Texas Beaches

I was in Galveston island last sept and love it! Alltho I had been beach deprived lol. They also have pleasure pier with rides by the water Originally Posted by kiki2012

I love pleasure pier!! As far as the beach goes OP, if you enjoy walking along it on the sand then Galveston is great. If you want to get in the water, I don't recommend. It's really dirty.

Been to all three: Galveston, CC and S. Padre.
S. Padre is quieter and the beaches are decent although they're no Destin. Don't go in March; its Spring Break. The farther north you go the better and more private the beaches are. No urban development up there. There's also a horse riding stable and you can rent ATVs. Also, S. Padre has some fine restaurants: Sea Ranch, Blackbeard's, Pirate's Landing.

I haven't seen any tar balls in a while but there are jellyfish.

Spend a little extra and get a 5th floor condo overlooking the beach. It's nice to wake up to the ocean waves.

South Padre has it all. There's a lot to do. Galveston is also very nice. I used to love going to Mustang Island, my only gripe is they cut it in half, and turned it into a harbor. No more long walks on that beach.

Matagorda Beach is my favorite ...very pristine beaches and low rent beach house .
Great fishing pier.

Panama City Beach is the best I have been to...soft white sands/cool bars and shopping!

But in Texas,Padre rocks!

I've been to South Padre Island a couple times. Once, it was nice and clean. Only the occasional rock of tar was on the shore. But the waves and the undertow were really fierce. Hundreds of little ghost crabs would come out of their little holes at night and scuttle around, it was cute.
But the second time I went, it was filthy. Trash everywhere. I think was a month or two after a hurricane, but geez. I would expect that kind of stuff to be cleared out by then.
I bet there is research online about the best times to go. I haven't been to Galveston since I was 12, lol. But it was pretty shitty back then.

I spent several days with a client in Corpus once and had lotsa downtime during his workday. It was too chilly to swim, but I liked going downtown and walking along the beach. I guess you can do horseback rides along the beach, too, which is nice when it isn't super warm. That was a year ago November, since it's Spring Break now, I guess that's peak times for Corpus.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. All these options are more than I can fit into one trip. I guess that means I'll have to visit Texas again and again. Which is fine by me! I did go to Corpus Christi and missed out on the opportunity to go to Port Aransas, Mustang Island, or Padre Island. Though I did get to check out a Downtown beach along the Corpus Christi Bay, as well as go on a super cute boat tour of the Bay and see some dolphins in person!

Also Dallas, thanks for sharing your experiences of Panama City Beach. I'd also love to check out the Florida side of the Gulf of Mexico sometime this summer.

Surfside beach is a quite little community in between Galveston and Freeport. You can take 288 south from Houston past Lake Jackson to reach it.
I always thought of it as a non-tourist type beach...less traveled.

If you want to get in the water, I don't recommend. It's really dirty. Originally Posted by anita

the water is not "dirty" in the sense you are referring to, meaning trashy. It is literally full of dirt because the mississippi and the sabine rivers deposit so much sediment into the gulf that it makes the water unclear and the current carries it west. So, the water is clean, but cloudy.

my personal favorite coastal town is Rockport.

South padre island! Family Loves the place so much We bought a 2nd home there

Look at satellite photos of the beaches mentioned especially the ships coming in and out. The color of the water is very telling. Compare that to the waters far from the beaches. As I recall, the waters against the South of France near Nice were very nice.
Last time I was in Corpus, staying near the USS Lexington I decided to head into the water wearing my snorkel gear and saws thousands of jellyfish floating around me. I got out as fast as I could.

Not sure if someone already said this, but Crystal Beach. Get to Galveston, take the ferry over to Bolivar Peninsula. (Car ferry, it's free but can take some time.)

Straight shot driving down the Peninsula maybe 30 minutes or so. You will start to find turn off roads that lead straight to the water.

You can park right on or near the beach. I don't know about "luxurious" but it's super secluded if you want to camp out overnight. I've done it many times and spent many a night running around out there naked with not another camp in sight of ours. It's always a good time, imo.

Just remember to buy your $10 parking sticker from any of the stores out on the Peninsula. It's good for the entire calendar year.

I really hope to go on a scuba diving trip (or two) this summer.