Three ladies, wanting to explore southern Texas (from Canada)...like good restaurants, shopping, scenery and sun/beaches....spending about 9 days...can someone suggest best itinerary for this area (or other suggestions)....? Thank you.

www.traveltex.com will send you free guidebooks. Also, the Fodor's Texas guidebook is very good.

Keep in mind that Texas beaches are NOT South Florida or Mexico. If you're expecting white sand and turquoise water, you will be disappointed.

When do you plan to come?

I live in Corpus and it's home and has great aspects, but I'd plan to spend most of my time in San Antonio--better shopping, more history, great restaurants. In San Antonio you can spend a whole day on the Riverwalk and find a myriad of shops, cafes, restaurants there. The Alamo will take a long morning; and if you like history, the other missions (national park service areas) are actually more interesting. There's a night life and an art community that's strong there, too, if you're into that. Plenty of malls, plenty of smaller shops, plenty of museums, big zoo, etc.

In Corpus there's a nice small aquarium and a big cool floating WWII museum, the USS Lexington. There's a lovely art museum and some other waterfront "stuff" and good fresh seafood. And good Mexican and barbecue, too!

Padre Island (no San) is remote and pristine, unless it's covered with sargasso, which I don't think it is right now. The beachy little towns of Port Aransas and Rockport are funky and nice.

ChristieP is right--they are NOT lovely beaches compared with most. It's the Gulf, not the Atlantic. Warmer, but dirtier. But still good beaches for walking on--and warmer than Canada!

So you didn't give much guidance about ages, interests, travel mode, timing, etc. Add some so we can be a bit more specific with details.

You've been given excellent recommendations by bookworm. I would second each of them, including spending most of your time in San Antonio.

When we visited Corpus we enjoyed touring the USS Lexington, but not so much the beach at Corpus. We drove over to Padre Island and enjoyed Malaquite Beach (by the Malaquite Visitor Center) one day and spent another day at Mustang Island and Port Aransas. We really enjoyed a dolphin tour out of Port Aransas, I'd recommend it.

Here's a link to a website about Padre Island National Seashore: www.nps.gov/pais

Just a note: Padre Island is not to be confused with South Padre Island. South Padre Island is about a two hour (?) drive from that area I believe. And you can't drive directly from Padre Island to South Padre Island. South Padre Island is the island that is more known for its beautiful beaches. As was stated earlier, the other beaches are not so pretty, although the beaches on Padre Island are superior to Corpus Christi's.

If you go to San Antonio, I'd also spend a day in Gruene - great little town with a fun restaurant The Grist Mill right on the river, lots of cute little stores, a dance hall with live music, a wine tasting room, place to buy antiques and get Bluebell ice cream. The Gruene Apple Inn is a wonderful B&B to stay in.
Huisache Grill is a really cute restaurant if you're near New Braunfels. In SA, we like Boudro's for tableside guacamole and margaritas. Definitely eat on the River Walk and take the little boat tour and visit the Alamo. We did a Segway tour that was fun, and the King William district is beautiful and historic. Guenther House is a cute spot for lunch.

Good comments above.

As to an itinerary, I'd spend about 4 days in San Antonio, 2 in Corpus (including North Padre Island and the towns tbw mentions), then 3 days on South Padre Island (which could include a day trip into Mexico).

Just to reiterate travelers comment - the beaches on South Padre are very nice with great sand and very blue waters. That's less true the further north you go (due to the effects of the counterclockwise Gulf currents from the mouth of the Miss. River). So if you want nice beaches, concentrate on South Padre Island.

Also avoid the South Padre Island in March, maybe early April unless you don't mind the mad house of Spring Breakers.

Like several of the others asked, when is your trip planned for? If you're driving from Canada then South Padre Island would be a great place for 2 to 3 nights. Great beaches, in fact, after Hurricane Dolly the beaches seem even more beautiful. I just got back from there last night. It was around 80 during days and low to mid 60's at night. Hotels are very affordable during the next couple of months. Unfortunately dining is rather limited, but enough variety for a couple of days. SPI is about a 4 1/2 hour drive from San Antonio, which definitely should be in your plans, as should a stop in Austin for a night or two. For shopping, the outlets outside San Marcos between Austin and S.A. should be a good 4 hour stop over. Also the Shops at La Cantera Shopping Center and also the Quarry, both in S.A. are very nice centers. Also shopping at funky shops on South Congress in Austin is nice and dining and drinking on East 6th Sreet just off of Congress. Don't miss dining on the River in S.A. If you do come to SPI also, you will need passports if you want to make a short drive (about 40 minutes) to Matamoros Mexico. And, yes, before you ask, or some other poster takes issue with this advice, it is safe to cross over to eat or shop. Also bring plenty of sun block lotion for the beach. Corpus is an attractive small city, but I think is rather disappointing if you want to see more of this state. You actually will need to go out of your way only 30 minutes or so to see Corpus if you do drive to SPI, so a brief stop for a few hours would be all you need there in my opinion.

Thanks everyone for your good information. Someone mentioned age....young 50s!!
We are flying into SAntonio...plan on spending 4 nights there....then we were thinking one night Corpus...then down to Brownsville for 4 nights....back to SA for one night before departure back to Canada....is four nights in Brownsville good? too long?
We also wanted to do the Segway tour in SA....is this good?

We did the Segway tour around San Antonio, and it was a lot of fun. The guys that run it are very fun, and also patient! We rode all over the city, to the Alamo, along the river, etc. We loved seeing the King William district.

Is the 4 nights in Brownsville just in Brownsville or does it include time in South Padre? If the former, 4 might be a little long OR just make a day trip to South Padre.

Can't help with the segway question, but vg covered that.

"is four nights in Brownsville good? too long?" I think we all assume you mean South Padre Island, not Brownsville. You probably would not be happy staying in Brownsville. But if you like beaches, SPI for 3 or 4 nights is good. Watch you dates tho. If its during Semana Santa or Spring Break (most of March)then prices skyrocket at hotels and beaches are crowded. If you are not ever planning on being back in the area, I would cut SPI short by one day, and eliminate Corpus, and spend two nights in Austin. Prettiest city in Texas and one of the best in the country for a short stay. Its only about 75 minutes from the S.A. airport (or 5 hours if you are a shopper like you say you are and you stop at the outlet mall outside San Marcos on the way to Austin). I would go there first and then spend your final 4 or 5 days in San Antonio. Your trip to SPI will be increased by an hour and a half of course, but Austin is really a great city if this is your only chance to see it.