotel, you might want to go to Port Aransas and stay at the Tarpon Inn. It's got a great restaurant and that beach is generally not as crowded as the one closer to the causeway. It's also fun to take the ferry from Port A over to Ingelside. Dolphins swim next to you while you cross with your car.

Good luck!

[silverlib]

22. Holiday Inn - Emerald Beach

It is not posh, but lots of fun for the kids - indoor pool, hot tub and games. This is great, as it may be to cold to get in the water at the beach. It does have it's own beach, so you win either way.

For posh, this can't be beat -

http://www.port-royal.com/

and it is really quite reasonable.

[bearfan454]

28. Go fishing n/t

[jandrok]

32. We went to CC last summer....

And had a great time. We stayed at the Radisson right next to the USS Lexington, and within walking distance to the Texas State Aquarium. Great fun, beautiful water, and a relaxing time. We're going back this summer, but we'll probably try to rent a beach house for a week.

[Ilsa]

33. The only problem with South Padre Island is the MTV crowd and

Spring breakers. I never wnat to be there for that much activity.

The beach is prettier at SPI, but it's a long drive.

I like going to CC when I can. The beach and water isn't as pretty, but I think there is more to do in CC than SPI. Also, my favorite place to eat is George's on Friday and Saturday nights because they offer a wonderful and delicious Greek food menu then. Otherwise, it is an excellent pizzeria.

I would recommend finding a condo on the island versus staying at the hotels along South Padre Island Drive. That area is congested with commuters and franchise restaurants, shops, malls, etc.

Holiday Inn Emerald Beach has alot to do, according to a friend who stayed there recently.

Have fun! The water will still be cool.

[Czolgosz]

35. Here's what you do:

You get a condo on the beach (Mustang Island) or a bed and breakfast
in Corpus Christi (if you are set on a hotel, the Omni Bayfront -- not the Omni Marina -- is the nicest).

When you want to go swimming, surfing, fishing, you take the ferry to St. Joseph's Island (a 5 minute ferry ride from Port Aransas -- there are no cars on St. Joe's).

The kids will love the aquarium, kite flying or wind surfing (depending on their age) at Oleander Point.

When you get hungry, there are great restaurants in Port Aransas, Corpus Christi, Rockport.

Whatever you do, don't go to South Padre Island during March (unless you are there to film or star in a Girls Gone Wild video).

I live in Corpus and turned 40 last week so I sympathize. I can give you more details if you want.

[Paladin]

36. The One Essential Meal in Corpus.........

...isn't seafood (although there are some good seafood places). It's Frank's Spaghetti House on Leopard Street. It's been there for decades, and the food is fabulous. Highly recommended.....

[Czolgosz]

37. Mama Mia's is also good for Italian as is Luciano's as well as the

Venetian Hot Plate in Port A.

[cloud75]

38. go to spi n/t