South Padre Spring Break clubs & bars – described & broken down

If you plan on going to South Padre Island, Texas this spring break season, chances are you are looking forward to seeing what the island has to offer in terms of nightlife.

I’ll break this down by the “major” spring break clubs to the other possibly fun bars to go to – South Padre does a pretty good job of covering most peoples’ tastes with clubs & bars.

we will provide a basic description, as well as the “pro’s” of the spring break parties there

A major thing to understand about Padre is that it does not offer super club, indoor feel nightclubs. It’s a nice change up from Acapulco if you’ve went there before – South Padre is a casual destination you can wear flip flops to the bars, and not wear pants or slacks as a guy – which we always thought was gay.

Major Spring Break Bars/Clubs Include:
*Louies Backyard
*Club Pelican West
*Tequila Frogs
*Chaos
*Skky Bar & Lounge

Fun Bars to go to
*Palm Street Pier
*Tequila Sunsets
*Amberjacks
*Wanna Wanna Beach Bar
*Jakes

*Louies Backyard
Description:
Louies is a huge venue on the bayside of South Padre Island. In March, June, July, & August,
this restaurant opens up its decking area to become a huge dance party on the water.

Positives of Louies
-Biggest club in South Padre
-Professional, safe, and clean restrooms
-Restaurant has some excellent choices – Steak Fajitas & Ahi Tuna to name two
-Big time concerts on spring break from top artists like Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Ying Yang Twins,
We the Kings, and Cartel.
-Venue has a huge dance floor, and is outside/inside

*Club Pelican West
Description:
Pelican West is the closet approximation of a true nightclub experience you will find on the Island

Positives
-Incredibly nice inside. Huge sound system, if bad weather great choice
-Gives you one night to get really dressed up
-Two levels
-Hosts appearances by Paris Hilton’s My New BFF cast after the booze cruise
-New, nice, very clean

*Tequila Frogs
Description
Tequila Frogs is the venerable bayfront club with the huge froggies specialty drinks and the
wet t shirt contests. It is mostly an outdoor venue. UPDATE: club may night be reopening
for spring break 2009

Positives
-Over the water, huge contest stage
-Huge specialty drinks like the Froggy and Beauty
-Outdoor venue when the weather is nice, its really nice to party outside

*Chaos
Description
Chaos is a huge old shopping mall of t shirt shops that they converted to a club of sorts
It is located right on the main drag in South Padre – you can’t miss it. It is only open in
March for spring break on select nights

Positives
-This place is mostly covered up/inside so if inclement weather it’s good
-Location – noticeable & easy to get to.

*Skky Bar & Lounge
Skky at this time is closed. We will update you if we get word it is to re-open.

Fun Bars to go to
*Palm Street Pier
Description
Palm Street is a SUPER fun bar located over the water – they also have great food

Positives
-On the water, partially covered
-Good food – oysters on the half shell and the Burgers are great there
really inexpensive
-Has a “locals bar” feeling most people get comfortable with very quickly
-Great location near lots of hotels & condos
– Open year round

*Tequila Sunsets
Description
Tequila Sunsets is a cool little bar we feature on our Pub Crawl that always has live music.
It is also located bayside on the water so you can see incredible sunsets

Positives

-Outside, bayside, on the water
-Live bands & music if you like that
-close to Louies for late night partying

*Amberjacks
Description
Amberjacks is actually one of the Island’s very best restaurants. Located on the water, this is a
MUST try dinner place on your spring break. Upstairs, the new sports bar is simply outstanding.

Positives
-Prompt service that’s very good – hard to find in Padre
-EXCELLENT FRESH seafood & steak – go big when you order
-Really nice inside, but not stuffy
-Great location

*Wanna Wanna Beach Bar
Description
Wanna Wanna is one of the only actual bars in South Padre on the beach, and it is located next
to the International condos that http://www.InertiaTours.com offers for students on spring break

Positives
-Beachfront bar, you can grab a drink & set right on the beach
-Superb fried food baskets – shrimp, fish, and the burgers are all superb grubbin’ food
-The Wanna Wanna is a huge specialty drink you should really try
-Bring your crew & play sand volleyball one day

*Jakes
Description
Jakes is what we consider THE locals bar in South Padre. Super fun, great food – we eat there
all the time on staff – on our Padre Pub Crawl, huge outside courtyard with karaoke – MUST try.
Great choice if you and your friends one night want to just hang out & have a few drinks low key

Positives
-Great locals bar feel
-cheap food that’s real good
-nice choice for a night “off” of the mega-bars & clubs.
-Dirt cheap pitchers of beer
-Easy to get to Location right off of Padre Blvd (the main drag)

If you have any questions about South Padre Island on spring break, contact us toll free 800 821 2176 or email us: info@inertiatours.com. We’d be more than happy to help you book a perfect spring break travel package to South Padre, or give you advice on what’s the best down there. Inertia Chad can help you out!

