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A Relaxing South Padre Island Vacation for What Ails You

Last updated Jun 19, 2022 | Published on Feb 2, 2021

Waves crash on the beach, lulling me into a sleepy daze. I tuck a loose tendril of hair under my sun hat but it’s a fruitless gesture. Wind whips my hair free again and threatens to blow over the beach umbrella that I set up halfheartedly an hour ago. It’s not a bad spot to enjoy a lazy South Padre Island vacation.

Curled up on a sandy blanket, I resume reading the romance paperback that I borrowed from the condo’s laundry room facility. The book is called called The Duchess by Danielle Steele and the plot is so ridiculous that I can’t help but laugh out loud periodically. Thankfully, the beach is fairly deserted today and no one is near enough to hear. It’s a great place to enjoy the outdoors in a responsible socially-distanced manner.

Suddenly a man jogs up out of nowhere, yelling and gesticulating towards the blanket where I’m seated. After an awkward moment passes, I realize that our umbrella is about to take flight and launch itself into the air. I grab onto the naughty umbrella before it can escape and sheepishly thank my helpful neighbor.

Photo of the beach with the waves in the distance. My bare feet are all I can see in front of me.

My view of the beach from our blanket

Beach blanket weighted down with our belongings so the wind doesn't blow it away. A beach umbrella is set up next to it.

The naughty umbrella before it blew over

Welcome to South Padre Island

South Padre Island is a long narrow strip of land on a barrier island that is lined with condos and hotels. My husband Daniel and I arrived on South Padre Island in mid-November 2020. We’d been traveling more-or-less nonstop in our motorhome across the United States for the past four months on our Great American Road Trip.

But it was time for a break. A surge of Coronavirus cases was sweeping the country and it didn’t seem like a good time to be traveling.

So we drove south from San Antonio to South Padre Island, Texas – one of the best Texas beach towns and also just about the southernmost point in the state. We found a great deal on a condo with an ocean view and booked it for an entire month.

While I love our RV (which is called “Appa”), it is an awfully small space for two people to live in continuously. Our motorhome is great for traveling around in but it is only 21-feet long and it is not tall enough for Daniel to stand up all the way (unless he’s positioned under the skylight). The condo was a refreshing change of pace for our vacation on South Padre Island.

A gorgeous view of sunrise from our condo patio. The epitome of a South Padre Island vacation.

The view from our condo patio at sunrise

A little table and 2 chairs are set up on the deck facing the ocean, bathed in morning sunlight. A perfect way to spend a South Padre Island vacation.

A nice place to sit in the morning and contemplate life. By 11:00 am the deck is covered with shade.

View of the beach from the deck.

The living room in the condo that we rented for our South Padre Island vacation

The living room in the condo that we rented for our South Padre Island vacation

Condo has a beachy feel. This place is a lot more comfortable than living in our RV.

A Great Place to Go When You’re Feeling Tired

There’s not a lot to do on South Padre Island (during the height of the pandemic anyway) and that suited me just fine. I was tired and didn’t really have the energy to do much anyway.  I still feel fatigued sometimes due to my bout with Coronavirus in March 2020. I didn’t even feel like blogging, which is unusual for me. So I decided to just lean into it and take a South Padre Island vacation.

We had a lovely view of the beach from our patio. I loved leaving the door on our patio open and letting the ocean breezes sweep through the apartment. If we had to lay low because of the Coronavirus, this seemed like a good way to go about it.

Moody clouds reflect light from the sunset in the water at the beach on South Padre Island

Why leave the condo when you can see the beach from the deck?

Beach Strolling – the Preferred South Padre Island Vacation Activity

Daniel and I didn’t leave the condo very often during our visit to South Padre Island because of the pandemic. When we did go out, our primary activity was strolling the beach.

On our first evening, we took off our shoes and rushed to dip our feet into the water. It was so good to feel sand under our toes again! We noticed some gelatinous purply-bluish creatures strewn all over the beach but didn’t think very much of them.

We later learned that these creatures are Portuguese man o’ war – which are highly venomous. Daniel and I stayed out of the water after that.

Walking the short path from the condo to the beach

Daniel takes a photo of the beach at the junction where the path meets the beach.

We have arrived at the beach!

Daniel dips his toes in the ocean

Daniel dips his toes in the ocean

A Portuguese man o’ war. We stayed out of the water after learning how venomous these guys are.

A tiny crab about the same color as the sand.

Sand crab! These little guys are everywhere and very hard to see.

A man standing in the water next to his fishing pole

Fishing is a favorite activity along the beach.

Daniel looks out at the ocean as he stands right at the water's edge

Daniel contemplates life

Moonrise on the beach at South Padre Island

Moonrise on the beach at South Padre Island

The End of the Road

On one of the few times that Daniel and I left the apartment, we drove to the End of the Road. The town of South Padre Island actually only occupies the southern-most tip the entire island. Most of the island (and Padre Island to the north) is undeveloped. So we drove north along the island’s main road until we ran out of pavement and parked next to a sand dune

This area is affectionately known as “The End of the Road” and is a popular place to visit. There are no buildings or businesses here – nothing but miles of sand and ocean. Driving on the beach is also allowed here (it’s not allowed on the city’s main beach except by lifeguards and other city officials).

A road dead ends into a sand dune

The end of the road on South Padre island

Appa is also enjoying our South Padre Island vacation while parked next to a sand dune

Appa parked at the End of the Road

A selfie photo with Daniel and me

Cheesing it up

Nothing says South Padre Island vacation like walking along the beach

Walking along the beach at the End of the Road

The beach here is packed down and covered with tire tracks

Cars are allowed on the beach along in this area

My South Padre Island vacation selfie with a new beach hat!

Beach selfie!

An odd spot for a chair

Isla Blanca Park and SpaceX Starship Launch

Daniel and I visited Isla Blanca Park on the southern-most tip of the island a few times in an attempt to watch the Space-X SN8 rocket launch. More details about our experience watching the rocket launch are available in the following blog post: Mars or Bust: Watching the SpaceX Starship Launch from South Padre Island.

El Cristo de los Pescadores (Christ of the fishermen) memorial on Isla Blanca Park

Daniel holds a cup of coffee on the beach at Isla Blanca Park. Its a great way to enjoy a relaxing South Padre Island vacation.

Daniel strolls along the beach at Isla Blanca Park

More Information and Resources

Planning your own trip to South Padre Island? Check out the following books for more inspiration:

Where are we now?

Daniel and I stand on the beach in South Padre Island, Texas

We are in South Padre Island, Texas!

Dates: November 15-December 15, 2020
Great American Road Trip Status: Days 134-164

Starting Location: San Antonio, Texas
Ending Location: South Padre Island, Texas
Miles Traveled: 287.9
Total Trip Mileage: 9073.4

For more details on our Great America (Socially Distanced) Road Trip, see my previous posts:

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Hi, I'm Unicorn!

I am an avid hiker, traveler, and adventurer who is on the mission to explore hiking trails around the world.  I’m also obsessed with National Parks, long-distance trails and other outdoorsy things.

I hope to share this knowledge with you and inspire you to explore new hiking trails too!

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