For some of our long time readers, you might remember that one of our New Year’s Resolutions for 2020 was to take Lily to the beach for the first time. Of course, that was in January of 2020… and we all know what happened next. Fast forward to summer of 2021, and we decided to finally to cross that resolution off the list by visiting Port Aransas… and we enjoyed it so much that we recently went back!
Texas isn’t exactly known for its beaches, and when we first decided to visit Port Aransas, we thought we were “settling” a bit in comparison to the typical destinations like Florida or California… but we found that we couldn’t have been further from the truth! Port A ultimately had exactly what we were looking for: clean, calm beaches, and all the amenities and local dives that you could want from a beach town.
Where to Stay: Rent a Condo at Cinnamon Shores or the Aransas Princess
After our most recent trip to Port A, the accommodations we’d recommend the most are at Cinnamon Shore. It’s a beautifully constructed neighborhood of homes and condos that perfectly encapsulate the style you’d expect from a beach town, and they offer every amenity you could want: several pools, three on-site restaurants (or four if you include the ice cream stand), and activities/programming throughout the course of your stay. We stayed at a charming three bedroom condo called Making Waves that was more than large enough for us – Lily had a room of four bunkbeds all to herself!
In comparison to staying at Cinnamon Shore, the Aransas Princess is a more budget-friendly option, but although it may not have quite as many amenities or the same beach-cottage aesthetic, it was still a great place to stay. Every condo had an amazing view of the beach (which was a short walk away), and the centrally-located pool was a great option when you wanted to take a break from the sand.
What to Eat: Pizza from Port A Pizzeria, or fresh Gulf Seafood
The go-to food option for the first night of any trip to Port Aransas should be Port A Pizzeria. There are plenty of pizza places in town (including the chains you’d expect), but Port A Pizzeria’s pizza proves to be superior to all of them – and a lot of that is because of their noticeably fresh ingredients. Every type of pizza we’ve had has been great, but the one that stands out with us is the apple dessert pizza: we legitimately still have dreams about it! And if you’re at all worried that the delivery person might not find you if you’re staying in a condo or Airbnb, put your mind at ease – the locals delivering pizza know their way inside and out of Port A’s sometimes-complex addresses.
Port A also has a number of local restaurants and bars that serve fresh Gulf Coast seafood, so you’d be remiss to not take advantage of those if you like fish! Our personal favorite is Fins Grill and Icehouse, a casual bar and grill that will actually prepare any fish that you catch during your time in Port A. We didn’t have a chance to do that ourselves, but that didn’t matter – every dish we had was noticeably fresh, and was genuinely delicious. And not to emphasize our sweet tooth too much, but the key lime pie was some of the best we’ve ever had!
What to Do: Hang out at the Beach!
Make no mistake – the best things to do in Port Aransas all revolve around one thing: the beach. Port A is a smaller town, but while they have ample restaurants, shopping, and activities, they are all beach related. That’s exactly what you go to Port Aransas for, though, and it provides that all in spades. The beaches are some of the cleanest in Texas, and even on its busiest weekends, Port A is still a quiet and relaxing beach getaway.
Overall, we can’t recommend Port Aransas enough – our family all lives in Texas, and this quickly became one of our favorite destinations to visit together. We’ve found that beach trips are enjoyable for all ages (with the right amount of sunscreen), and we anticipate many more trips to Port A in our future!