South Padre Island, Texas!

I have been dying to post about my new favorite place for quite some time but life gets in the way. I have also been torn on whether to make one post or two separate posts - because we went to SPI, Texas first as a couple and then as a family! Bruce and I had so much fun just the two of us and the trip was incredibly romantic for a couple’s getaway… but we found ourselves saying the entire time that we wished the kids were there and the kids would love this or that. So we went back again the next summer with the whole family (and then we kept saying it was easier just the two of us haha!). Believe it or not, this is not only a popular spring break destination for wild college fun - it is an incredible little island for a family or romantic getaway too! Just don’t go during the spring break time of the year. Both times we went were in the summer and it was awesome.

Whether you want to visit the island as a couple on a romantic getaway or as a family, I still love SPI for either vacation. We stayed at two different resorts and have strong opinions on where we will stay next time (because yes we are going back!) and some recommendations on food and fun, so buckle up your golf cart for the ride!

Getting There

SPI is an island but it’s connected to the mainland by a bridge. By the way, this is my favorite kind of island! Both times that we have vacationed here it has been a stop on a larger vacation to visit friends in Texas. But, if you want to fly in there are 3 different airports that you can fly into within an hour and a half of the island (McAllen International Airport is 1 1/2 hours away, Valley International Airport is an hour away, and Brownsville International Airport is 30 minutes away). The flight prices for these 3 airports differ GREATLY so if you’re flying in, make sure to do your research!

However you choose to get to South Padre Island, the drive in over the bridge is one of my favorite parts. The first trip, when it was just myself and my now husband (at the time we were pretty newly dating), we came over the bridge just as the sun was setting and it was MAGIC. I couldn’t help but feel giddy watching the sky change as we cruised into the island. The second time, when we took the kids, we arrived in the early afternoon and that was cool too because the kids got to see that beautiful aqua water and skyline knowing they had a full day of fun ahead!

Where to Stay

There are several places to stay on the island from hotels to condos to rental houses. As I mentioned before, we stayed at different resorts each time we went so those are what I will cover. We have talked about getting one of the rental homes next time for more space but they are mostly on the bay side of the island and we love staying right on the beach. There’s nothing better than that ocean view and walking right from your room out onto the beach!

The first resort we stayed at is actually the reason that I booked the first trip in the first place. I don’t remember how I got down the rabbit hole of an internet search but I found the Isla Grand Beach Resort online and couldn’t believe how reasonable the prices were for being a beach front resort. We decided to take a chance and book it. The second time, Bruce wanted to try something different and we booked the resort directly next door - The Pearl. I’ll give you the pros and cons of each but spoiler alert - we absolutely loved the Isla Grand and we would never stay at The Pearl again - however your experience might not be the same.

Isla Grand Resort

As I mentioned, when Bruce and I went just the two of us we booked the Isla Grand - I was a little overwhelmed by the different room options and so I did a LOT of research and we both talked and thought about it quite a bit. In the end we booked one of the Pool View Cabanas and we were SO happy with that choice once we got there. They also have a high rise building with condos that look out over the ocean and I’ve seen photos of those views which are pretty incredible. They have cabanas that are further out closer to the actual beach as well. Our cabana looked out directly over the pool and gardens, was close to the beach as well and we were able to park directly behind it so it was truly the best call for us. The room we had was pretty small and not very modern but it was perfect for the two of us and we were comfortable there for what very little time we actually ended up spending in there.

By the time we had checked in it was dark which made everything feel even more magical. We walked into our room and straight to the slider door to the patio to open it up - I was mesmerized! The resort pool area is super cool lit up at night and there’s a couple of bars and a live music stage all right there within walking distance. It didn’t take us long to get down there and check it all out.

Arriving at our pool view cabana at Isla Grand Resort!

Somehow I didn’t get a whole lot of pictures of the resort during the day, I guess we were too busy having fun! The ones I do have are all drinks, and pools and beaches and palm trees though, my favorite things ever.

The pros for the Isla Grand were pretty much everything - fun environment, comfortable enough, great location, everything functioned as it was supposed to, beautiful pools, beach bars, live music every night. The nightlife was super fun with an indoor bar with live music and the outdoor stage as well. The one con would be that the in-hotel restaurant sucked (at the time we stayed there at least). In my opinion stay there and visit the other many awesome eateries on the island!

