South Padre Island

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

A Warm January in South Padre Island, Texas

A December 2004 trip to South Padre Island by kstraveler

A VISIT TO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEYMore Photos

We rented a two-bedroom condo on the Gulf of Mexico in South Padre Island, Texas, for the month of January. We had a fantastic and busy month of warmth and relaxation. It was wonderful to escape the cold Kansas January weather.

  • 1 review
  • 7 stories/tips
  • 32 photos

Suntide III CondominiumsBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

SUNTIDE III CONDOMINIUMS
Our condo was a two-bedroom, two-bath unit and was very nice. We had a wonderful king-size bed in our bedrooom, and the other bedroom had two double beds in it. The living room and master bedroom had wonderful views of the Gulf of Mexico, and we really loved watching the waves and the people on the beach. The kitchen had been well-designed and maintained and was very easy to work in. We loved the condo!
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by kstraveler on March 3, 2005

Suntide III Condominiums
3000 Gulf Blvd. South Padre Island, Texas 78597
(956) 761-1307

A Visit to the Rio Grande ValleyBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

A VISIT TO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY
During our stay, we made a journey to the Rio Grande Valley to look at the crops being grown in the fields by the highways. It was an interesting day, and we enjoyed it. The lower Rio Grande Valley enjoys a growing season of 365 days per year, and there are (we are told) always crops of some kind in the fields.

Two Visits to the King RanchBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

TWO VISITS TO THE KING RANCH
We drove over to Kingsville on two separate days in order to be able to see the parts of the ranch we wanted to see. We took the Historic Tour of King Ranch and visited the King Ranch Museum on one of those days and the Wildlife Tour on our second trip. We had always wanted to see the King Ranch and were happy that we took the time to really see it. We saw deer, bobcats, and wild pigs on the Wildlife Tour. Our guides were very nice and answered all of our questions.

A Day in Port MansfieldBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

A DAY IN PORT MANSFIELD
We drove down to Port Mansfield to see if we might want to stay there next winter. It was a pretty day, and we enjoyed the drive. Port Mansfield is a sleepy little fishing village. There are many bayside homes on the rental market, but other than fishing, there were not many things to do there, and there were few restaurants and shopping places. The deer must feel safe there, since they were in people's yards during the day. We decided that Port Mansfield would not be a good place for us to winter in 2006.

The Hidalgo PumphouseBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

THE HIDALGO PUMPHOUSE
While we were in the Rio Grande Valley, we visited the historic old Pumphouse in Hidalgo, Texas. The pumphouse provided irrigation water from the Rio Grande River to many farms in the area. It was used from around 1909 until the early 1980s. We learned a lot about farming in the valley during our tour of the pumphouse.

Atascosa National Wildlife RefugeBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

ATASCOSA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
We made several trips over to the Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge during our stay at South Padre Island. The refuge is located about 20 miles from South Padre, right in the middle of nowhere. On each trip we always saw alligators, water birds of many varieties, and the Green Jays. We always had a wonderful time and loved each and every trip we made to the refuge.

Oranges, Grapefruit, Lemons & LimesBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, LEMONS & LIMES
We asked where to find citrus trees and found that there were citrus orchards less than 30 miles from South Padre Island. At the first opportunity, we drove over and bought some oranges and grapefruit. The oranges were about the sweetest navel oranges we had ever eaten. Within a short amount of time, we were driving back over to buy more. We enjoyed seeing all of the citrus trees, but most of all, we loved eating those wonderful oranges and grapefruit.

Beautiful South Padre IslandBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

BEAUTIFUL SOUTH PADRE ISLAND
We loved every minute of the month we spent on South Padre Island. The weather was warm (we mostly wore shorts and short-sleeve shirts), the views were wonderful, and the people in the community were nice and friendly. We found a church to attend, and it felt like home to us.

About the Writer

kstraveler
kstraveler
Overland Park,, Kansas

Get the Word Out

Share this travel journal beyond IgoUgo with your favorite sharing tools.