Hi!

I usual take a yearly trek to Sanibel in January, but for 2009 I want to try something different, and was thinking about the Gulf Coast of Texas.

I'm looking for recommendations for acccomodations: in a perfect world, I'd like a beach front condo with WiFi, washer/dryer, TV, cable, full kitchen. I'll be travelling solo, staying a week. I prefer quiet, laid back surroundings. My plans would be not much more than swimming, snokeling, and shelling, so nightlife is not really an issue (though DVD rental would be nice). The mid to higher end of the price range is OK.

Any thoughts? Or suggestions for other locations?

The only experience I have there is Port Aransas on Mustang Island.
While it has grown quite abit for a coastal area it's still not too bad.
Access is either drive across from Corpus Christi to North Padre Island and turn left or go to Aransas Pass and take the ferry they run 24/7.
We rented a house from life in paradise but there are several condos in the area.

port aransas is a nice place, don't recommend south padre for quiet, none of this is comparable to sanibel. really, no shelling to speak of, no snorkeling, as water is not nearly as clear as sanibel. port 'a' is nice, bertha's is a good restaurant, as is snoopy's. a fishing town, great to walk out on the piers and see what people are catching. some good food, even galveston is kindof nice, stayed at the moody gardens' hotel recently, a family place, not really 'quiet' but fine, great, great food at guido's there. more a tourist town that port a, but definetly tourist all over both! just know, it is not sanibel. ...native texan

The only option you should consider for decent beaches is South Padre Island. Port A is not a nice beach and not good for shelling, etc. I've lived in Tx all of my life and been to the various beaches. Especially after visiting Florida, you should go to South Padre.

I agree that there is no shelling or snorkeling on Texas beaches. As long as you're not expecting it to look like Sanibel, you can still have a good time!

I've been to both places (grew up in texas and went to Padre and Port A. many times.) Love Port A. as a town, don't really care for S. Padre. But If you're used to Fla, you are going to be dissapointed.

First of all, the poster who says, "don't recommend south padre for quiet" must not have noticed that you are going in January.

Also, I've seen several people say good things about Port Aransas and bad things about So. Padre, and I don't know why, but South Padre is MUCH nicer than Port A--no comparison.

The last time we went to Port A, the kids wouldn't even swim at the beach. My husband brought them back because there was medical waste (needles) on the beach.

One of my best friends had a house in Port A and I've been many times, but I wouldn't pay to go there.

South Padre is absolutely the best beach, and you can find lots of options for condos with the amenities you want, probably at good prices in January. Make sure you get a place on Gulf Boulevard, not the bay side.

There is actually some decent beachcombing a few miles down the one major road in town, where you'll find natural, wild beach that hasn't been "cleaned" like the areas in front of the lodgings. There's also an interesting little beachcomber "museum" in SPI run by some laid back people . They can probably give you a lot of good info on things of interest.

I think SPI would be very laid back in January!

Geesh, now I want to go to the beach!

Oh, one other thing... it might be a little too cold in January to swim at Padre Island. Texas doesn't have the warm Gulfstream current like Florida, so the water here cools off in the winter. You will see surfers in the water, but they have wetsuits!