3 Best Sights in South Padre Island and Port Isabel, South Texas and the Coast

The beaches on the gulf side offer what most visitors are looking for: breezy winds, breaking surf, and pristine sand. The "bay side" on the Laguna Madre is mostly muddy, shallow, and calm. sits on the southernmost tip of the island and offers clean beaches and a number of nearby activities.

For one entry fee you can see three different historic sites. The Point Isabel Lighthouse has been a local landmark since 1852 and is the only publicly accessible lighthouse on the Texas coast. The Port Isabel Historical Museum will illuminate the area's rich past, while the Treasures of the Gulf Museum highlights the riches found in three Spanish shipwrecks in nearby waters.

Are you and the kids growing weary of the saltwater in your eyes and the sand in your swimsuit? This popular park with two other Texas locations as well (Galveston and New Braunfels) offers chlorinated water relief. Highlights are a huge sand castle–themed play area and America's largest surfing machine. Schlitterbahn also has a swim-up bar and a restaurant. (You can bring your own cooler, but no glass or alcohol.)