South Padre Island is an island that is located on the Texas Gulf. The island is bordered by two bodies of water, the Gulf of Mexico and Laguna Madre Bay, and it features a number of beaches. There are many things to do for people who go to South Padre Island on spring break, including outdoor activities such as fishing, snorkeling and horseback riding, and indoor activities such as shopping and going to clubs and bars.
In South Padre Island, there are often special activities for spring break, such as beach parties, pub crawls, fashion shows and outdoor concerts. Many of these activities are centered in areas around Coca Cola Beach and the Isla Beach Resort during spring break.
There are a number of companies that provide cruises and opportunities to engage in water activities all year long. The Beach Service of South Padre Island rents equipment for a number of activities, including jet skiing and kayaking. It also offers banana boat rides. Sonny's Beach Service rents boogie boards and inner tubes and also offers a number of tours, including dolphin watches in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The company also provides chances to go snorkeling and scuba diving, deep sea fishing and parasailing. Isla Tours is another company that gives people a chance to go on dolphin-watching tours as well as fireworks, party and deep-sea fishing cruises. There are a number of fishing and deep sea fishing expeditions that offer opportunities to go out with experienced guides that have been operating their companies for 20 or more years, including SPI Bayfishing Charters, Happytide Charters and Captain Murphy's Deep Sea and Bay Fishing.
South Padre Island Kiteboarding and Windsurf Inc. are companies that offer equipment and lessons for kiteboarding. Windsurf Inc. also offers windsurfing lessons and equipment. Another activity that people can do on the beach is horseback riding. A company called "Horses on the Beach" offers guided horseback-riding tours along the beaches near Laguna Madre Bay. A number of companies, including the Sons of the Beach Sandcastle Wizards and Amazin' Walter, offer lessons on how to build sculptured sandcastles.
The Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark is located near the Gulf of Mexico. The park features a surfing machine, uphill water coasters and tube chutes. Located on the Laguna Madre Nature Trail, the South Padre Island and Birding Center is a 50-acre center that provides habitats for a number of birds. This includes Dune meadows and salt marsh, which people can see as they walk through the center's nature trails.
There are a number of bars and clubs where people 21 and older can drink and sometimes dance and engage in other activities. Located at the Surf Motel, Boomerang Billy's is an open-air beach bar that features its own pool, volleyball courts and live-music venue. Club Pelican West is a live-music club with two dance floors that features concerts and dance parties with live bands. Tequila Sunset is an open-air bar that offers live music and outside dancing as well as water sports. PadreRock is a lounge where one can dance, listen to live music on certain days and sing karaoke on other days.
On South Padre Island, there are a number of different gift shops, boutiques and other stores. Surfs Up, Inc. and Ocean Motion Beachwear are stores that sell designer men's and women's clothes, surfing clothing and equipment and apparel with beach designs. Cactus Flower is a gift and collectible shop where one can find wedding bouquets, antiques, pieces of furniture and a number of other items. One Particular Harbor is a gift shop where people can find unusual items such as hand-carved statues from Thailand and Bali, Art Deco lamps, hammered-tin wall items from Haiti, fossil watches, miniature lighthouses and hand-carved wooden ships.