Best Restaurants in South Padre Island, Texas

This is of course a subjective list, and I allude to what restaurants I love to eat at throughout a bunch of my blog posts but here we go…one thing about recommending a restaurant is you also have tell people what the hell to order. For example, Torchy’s Tacos here in Austin has the best queso in Texas, but the tacos suck, does this make sense?

Breakfast:

Well, my hands down favorite if I want a big ass ol’ Texas sized breakfast is Bennys By the Bay Cafe. You know the kind of place that isn’t all pretty inside, smells a little greasy like bacon but the Lord have MERCY good. A couple fried eggs, double order a bacon, some fresh hashbrowns (i’m talking he (walter, the owner) baked the potatoes & shredded them -retarded good kind) – my kinda breakfast with all you can drink coffee. You’ll be outta there for about $6 on this bad boy.

Here’s a quick video on Benny’s”

I also highly recommend at some time you go across the causeway to Manuels. Their breakfast tacos are 1.5 feet long, and ranked by Texas Monthly as one of the best in our State. Don’t think Texans know how to make tacos. Think again foo !!!

Manuels has two drawbacks. 1.) The place is filthy and should be shut down until its cleaned top to bottom. Unacceptably dirty. 2.) Long wait on the weekends.

A rival taco place to this on the island I really enjoy is Rovan’s. I think anything beyond the breakfast tacos for breakfast ain’t that great -it’s normal cafe food. But…the egg taco with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese on the side rivals Manuels in all ways.

Best Pancakes on the Island are at a little hole in the wall called Ted’s Restaurant. Same goes with coffee – theirs is the best.

Lunch:

There are of course 99 places with something good, here’s the list:

Best place to impress someone on lunch: Amberjacks. Order the salmon salad or ANY piece of fresh fish, just say it’s the chefs choice prepared anyway he wants. It’ll be superb

Here’s a video on the outside of the Amberjacks on South Padre:

My hands down favorite place for lunch is the South Padre Brewing Company. The place is slow, has overall horseshit service and is overpriced….BUT a.) their chicken salad pita is the BOMB order with fresh roasted potatoes and throw Atkins the bird. or b.) I’m not a big pizza guy, but theirs during lunch is really good.

Also, Mamacita’s has the best chicken fajitas (they call them tequila lime chicken) in south padre. The best steak fajitas is at Louies Backyard, HANDS DOWN….superb fixin’s they bring you quacamole and sour cream unlimited & off the bat – love it.

Here’s a video on the outside of Louie’s Backyard before they opened one day:

If you are one of those “all you can eat fried fish” people – I’ve ate most of them in South Padre. I have to say the Grapevine Cafe is ok. Not great, but ok…again, I’m not in love with frozen cod.

For the fried shrimp crazy people, Daddy’s Seafood Kitchen is the best on the Island. The large shrimp basket is good. They “double butterfly” their shrimp which you’ll have to go their & check em’ out to see what that means.

Ok, fresh (and raw) oysters …I’d go to Palm Street Pier myself. They keep them ultra cold & ultra fresh – they can point to where they came from actually in the bay – I won’t eat oysters I can’t see the beds on anymore. One bad oyster and you’ll shit your pants for 2 days.

Are you a “burger & fries” sort of person? Nod goes to Benny’s By the Bay…INCREDIBLE bacon cheeseburgers. A close 2nd I would say is daddy’s seatood kitchen…yeah that’s weird but true. Seafood & good burgers? But they do.

Dinner:

Ok, dinner can cover one hell of alot of palettes. Very subjective, but let’s face it, good service can make up for mediocre food and mediocre service you can stand with stellar food. Thing is, in South Padre Island NO ONE has yet stepped up to give what I feel is truly first class service.

A smile when you arrive, quick order, drinks always full, a check you don’t have to beg for and a Nice “see you again soon!!!” when you leave….I would say 99% of South Padre Restaurants have at least 2 of these things wrong. It’s fucking unbelievable in my mind. I have an Italian uncle that owned several restaurants, and if he got treated this way he’d probably go to the Owners house & ask why – In South Padre, if their is a complaint, they treat you like a rude tourist, even though you are paying exhorbinat rates and they want their 20% tip.

With THAT SAID…here goes…it’s alot easier to bitch then rave…

Best Steak Fajitas (this is my GO TO meal if I can’t decide) – Louies Backyard in the locals bar. They also happen to have the BEST steak dinner on the island. Yeah, it’s a bar, but also a bad ass restaurant with some really nice dining out on the deck over the water. It’s not cheap, but who gives shit? You’re on vacation!

Best seafood of any kind: Amberjacks…excepting fried shrimp & raw oysters…you already read about that.

Sushi – now here REALLY is an exceptional situation – not only does Kohnami have the ONLY sushi on the Island..it’s as good as any sushi I’ve had up here in Austin Texas – so that says alot. Again, sit at the Sushi bar, and don’t order. Let the chef decide and don’t be a pussy….if you are still eating “philadelphia rolls” or “california rolls” just go to HEB and save some money dumb ass.

