Port Aransas Top Ten Fun Things To See & To Do In Port Aransas

Port Aransas offers lots of fun things to see and do and here is Texas Outside's list of our Top Ten Favorite Things To See and Do In Port Aransas:

• Get Some Beach Time - Port Aransas has a great beach at the south east end of town with over 17 miles of uninterrupted public shorelines. The beach area is next to the jetty (great for fishing) and channel leading into the bay and to the Port Aransas marina. The sand is packed and vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach. This beach area is popular for kit flying, camping, fishing, windsurfing, kitesailing, and chillin' in your beach chair.
• Explore Port A by Bike - we enjoy parking the car or motorhome and biking to the park, beach, shops, restaurants, and bars. Port A is small enough that you can ride from the ferry to the beach in less than 15 minutes. In 2008, there aren't any bike paths, so you need to be careful.
• Go Fishing -if Port Aransas isn't the fishing capital of Texas, it should be. It seems that half of the city and population have something to do with fishing. You won't have any problem finding a fishing guide or an offshore charter boat. Or you can fish from the surf, in the bay, from the beach, in the channel, or from jetties and lighted piers. See this page for a list of fishing guides and charters. If you don't charter a boat or hire a fishing guide, here are some tips:
  • Surf Fish -if you like to surf fish, pick any one of the many Port A beaches and use shrimp, mullet, spoons, and jigs and if you're a average surf fisherman you can land any number of trout, redfish, Spanish Mackerel, whiting, or bluefish.
  • Jetty Fish - if you not into getting wet, then try the Port A jetties at Robert's Point Park or piers - JP Luby Pier, Horace Coldwell Pier, Ancel Brundrett (Station Street) Pier, or Charlies Pasutre Pier. From the jetties use live or dead shrimp under a popping core, live or dead mullet on the bottom or surface, or spoons or jigs to tangle with trout, redfish, sheepshead, black drum, Spanish Mackerel, whiting or more. During the winter or fall you'll find flounder which come here to spawn.
  • Offshore Fishing - launch you boat near the ferry or charter/rent a boat and go offshore fishing for red snapper, blackfin and yellowfin tuna, mako shark, and more.
• Revel In The Nightlife - for such a small town, Port A has lots of fun nightlife. A number of the bars have live music or karaoke, some have outside patios, a few have games (pool, darts, shuffleboard), many have appetizers or bar type food, and all of them have a lively, friendly, and fun loving crowd. We enjoy Shorty's - "the Island's Oldest and Friendliest" Bar.  Be prepared for a very unique experience stepping through the doors of Shorty's. Next door is Bernie's on the Beach, and just outside of town is Sharky's (downstairs on the weekends is mostly for younger crowds with rock bands). Some of our other favorites include: The Back Porch (open air waterfront hangout) and Salty Dog (“coolest honky-tonk on the Texas Riveria!”).,
• Pitch a Tent or Hook Up the RV - another reason we love Port A is it offers a number of camping/RV park options. For example, Island RV Resort is in town and has full hook-ups and is 5 blocks from the main part of town. I. B. Magee Beach park has rustic inexpensive sites behind the beach berm with water and electricity as well as beach camping - make sure you get a permit to camp on the beach. Less than 10 minutes from downtown is a Texas Outside Top 20 RV Park, Gulf Waters RV Resort. Gulf Waters is a fantastic new RV Resort with spacious well landscaped sites, ponds, plenty of amenities, and 600 feet of beach. Mustang Island State Park is about 15 minutes from Port A.
• Go Golfing - about 10 minutes outside of town, Arnold Palmer started construction in 2007 on a new signature 18 hole golf course, Newport Dunes, that should be open in the summer of 2008. It looks like this will be a premier, must play course. The next closest courses are in Corpus or Rockport - check out Texas Outside's golf map to find a course.
• Explore the Area - Port A is an excellent location to stay and do some exploring. Rockport and Fulton are about 15 miles away and offer good fishing, some areas we like to bike, golf, some attractions worth seeing, and some fun bars and restaurants. You're also about 25 minutes away from downtown Corpus Christi which has lots of fun things to see and do. One of our favorites is biking along the seawall. The Corpus Christi Outside Guide will highlight what to see and do when you visit Corpus.
• Bird or Dolphin Watch - if you like bird watching, you have lots of choices in and around Port A, some of which include: Wetlands Park, Leona Belle Turnbull Birding Center, Paradise Pond, or the South Jetty. Or take a whooping crane and birding boat tour. You can watch the dolphins surf and play in the bay. The best place to watch the dolphins is along the jetty in Roberts Point Park or ride the free ferry back and forth and you're bound to spot a few dolphins.
• Enjoy the Local Restaurants - if you enjoy fresh seafood, you'll like most of the Port Aransas restaurants. Along the marina you'll find some good, but a little bit touristy and pricey restaurants on the water with great decks, good drinks and food, and occasionally music. Trout Street is one of the best known restaurants on the water. Off the water you have plenty of choices from Italian to Mexican and everything in between. We enjoyed some good pasta at Seafood & Spaghetti Works and an excellent Ahi Tuna at Hook's Bar & Grill on their outside patio. Here are some choices:Trout Street Bar & Grill (361 749-7800) has a wide variety of entrees and on the water;Seafood & Spaghetti Works ( 361 749-5666) is known for seafood, steaks, and Italian food;Hook’s Bar & Grill (361 749-3663) has indoor and outdoor dining and live music; and Virginia’s on the Bay (361 749-4088) is offers dining on the harbor with fantastic sunsets.
• Play Tourist - while you're in town, play tourist and visit the following: Maritime Museum in Rockport; the Aquarium and USS Lexington in Corpus; the University of Texas Marine Science Center; Roberts Point Park next to the ferry landing for fishing from the jetty, special events pavilion, shuffleboard, bocce ball, horseshoes, basketball, volleyball, dolphin watching as they lead the ships in and out of the channel, and picnicking; or take a boat tour of the bay or the jetty boat to the St Joe's Island (private and no access by car) for beach-combing, fishing, shelling, surfing, or picnicking

To find a lot of the above, check out our Port Aransas Map.

Have Fun. Let us know about your favorites - send us an email