Travel: Port Aransas, Texas

Located on the Gulf of Mexico and along the Texas shores is a small town called Port Aransas. More than just a fishing village or tourist destination, Port A, as the locals call it, is a self-sustaining small town complete with schools, a community center, and multiple churches.

The beach season is a long one – from April to October with a few warm weekends scattered in March and November. The busiest holidays are, in order: July 4^th - especially if it falls on a weekend, Memorial Day, Spring Break, Easter, and Labor Day.

In Florida, they are called “snowbirds”, but in Texas, they are called “Winter Texans”. It’s the people from Minnesota and Wisconsin who are able to leave their frozen home up north and spend 3 or 4 months in the balmy south.

Whether you stay a day, a weekend, a week or a couple of months, a day at the beach is worth a month in the city.

Take a look for yourself. From this webcam, you can get an idea of the wave pattern and see some of the sand. The camera is mounted near the top of one of the condominiums that is on the beach.

http://www.thedunescondos.com/cam.cfm

Stuff to Do

Learn about the native habitat

University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI)

http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/outreach/visitorcenter/vc.htm

Watch the Ferry Landing

Port Aransas is on the northern end of a really long island. The south is accessible by a bridge while the north is accessible by a ferry. The City of Port Aransas has four webcams of the ferry lines.

Port Aransas side - Landing looking South

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam1.cfm

Port Aransas side - Landing looking East

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam2.cfm

Port Aransas side - Cutoff Road, looking South

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam4.cfm

Aransas Pass side - Looking North

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/ferrycam3.cfm

Look for “Boots” the alligator at the Birding Center

http://www.cityofportaransas.org/Leonabelle_Turnbull_Birding_Center.cfm

Read the local headlines

http://www.portasouthjetty.com/

Where to Stay

The Courtyard

http://www.courtyrd.com/

The view shown in the photograph on their website can be yours. Just ask to stay in room 203.

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