Heading to SPI on Sunday for a week with the family. First time to go. I'd like to know some of the things we should or shouldn't do, or places to eat or stay away from. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I go there all of the time. Kinda a local you might say.

Where are you staying? Kids? How old?

Best local eateries: (may or may not be kid friendly)

Capn Roys
Jessie's - Great Mexican
Isabel's in Port A - Very inexpensive, homemade Breakfast and lunch.
Dirty Al's

My #1 favorite is WANNA WANNA. On the beach. Great bar food. Shrimp, Oysters, Ceviche burgers, corn dogs. Live music on Fri and Sat. Pull up a beach chair and enjoy. Three WANNA WANNA's and you will be stumbling.

Touristy, Very Kid Friendly
Blackbeards
Amberjacks
Louie's Backyard

Do schlitterbaun for one day.

If you have any questions, please ask.

A 13 and a 3 year old. Also bringing my parents and wifes parents. We have a house for the week. Wondering what else besides the beach and S-Bahn I should take them to do. Thanks for the info, if I think of anything else, I'll post some more questions.

Get someone to babyset the kiddos and go to WANNA WANNA Fri or Sat. Bay fishing is great. I use any guide at Jim's pier. They can take up to five or six, about $500. Call ahead.

The kids will love those places I mentioned for tourists. Louie's has fireworks and bungy jumpling and things like that every night.

Go to the HEB (on the Right) In Port A and get food for the house. Any place has good fresh shrimp and oysters, but I buy mine at a store on the right side after the HEB, Pink building. They seem to have the freshest and their own boat. Used to be B&A seafood.

I would avoid Dolphin watch. Waste of money.

You can also shop at the Island market.

Where on the island is the house? Beach side or inland? The name?

Joe's Oyster Bar in PI has great food and not as touristy as Pirate's Landing.

Also Palm St. Pier is right on the Bay just west of the Howard Johnson and is a great place to have a cold one and enjoy the view. Food used to be better but it is still good.

Wanna Wanna is a great place but always packed so get there early. For quieter places visit any one of the other public beach access points.

Any of the major hotels should have Banana Boat rides, jet skis, parasailing. There is also some places that will take you snorkeling as well.

Agree on HEB they have regular prices and sometimes better beer specials than here in my home town!

Enjoy your trip to SPI.

Sea Turtle Rescue "museum" is on the North end of the island kind of across from Bahia Mar. Check their schedule. Kids and Grandparents will like that.

Coconuts (on the bay between Palm St and Louies) has the best burger on the island IMO and you can sit and drink suds under their big palapa for as long as you want. They have waverunners etc. there.

Kids will probably like a ride on the pirate ship that takes off from the mainland side of the causeway twice a day (next to Pirates Landing rest.)

Horseback riding is pretty cool about once every 10 yrs or so. Its about a mile North of the Convention Center (even further North than the turtel place)

Movie theater one hot afternoon might be cool for a diversion

Go to Schlitterbahn on a weekday and get there early ( 10am I think?)

All the other stuff suggested earlier is spot-on

If you want to splurge one night, make a reservation to dine al fresco on the pier at Scampis on Friday night. Make it for 8pm and it will be super nice. And you can watch the big Friday night fireworks over the bay from your bayside pier private table. Figure $50/hd for adults and they have plenty of stuff for kids too.

If you aren't staying at gulf front place, there are 22 public access points to the beach all along Gulf Blvd. This is middle beach area that is basically between the CVS Pharmacy (access one: South) and nearly to The Tiki (access 22: North). I think Wanna Wannas is access 21? Get there early and you can park safely and close to the walkway that leads to the water. Pissant all your stuff to a spot and hang out all day. NO GLASS BOTTLES ALLOWED but you can drink and eat anything you want. (NOTE: The beach belongs to "the people". If one of those jackasses that operates the umbrellas for rent tells you to move tell him to kiss your a**. Or better yet, rent an umbrella for $40 for the day and enjoy the shade.

Avoid Wanna Wanna at all costs!

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=474238

Thanks for all the help. Looking forward to a week in the sun. Also is South Padre Golf Club worth the price of the green fee? I'd like to take my sticks and get in 18 with the old men.

Been there over 100 times and never got sick. TV reporters. BLAHHH!!!
One of the best people wacthing places on the beach. Yes there may be flies. IT'S OUTSIDE!!! It's ON THE BEACH!!!! and The kitchen is TINY!!
But it's good!!!

the golf course is in pretty good shape.

hit 'em low ( LOL )

probably averages about 25mph wind this time of year.

SPI Golf cub is fun. Good track. WINDY!!!!

Watch the sunset at Wahoo's with a beer and some ceviche..

[This message has been edited by 12gauge (edited 8/13/2010 4:45p).]

Wahoo's is no kids?

Si o no?

I take my kids to Wahoo's
Just need to leave between 7 and 8 before the serious drinkers come in

Can't imagine a visit to SPI without going to WW. Hell, I drove from Harlingen, on a business trip, to WW just for dinner.

Was at Wanna Wanna about a month ago. They have installed a screen door and a screen where you pick up your food. It was excellent then.

Was at WW two weeks ago (three nights straight). Great view and great breeze of the Gulf. We had fried shirmp and oysters, plus one night I had the cheeseburger. Damn good food.

We also ate at a small Mexican breakfast place in Port Isabel called Manuel's. Coming off the island you take your second right and this place was one block off the main hwy. AWESOME.

[This message has been edited by MAROON (edited 8/17/2010 3:00p).]

Went to Manuels also because it was highly recommended, but the A/C was broke and hot as H***, so went across the Hwy to Isabel's. I believe Manuel worked for Isabel for many years then went into compitition. Same food and menu.

Flash, Joe (the owner) is Isabel's son. They used to have a sign on the door that said "In case of emergency go to Isabel's".

Joe took over an existing restruant in the old Miramar, circa maybe 1986 or so, that was called Manuel's and that is how the name stuck. His place has been at the Miramar, Padre South, and then stand alone on the Island before he said screw the high rents and went to PI.

I miss eating there quite a bit and Joe is a good guy.

Thanks RGV, Good to know.

Thanks for all the advice, guys. We had a great trip. The kids enjoyed the beach and the horseback riding. I enjoyed golf at SPI Golf Club. The course was in good shape and the greens run fast but true. A great trip all around.

So what were your favorite and least favorite places to go to or dinning? Any bay fishing?

You couldn't get me near Louies again, but Palm St. Pier was pretty good. Other than that, we cooked at the house alot. Didn't do any fishing on this trip. Wife took the kids horseback riding and I played 18 at SPI Golf Club. We were pretty much beach bums the entire week.

Ate breakfast at Isabel's early this morning with the family before heading south for spell. We were there about 7:15 and the only table in there, spent a while talking to her about things. She was a waitress and cook at the Sea Ranch back in the way early 70's, and her memory of things was neat.

We talked at length about how the demise of the shrimping has really hurt the core population of PI. PI's local residents are really starting to fade away and drop in lifestyle and such, which is a shame.

Yes Isabel is fun to talk to. She is a strong lady. I have seen this decline every year of the locals. Soon there will be very few locals and tourists only. Just hope some of them stick around. I think it started when B & A went out of business. Seems like a domino effect. It also seems more and more of the tourists are coming from south of the border and don't spend a dime. It drives me nuts when they leave their trash all over the beach. I used to love the early morning walks on the beach, but this last time I spent most of it picking up beer cans, bottles and play toys.