Top Spring Break Featured Destination: Texas’ South Padre Island

Texas’ South Padre Island is the destination of choice for spring breakers looking for fun and exposure.

Each spring break season, over 125,000 students flock to the shores of South Padre Island, Texas for sand, booze, communion with fellow youngbloods and semi-legal fun near the Mexican border. The island consists of 34 miles of coastline and five miles of beach-front hotels, which accommodate only college students in the dearest months of spring.
The setting is somewhat chaotic during March and April, but South Padre is a cheap location for college students of the Southern states to run to. Once there, students can expect numerous activities — and mischief — night and day.

Annually, Coca-Cola sets up a 50,000-watt sound stage for daily musical acts and contests, thus creating the largest spring break venue in the nation. MTV is also a yearly participant and films many of its regular shows (such as “Twelve Angry Spring Breakers”) using the bikini clad vacationers. To appease the larger male population of the crowd, Playboy Magazine and Hawaiian Tropic hold weekly contests for talented and endowed women. Everyone can expect to bring home a suitcases full of freebies handed out by the insane number of corporate sponsors on the island.

Concerts are held each night, which will inspire curiosity, even if they might not satisfy your trendy musical needs. If you ever wondered what happened to Vanilla Ice, you can expect to see him performing at South Padre each spring. Although concert dates have not been set for this upcoming spring, South Padre has pulled in many famous bands.

If you’re not sure where to go in the evening, you can jump on one of the colorful, private buses which cruise the main boulevard. They will drop you off at one of the larger bars on the island. Louie’s Backyard is the biggest club on the island and has a large outdoor setting as well as bungee jumping and a party boat (a.k.a. booze cruise). Chaos is also a popular site boasting of 6 clubs under one roof. It would be wise to take a ride on their bungee style swing before you drink one of their famous Cherry Whammies. While at most clubs the limit is 18 to get in, 21 to drink, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) patrols the island in strong force, keeping underage drinking within South Padre’s bars seriously low. Accordingly, many kids simply run for the border to drink legally.

Matamoros, Mexico is a mere 30 minutes away. You can either drive or take a cheap bus trip to the border. Once there, cross the border to find a strip of clubs within a short distance. These include Senior Frog’s, Blanca White, Lizard Lounger and Crazy Lady. Arguably the most popular club along the strip is Taboo, which can only be described as big and hot. There, you can get cheap poppers in communal shot glasses, watch wet T-shirt contests (women, if you participate in this, expect a certain amount of crude abuse from the crowd) and ride the spinning chair while tequila is poured down your throat. If this is not wild enough for you, knowledgeable taxi drivers can take you to a local donkey show (if you don’t already know what this is, it’s better that we don’t go into it here).

On your way back to the States, you can buy your traditional Mexican mat or sombrero. Odd as it sounds, there will also be locals on hand to give you a small electrical shock for a dollar. You now need to carry your passports to cross the border into Mexico. Previously you would just need to have your U.S. drivers’ license to get back into Texas.

It should not be difficult to find accommodations if you reserve at least a month in advance. Geographically, the island is long and skinny, so there is no problem getting a beachfront site on Padre Boulevard. In March and April, a two bedroom condo will run between $500 to $1500/week. Constant parties are held at the larger hotels, like the Holiday Inn, the Sheraton and the Bahia Mar, the largest hotel on the island. For food, cheap restaurants are abundant. McDonald’s and Denny’s are always crowded, but anywhere upscale is usually pretty calm.

The drive to South Padre Island can take three to six hours from San Antonio, depending on the traffic. Flights are also available into Harligen Valley International Airport and Brownsville/South Padre Island Airport. When planning your South Padre spring break, many airlines have package deals to South Padre during spring break season. Watch out, though, as the meals in prepaid “all-inclusive” plans might consist of a single biscuit or a piece of fruit.

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