We spent a week in Port Aransas, Texas and we had the best time! When we saw that Minnesota was going to have subzero temps for over a week, we hopped in the car and headed South! We knew we wanted to drive (wanted to bring our dog, and of course the pandemic), and decided on Port Aransas for a few reasons. It’s about a 20 hour drive from Minnesota (closer than a lot of beach destinations), we haven’t spent much time in Texas, and we have family in a few spots along the way. It felt like a no brainer!
Port Aransas (the locals call it Port A) is on Mustang Island just outside of Corpus Cristi. It’s an extremely popular vacation spot for Texans from about March to October. The Winter is their slow season and has mostly snowbirds.
Our goal on the trip was just to relax and have fun as a family, while also being safe and staying socially distant. Here is a little bit about our trip!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at Port Royal, which is a resort community with 2 and 3 bedroom condos. I came across this resort and saw that the Winter rates were $97 a night! We jumped on it right away. Port Aransas is very popular and crowded in the Summer, and we heard that rates can be as high as $800 a night for what we booked.
Our 2 bedroom condo was newly renovated and HUGE. It was perfect for the three of us, because Rosie had her own room. The bathrooms and kitchen were updated and nice, and it had all of the amenities we needed. it was also nice that we had housekeeping, room service, and all of the comforts of a hotel. We do wish we would have brought our camping chairs for the beach because the condo didn’t have anything like that.
Port Royal has the largest pool in Texas and a lot of it was heated (including the splash pad!) We spent a lot of time at the pool and NO ONE was there. The lifeguard said that in the Summer every single chair is taken. There is a pier you walk to go from the pool area to the beach (it’s about 100 yards), so very close to the beach!
The best option in Port A is going to be a vacation rental (similar to Port Royal). Airbnb and Vrbo have some, but not a lot. I recommend looking at vacation rentals at Port Royal or Silver Sands (less expensive) or also Cinnamon Shores, or Palmilla Beach (pricey).
Favorite Places for Eats and Sweets
We spent a week down there and got to try a lot of the local restaurants. Because of Covid, we either got takeout or ate outside. Tony and I discussed and decided these are our favorite spots!
Dylan’s Pizzeria – Tony says this is the best pizza he’s ever had outside of Italy! This restaurant is located within Cinnamon Shores, which is a really nice community. They have an outdoor eating area and also an area with some yard games.
Irie’s – This restaurant was SO GOOD. They are the #53 highest reviewed restaurant in the country! It’s all island food and everything we ordered was delicious. I highly recommend the shrimp spring rolls and treasure beef.
La Playa Mexican Grille – This restaurant was PACKED. It was by far the most crowded place we ever went on our trip (we got takeout though!) It has great Mexican food in a great family friendly environment. I ordered the tres mariscos enchiladas and they were delish! Warning: cash only!
Cancun – Definitely a local spot! Get the breakfast tacos to-go and bring them back to your rental. Everyone will thank you! Coffee Waves (see below) is close by.
Donut Palace – Our family loves donuts so Tony went through the drive-thru on our first day. The donuts were great and an easy snack throughout the day too.
Coffee Waves – A great local coffee spot near Cancun (above). Grab a fun coffee drink here or they have lots of sweets too.
What We Did
Went to the beach – This was our favorite thing to do and something that our whole family could enjoy (even our dog!) The beach is very nice, and it was pretty shallow for quite a ways out.
Played at the pool – As I mentioned, Port Royal has a great pool and we spent many, many hours there.
Shopped in town – We had one rainy day so we went shopping along Alister Street. My favorite stores for gifts and home decor were Gratitude and Loving Coastal Living. There are also MANY souvenir stores.
If you’re looking for tips for traveling with a toddler, check out this post!