The Pearl

When we went back to SPI last summer with the whole family it was part of a bigger vacation, our one dream family trip while we still had all 3 kids home, RIGHT before Kiley shipped off for basic training. Because of that Bruce wanted to splurge a little extra and he wanted to try the resort next door to the Isla which looked a little fancier and had higher prices but a more boujee pool and a better restaurant, or so we thought (the Land Shark). So we booked that and while I will say their pool is top notch, the rest of our stay there was incredibly disappointing and we ended up leaving early. I believe that the rooms they show online are their newly remodeled rooms but you don’t necessarily get one of those; we sure didn’t! We were cracking up because as we were riding up on the elevator to see our room for the first time, the doors opened on a different floor. It was so gorgeous I snapped a picture before the doors closed and the elevator headed up further to our actual floor. When the doors opened we were laughing so hard. It was older, darker, clearly not updated in any way and no resort feel to it. Our room was awful, the ceiling had several leaks, the tile floors were slippery, and part of the wall of the shower broke off while Kiley was in there! Customer service was non-existent and we started to understand why we had witnessed some people yelling at staff in the lobby. I had unfortunately also come down sick so we decided to cut our losses and end the SPI part of the trip early. It was a huge bummer but we still had a blast for the one night and two days we spent there and the kids are dying to go back again. I am definitely ready for redemption. All of the pictures I have to share from The Pearl are at the pool and we DID have an absolute blast there! Its really nice with a swim up bar which was part of our decision to book there in the first place.

The pros for The Pearl would mainly be the pool area and the swim up bar - its a great location as well situated at the south end of the island right next door to the Isla Grand. The cons were the poor customer service, the crappy rooms, not well kept up, much more difficult parking situation (a parking garage further from the hotel then the other experience we’d had where we could park right behind our room), water leaking issues, and the restaurant was also not great and overpriced. I do believe they have better rooms if you know what to ask for or insist on before staying.

What to do

Okay, now the fun part! Whether you go as a family or as a couple (or alone for a getaway?) and whether you drive or fly, regardless of your situation the best thing to do is plan ahead to budget for a golf cart. There are many places on the island that rent them and several right next door to the resorts. The prices are similar but do seem to get cheaper the further away from the resorts you get but ALSO we learned that you can usually negotiate a little bit too. The first time we went we only rented one for a few hours, the second time we went back we got it for the whole time we were there. I recommend the freedom of having it available for the entire trip but you can pick how to do that based on your budget and on what you want to do while you are on the island. No matter where you want to go though, you can get there on a golf cart - to the restaurants, shops, even the Whataburger drive though. You just can’t take them onto the beaches.

Alright, so you got your golf cart, now you are free to explore the island. There are tons of gift shops, restaurants, bars, even food trucks. Make sure to visit the bay side of the island (the part between the island and the mainland) for some awesome places to eat, live music, sand castles, a fair, and much more.

When Bruce and I went just the two of us we had a really fun night getting food and live music on the bay at Laguna BOBs and it was such a fun atmosphere. The band was playing covers of a lot of my favorite music and the food and views were great.

Beaches!

Now for the reason you came in the first place - the beaches! We spent an entire day boogie boarding on the beach both trips and it was the funnest part. You can buy boards at the local beach shops - overpriced but sometimes you can find them on sale. Both the Isla Grand and The Pearl are right on the beach and have easy access with a trail leading straight out. There are stands on the beach where you can pay for umbrella/chair set up and they tell you where to go. You can grab drinks and towels on your way down and enjoy the white sand and blue water! The water temperature there was around 80-85 degrees both times we went (the first year we went in August and the water was a little warmer than the second year when we went in July). The beaches are clean and just a short walk from the hotel. We also went out on the beach at night both trips, you’ll see lots of people out at night hunting for sand crabs.

There you have it! Let me know if you have any other questions about SPI and if you go there for a vacation yourself! We truly can’t wait to go back and I will definitely update if we do.

Jul 12 South Padre Island... your perfect island destination!