SAN JUAN

Population 1,796

Altitude 5

General

Incorporated n 1973, small resort town is on the southern tip of storied Padre island just across Laguna Madre, the bay separating the island from the mainland. Access via free causeway on Park Road 100. Visitors find wide range of accommodations from campgrounds and family motels to high-rise luxury hotels and condo rentals, marinas and seaside cottages. Restaurants feature fresh seafood harvested daily from the gulf.

South Padre is known for its water sorts, including jet skiing; bay, surf and deep-sea fishing; parasailing, sailing, and windsurfing. Other island activities include bicycling, tennis, shelling, and horseback riding on the beach.

The South Padre Island Tourist Bureau provides detailed information about accommodations, activities and events related to boating, sailing, fishing, and seashore recreation. Open Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat. - Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Padre Blvd., a half-mile north of the causeway at 600 Padre Blvd. Telephone 210-761-6433 or 1-800-343-2368 U.S. and Canada.

PAN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY COASTAL STUDIES LABORATORY

SEA TURTLE, INC

Attractions

FISHING - Is available form the beach, piers, and jetties where catches may include redfish, speckled and sand trout, sheepshead, flounder, croakers, skipjack, and drum. Group boats provide bay and deep-sea fishing for full or half days, charter cruisers available for individual or small-party offshore sport. Offshore species may include tarpon, sailfish, marlin, kingfish, mackerel, ling, pompano, bonito, red snapper, warsaw, and wahoo. marinas provide fuel, bait, tackle, launching ramps, and boat rentals. Small boats with guides available for bay fishing.
ISLA BLANCA PARK - County park offers group camping area, cabanas, fishing and swimming in the Gulf. At the island's southern tip; fees.
ISLAND EQUESTRIAN - Take a romantic horseback ride along secluded beaches while savoring the beauty of miles of sand dunes encrusted with sea oats and beach morning glory along the Gulf of Mexico and Laguna Madre. Horses usually available from sunrise to sunset. just north of town on Padre Boulevard.
PADRE ISLAND - The long, narrow sand island sweeps in a golden arc north some 110 miles to Corpus Christi. Modern hotels and motels edge several miles of the Gulf at the island's southern tip. Farther north, the island is entirely natural - sand dunes, sea oats, and beach morning glory. (There is no bridge or ferry between South and North Padre.) Beautiful, gently sloping beaches are perfect for swimming and surf fishing. Beachcombers will find bright shells, perhaps floats from the West Indies, driftwood, and occasionally flint point of the Karankawa Indians who roamed the area.
PAN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY COASTAL STUDIES LABORATORY - Marine life and representative examples of the region, both from the Gulf and Laguna Madre; fish, mollusks, plants; extensive seashell collection. Open Sun. to Thur. 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. In Isla Blanca Park at south tip of Padre Island.
SEA TURTLE, INC. - Living museum of the "Turtle Lady", La Loetshcr. Educational shows featuring endangered sea turtles given on Tues. and Sat. at 9 a.m. during the summer, 10 a.m. other seasons. At 5805 Gulf Blvd. Admission is charged.

Back to Main | Advertiser's Index | City Index