Specialty Food: Zest Deli – this place is a MUST VISIT if you go to South Padre…the inside feels like an upscale deli in Greenwich Village in NYC…but they have pork tenderloin, the best cesar salad on the Island, fresh veggies, and about 100 different kinds of wine you can taste. I LOVE this place…it’s SUPERB…sorta a late lunch/early dinner place but really really good.

That’s my list. You might notice a few of the “big” restaurants missing – its because their food sucks worse than Chili’s, and their service is straight up horrible.

When you go to South Padre for Spring Break, don’t be a moron – go out for at least ONE nice dinner while you are there -it’s a vacation, not a Natural Life Beer diet the whole time.

For more information on great spring break travel packages to South Padre Island, visit http://www.inertiatours.com , email us questions: chad@inertiatours.com, or call us toll free 800 821 2176

Inertia Tours Back to Campus Tour to hit 40 plus college campuses

Inertia Tours is once again hosting with the South Padre Island Convention & Visitors Bureau the Back to Campus Tour on over 40 plus midwestern college campuses promoting South Padre Island as the destination of choice.

Our College Campus Rep team that organizes each college campus’ road trips for spring break takes advantage of these interactive parties to invite people to see a quality DJ, get some pictures from an MTV personality, and market our trips with them.

Our Back to Campus Tour features DJ Silver and Raab as Himself from MTV’s Jackass movie, with a free spring break trip 2009 given away at each dance party.

Inertia’s sponsor rep on hand not only gives the trip away, but great souvenir swag for those that attend, include surfboard bottle open keychains from the Sea Island Resort South Padre (formerly known as the Radisson South Padre Island), koozies from the Brownsville Airport, stickers from Louie’s Backyard nightclub, and Keggar Kups sponsored by South Padre Island & Y Vodka.

South Padre Island, Texas is a great choice for college students that want a trip they can jump in the car & GO! for 5 or 6 nights, on the beach, with thousands of other partying students.

Inertia Tours is based in Austin, Texas and specializes on College Spring Break Trips to South Padre Island $500 and less per person with a beachfront condo, meals, + event parties.

Call Inertia Tours toll free 800 821 2176 for helpful, friendly advice on putting a nice spring break package together for you & your friends – or for simply a cheap spring break trip.

My favorite day on Spring Break in South Padre Island, Texas

I would get up and take a shower, and roll down to Benny’s by the Bay Cafe, which is located at the Sea Ranch Marina on the southernmost tip of South Padre Island.

Benny is actually Walter (the Owner) its his Dog)

Once there, I’d go & get my self service coffee, then wander over & steal some of Walter’s fresh milk from the fridge for my java. I’d order 3 eggs over hard, double order of his ridiculously good bacon, and a large serving of his freshly made hashed browns (the best I’ve ever had). A slow breakfast and 3 or 4 cups of coffee would do the job.

Next, I’d stop by my friends Bryan’s office to say hello to everyone at Island Services, shooting the breeze for 20 to 30 minutes, eventually sauntering out to get back to the Inertia Tours office located at 1515 Padre Blvd by Club Chaos. Once there, I’d pretend like I was going to whack our Operations Vice President in the balls (he’d be on the phone) chuckle, then fire up email and get them all answered and probably take a few calls.

Eventually, I’d wander over to my brother’s shop http://www.paradisetowingcompany.com and see what’s going on with South Padre Island Towing these days. By this time, it’d be 1 p.m. and time for lunch. I would have put Bryan Pinkerton off until this late, then me, him, and Adam Hancock from VIP Rentals would cruise over to Pirate’s Landing to meet up with South Padre Island Mayor Robert Pinkerton. We’d eat lunch, Bob would ask for a full, huge glass of ice for his Iced Tea like he always does. Bryan & Adam would get soup and Po’ Boys, and I’d order some sort of fish. Bob Friedman the Owner would stop by, we’d chat with him, and soon off we’d go. Light Island Politics would follow and a general discussion of the economy.

After we finish up, I’d head to my condo on south padre across the Queen Isabella Causeway, and grab Miki my retarded little Pom dog and my girlfriend Austin

Miki the Masta!

My lovely girlfriend Austin would come with also, but she’s not good at walking the dog, I’d have to take over:

Austin at the Mini Golf

We’d go for a walk down the beach about 2 miles each way to get our cardio done, then head back to get ready for kiteboarding lessons with http://www.airpadre.com with Jeff Hoxtell. I love to wakeboard, but in South Padre, the water is far too shallow in they bay.

Exhausted, we’d come back and get ready to go to Dinner at Kohnami for the Sushi Boat and some Sake bombs, and finally off to Louies Backyard for a drink before hitting the hay.

Sure, it wouldn’t have to be Spring Break in South Padre to do these things – but I would want it to be – Inertia Tours does it right! Check out my Company http://www.inertiatours.com to book, or call me 800 821 2176 and I’ll book your trip effortlessly for you and your group. My email is chad@inertiatours.com if you prefer