Holiday Beach
Port Aransas, Texas
Terrain // Beach + Ocean | Cost // Free (off-season) | Our Rating // 8
Overview
We loved this destination! It’s been our most extended stay to date. This place caters to tourists. There are a ton of bars, restaurants, and shops to visit. The beach is clean, with a decent amount of visitors each day. We’ve had quite a few foggy days, but when the sun came out, it was warm and inviting. We stayed a whole week, so we had a lot more time to explore and check out the shops in the area. Most of our stay consisted of beach walks, bike rides around town, bar hopping, and bracing ourselves against the wind.
We used our bikes a lot and could cover more ground than just walking. There were also a lot of golf carts being driven. There are several places in town where you can rent one.
Our Set Up
We moved several times during our time here. Since it was off-season, we didn’t want to overstay our welcome. From about spots 1-20, you have to stay behind their wood post markers. Further down the beach, roughly past marker 22ish, you can pull up anywhere you want. However, you’ll want to be cautious of high tide, so don’t park too close to the water.
The Views
We captured so many pretty beach shots. There was also a stone pier/jetty about 1.5 miles down from our spot that was neat to walk out on. There were a lot of people fishing down the mile-ish-long jetty.
Food & Drink
Check out some places of note we visited during our stay.
Cancun Grill & Cantina – They had an excellent fajita dish, and a pitcher of beer was only $8.
Winton’s Island Candy – What a fun place! Their chocolate peanut butter fudge and saltwater taffy were so good!
MacDaddy’s – A little pricey, but they had a pork belly sandwich on special & their frozen sangria was okay.
Coach’s Island Grill – You HAVE to try their pancakes. They’re stupid cheap, and delicious.
Seafood Spaghetti Works – Holy shit, we ordered their seafood pasta for two (The Works). It was enormous and well worth the $66.
Castaway – Their food seemed pretty pricey, so we only got drinks. The pineapple jalapeño margarita was incredible! Seriously try it!
Stingrays – We got their fish tacos and Maker’s Mark burger. Delicious food. They also had a Heath Cheesecake that was delicious.
Irie’s Island Food – The Crazy Taco was the best one out of 4, and their fried rice bowls are a pretty good size.
Sangria Rating Average – 4/10
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with the sangria selection. More than half of the places we visited didn’t have one available, and the ones I did get were pretty blah. On the other hand, the frozen one at MacDaddy’s was the most interesting.
Taco Rating Average – 7/10
There were some excellent taco selections in this town. We only visited a handful of places, so I’m sure there are even more options! Our personal favorite was the Crazy Taco at Irie’s Island Food.
Art
One of our favorite things about beach towns is all of the murals! Check out some of the fun artwork we spotted around town. Also, be sure to give the artists a follow if you enjoy their work:
@CamWallsArt | Sarah Searight | @KaleighGlover | @MadRiverish | Straw Malcom
Tips:
It was pretty windy while we stayed. Wind on a beach = lots of sand EVERYWHERE. We have a little rug inside our camper by the door. It helps catch a lot of the loose sand from our shoes as we go in and out. Also, don’t leave your awning out while you leave!
With ocean air comes rust. After several days, we noticed a lot of surface rust on things like our bike chains, the camper jacks, and the camper hitch. So keep an eye on your metal items if you plan to stay on the beach long-term.
