We are planning a trip to San Antoino in July. Would like to take a side trip to the coast for some good swimming (warm water?) and boogie boarding. Any suggestions on an area to visit and places to stay?

The closest place is Corpus Christi and North Padre Island. It is about a 3-hour drive from San Antonio. Try www.traveltex.com, mysanantonio.com and savisit.com. In July, everything is warm in Texas.

I agree--corpus is nice and relaxed--i stayed at holiday inn on the baech few times--it was cheap and nice

Check out Port Aransas. Wonderful beach town. Really nice.

If you have the time, drive down the coast to South Padre Island. It's beaches are far superior to those found in/around Corpus.

Padre Island is definitely the best beach in Texas. However, it is a good 4-5 hours' drive from San Antonio. The surf in Texas is not really worth calling surf. Because the Gulf is not deep close to shore, there really aren't good rideable waves. You can play in the water, but that's about it.

Honestly, I would drive 1/2 hour north from San Antonio to New Braunfels and go to Schlitterbahn water park instead. It is consistently rated the best water park in the US, and it is HUGE. (It's actually 2 parks for the price of one!)You can also try a famous Texas pastime and go tubin' on the Gaudelupe River in San Marcos.

Oh yeah, July will be HOT...

If you're just going for a day, I would agree with previous post, visit San Marcos and New Braunfels. However, if you are going to spend 3 nites or more(2 if you like to drive a lot), go on down to South Padre Island. Corpus and North Padre is not much better than fair. The extra 2 1/2 hour drive is definitely worth it to SPI. Incidentally the Schlitterbahn the previous post talked about is also open now at South Padre. Getting great reviews. Also, if you have time, see Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville (about 45 minutes from SPI). You can rent wave rider boats also in SPI. I hear that is great fun. A guide takes you out and really gives you your money's worth.
Hotels are expensive in SPI.
Have fun.

Any suggestions for reasonably priced hotels or B&B's that are close to OR on the beach (South Padre) ???