South Padre Island- the perfect playground in paradise. It is true. The locals know that it is paradise year-round, even those on a budget can survive in a tourist area for little to no expense. The activities are numerous here and can be very inexpensive if you know how to do it.  Beach-related activities are mostly all free except for the state park entrance fee when you enter Isla Blanca Park and Andy Bowie Park. Isla Blanca has a nice pavilion which has grills so you can claim a table to use as beach central and your family can come back and forth all day long. Bring an ice chest and sandwich fixin's and you can feed an army for under ten bucks. Bring towels and your own umbrella and you have a free day of total relaxation on the beach. The banana boat rides and such will cost you but they are fun and the price is around ten bucks. Frisbees are still free. Most people just hang out on the beach. A dolphin watch boat trip is only ten dollars if you take it out of the Sea Ranch Marina and coupons can be found in the local free papers in most convenience stores. Fishing trips will run you $250-$350 out of any place and there are over 100 bay fishing guides who can help you. Your best bet is word-of-mouth to find out who is the best and most affordable. There are only 4 or 5 offshore fishing charter captains and the best and most affordable can be found through the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce. They know who is the best and their job is to let you know. Parasailing and wave runners are costly but they are worth the expense. Imagine zipping along the water with the wind hitting you telling you how incredibly fast you are going on a waverunner? Imagine being hundreds of feet in the air supported by a parachute and being the ONLY one with your bird's eye view of the water and causeway. Incredible. You can even split the cost and go up there with a brave friend. Horseback riding can be found on the north end of the island. Buggy rentals are all on the "strip" which is Padre Blvd. the main street which runs down the center of the island.

      The best deals  for eating are all-you-can-eat buffets because you can pay one price and then eat all you want and being in the water just instantly magnifies hunger.  Louie's Backyard is also where everybody goes to watch the Friday night fireworks. If you do not want to be in such a public place and having to pay for your refreshments, an inexpensive and beautiful way to watch the fireworks is to drive down to the end of any bayside street and join the locals in sitting on a blanket or chair or dock wall to watch the fantastic show. The last show on New Year's was VERY long and impressive. Every show gets bigger and better. These shows are on Friday nights at 9:15 and run regularly on Memorial Day and until Labor Day Weekend. You can even watch the show from a boat that provides fireworks cruises. How romantic!

     A new all-u-can-eat fish special place (as they are everywhere) undercuts the competition by 5 dollars. This great place is across the street from the Port Isabel post office in Port Isabel across the causeway and the word is spreading about their good food for an incredibly low price. In the winter, go early on the weekends, especially on Sunday. You need to beat the church crowd which forms a line out the door on Sunday at noon. Their breakfasts are HUGE and can be had for a mere 3 or 4 bucks. Very few people know that if you eat at the Pirate's Landing right on the water in Port Isabel, and save your receipt, you can walk off your huge meal FOR FREE on the next door pier. Their all-u-can-eat fish special is around ten bucks but the atmosphere is what will cost you. You will want to stay and order more of this and more of that and dessert so you won't get out of there without spending close to 20 bucks. The Sea Life Center next door is only 3 bucks and has interesting species of sea animals in tanks and aquariums. This is a good deal because your money goes directly to helping save the environment, the proprietor is Scarlet and she is all about helping the area's wildlife survive and thrive. Let's not forget the sea turtles. That organization has been around trying to save this endangered species for many years, but the fight is tremendous and visiting their Island center would not only prove educational but in turn, help save the species.

     You will spend a pretty penny on accommodations wherever you go so shop around. Condos run about $400 a night during peak season. The ultimate thing to do is to find a condo where the owner has had it with the mortgage payment and will drop their price to rock-bottom just to get something back. There are too many condo rental agencies and you will get a good deal if you look around. The Chamber of Commerce can give you good inside information as well on that. Money is saved when you stay in a condo on food because most provide kitchens and you can cook your meals instead of spend 20 dollars every single time you go out. Denny's and Rovan's have great breakfasts for a few dollars. Denny's has grand slams for around $5.99 which are practically guaranteed to be too much to eat.

     The souvenir shops have great deals on beach towels and t-shirts. You can find the best deal by simply driving down Padre Blvd. and comparing what they are showcasing in their windows.  Brownsville, TX's best feature, a city only 30 miles away, is the Gladys Porter Zoo on Ringold St. It houses over 1,500 species in the most natural habitat possible, not steel cages and wires. It is beautiful and is able to house such a huge diversity of species because it is a tropical area. The polar bears and seals did not do well down here because it is such a tropical area. They needed to be in the cold and were transferred. People love the fact that the weather is hot down here, though, especially the group referred to as Winter Texans. These fine folk escape the horrible, treacherous weather in states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and such and come down to paradise. They figure, "Why put up with hell when you can be in heaven?" They go to the South Padre Island Golf Course and some even rent there to be able to support their addiction.

    A good option for transportation is The Wave. The Wave is a free shuttle that you can pick up every 1/2 hour. It runs from the Island to Port Isabel at the intersection of Hwy. 100 and 48 at Church's Fried Chicken. There is even a bus that runs to Brownsville for 2 bucks from there so even struggling people can make it to and from work from Brownsville if they had to. Let's never forget the deals that can be found by simply walking across the bridge in Brownsville to Matamoros, Mexico for 65 cents. There you will find Garcia's, a block down on the left, whose best deals are hand-woven blankets for $3.99, liquor for half the cost of the U.S. (Do not break the seal!) and prescription drugs are incredibly affordable while in the states, $100.00 for 8 pills is not only possible, but a reality. Many people get their antibiotics, pain killers and heart medicine for a fraction of the cost the huge drug companies charge in the United States. Now, you need a passport to cross. Your best bet is to call the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce. Their specialty is making your stay as wonderful as possible. You won't find the crime that that orange state has. Here, people are genuinely kind and friendly. There is no "big city mentality" but quite the opposite. Here when a car breaks down, not only will someone stop to help or offer their cell phone, people will even get out of their cars to push your stalled car off the road and out of danger. You will find really wonderful people here and honestly, would you expect any less in paradise?