South Padre Island recommendations

[Boxite]

You underscore and prove my point. The far right has been proven wrong throughout history.

[KCCO]

Loved seeing all the comments and help being given, as we are planning a trip this fall and was hoping to include south padre as part of it.

Those of you who are ruining it with your political banter need to give it a rest. Real quick.

[rbs]

We ended up staying at Andie Bowie, even with no reservations, found a spot. The campground is a parking lot with hookups, minimal upkeep. The weather was cold and windy except for departure day, so never did much to explore the area. We decided if we return, to stay at the KOA, can't be that much more than Andie Bowie, and most assuredly a better staff.
This has been the most bizarre weather year for traveling

[JCWDCW]

We went to the Rio Grande valley for 6 years, and although camping on South Padre is possible I would suggest you set up in Harlingen or San Benito or even Brownsville and then scout out the island.The larger resorts are now fairly expensive but lots of little operations still offer good value....just not the security of a gated park. My understanding is that there was some serious damage to the barrier islands from the Hurricanes this past year. As for eateries, talk to the locals in your campsite; they will give you good advice. There are some "must do's and must sees" that everyone will talk about. Haven't been back for 4 years so don't know the restaurant scene any more. If you want to go to Mexico for the tourist trap thing, the best bet was always Progresso. You park your vehicle in Nuevo Progresso ($2.00) and walk across the bridge to Mexico. The touristy area is about 4 blocks by 2 blocks. Better eateries are usually easy to discern.
JCW

[Boxite]

Tamaulipas is the Mexican state across the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Laredo..and the U.D. State Dept has now (as of this morning) issued travellers warning for US citizens against entering Mexico there due to drug cartel activity against foreigners.