You’re in Corpus Christi and you’re hungry. You had a long day of fun, and now it’s time to have dinner and relax. Which of the many Corpus Christi restaurants will provide you with a good meal to satisfy your appetite?

Corpus Christi is a fairly big city, so there are many places to eat. It is nice, however, if you can find good restaurants fairly near to where you are likely to stay when on vacation in Corpus.

Here are a few of our favorite… 

Corpus Christi Restaurants

Ol’ Steakhouse Co. (formerly Longhorn Steak & Ale)

My favorite among Corpus Christi restaurants is probably the Ol’ Steakhouse Co. (formerly Longhorn Steak & Ale).

These guys sure know how to cook a steak. Try the ribeye! The calamari is wonderful too.

The atmosphere at the Ol’ Steakhouse Co is casual, their service is great, and so are their prices. All round excellent value!

Andy’s Kitchen

Andy’s Kitchen is a simple, family-owned restaurant with good food. It is a “southern home style” restaurant.

Andy’s Kitchen is open for breakfast and lunch. You can have amazing country breakfast there for under $10. If you feel like a Mexican breakfast, they have that too.

For lunch they have old southern favorites, like country fried steak and country fried chicken. They also have a nice range of seafood and Mexican dishes.

The kids enjoyed the locomotives circling on two suspended tracks! I enjoyed the friendly service, good food, and reasonable prices.

Bellino’s

In the mood for some Italiano? Give Bellino’s a shot!

Bellino’s serves authentic Italian food. While they don’t serve pizza, you will find an excellent range of salads, sandwiches, pasta, dessert, coffees, and more. They also have a great kids’ menu.

Bellino’s is closed on Sunday and Monday, open for lunch and dinner on all other days, with happy hour from 3 pm – 6 pm.

There is also a Bellino’s in Rockport, not too far from either Corpus Christi or Port Aransas.

Hester’s Cafe & Coffee Shop

Hester’s Cafe & Coffee Shop have two locations, one on Alameda street, and the other at the Art Museum.

Hester’s is open for lunch and breakfast, although the Art Museum location only opens at 10 a.m.

If you like good coffee, Hester’s is the place to go. If you go for breakfast, try one of their omelettes. They are great. Their panninis are very good too. For lunch they have a variety of tasty sandwiches and panninis, as well as salads.

Did I mention coffees? And then there are the coffees…

Executive Surf Club

Last, but not least, is the Executive Surf Club. They have good food, cold beer, and live music!

Some of the Executive Surf Club’s favorites include chicken fried steak, various wraps, and fish & chips. They also serve various delicious burgers and sandwiches.

If you’re a beer lover, you’ll find various domestic beers, imported beers, and beer on tap. One of my favorites on tap is Landshark.

There are usually also live bands that play that the Executive Surf Club on the weekends. If you want a fun evening out, this is a great place to go.

These restaurants ought to provide a scrumptious meal to satisfy a wide variety of people, including you and you family. If, however, you want to look at a few more choices, here is a list of good restaurants in Corpus Christi.

There are many Corpus Christi hotels to choose from. It is a beach vacation destination after all.

When we go traveling, I try to find hotels that are close to the things we want to do in that city.

It is also really nice if there are decent restaurants to choose from that also close to the hotel.

The Corpus Christi hotels that I have chosen below are close to our favorite things to do in Corpus Christi. 

Corpus Christi Hotels

Staybridge Suites Corpus Christi

The Staybridge Suites Corpus Christi is located close to TX-358 about halfway between downtown Corpus Christi and North Padre Island.

This makes it ideally located to cover the things to do in both of those locations. It also means that there are several good restaurants close by.

The Staybridge has a nice pool and a fitness center, among other things. The rooms have kitchenettes, which makes it ideal if you would like to prepare a few meals in the room.

The Staybridge is more intended for “extended stay”, but if you’re going to be on vacation for a week and need a great hotel, this is one of the best choices among Corpus Christi hotels.

 Comfort Suites North Padre Island

For our summer family vacations, I prefer to stay in a hotel near the North Padre Island beaches.

For that reason, I like the Comfort Suites North Padre Island on Windward Drive. It is just across the street from the beach.

The Comfort Suites has a great pool for days when want to swim, but not go to the beach. It also has a nice hot tub that we like in the evenings.

Room have kitchenettes, which are handy if you want to make the kids a snack, but don’t want to go to a restaurant.

Holiday Inn Corpus Christi – North Padre Island

If you would like to stay right on the beach, the best choice is the Holiday Inn Corpus Christi – North Padre Island. You can walk right onto the beach from the hotel!

This hotel used to be a SpongeBob-themed Holiday Inn Sunspree, but it has since been revamped.

The hotel has a nice pool with a bar, and in the evenings they often have a live band playing at the bar… great for relaxing with a sun-downer!

These are our favorite hotels in Corpus Christi, but if you want to look at a few others, here is a list of other great Corpus Christi hotels.

I’m guessing you’re planning to head to Corpus Christi for a few days, or are already there, and you’re looking for fun things to do in Corpus Christi.

Is Corpus Christi a boring place with nothing to do, or could you have a good time there?

The good news is that there are plenty of fun things to do in Corpus Christi and the surrounding area. We have been there a few times, and had a great time every time!

An added bonus with Corpus Christi is that it is fairly close to Port Aransas… you could pick a day to go there as well.

Our favorite Corpus Christi activities are a visit to the beach, fishing, a visit to the Aquarium and the USS Lexington, and a dolphin cruise. Here’s the scoop about them… 

Things To Do In Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi Beaches

As far as my kids are concerned, one of the first things to do in Corpus Christi on a family vacation is to hit the beach!

McGee beach is located downtown and within walking distance from several hotels. Corpus Christi beach is a little further north along the bay, right by the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington.

Being on a bay protected by a barrier island, these beaches don’t have huge waves. This makes it really nice for smaller kids to play at the water’s edge. The only not-so-nice thing to me was the jellyfish in the water. I think the City makes an effort to clean it all up, but it is still something to watch out for.

I prefer the beach on North Padre Island, which is only about 20 minutes from downtown Corpus Christi. There are better waves, so the kids can have fun with the boogie boards and the skim board.

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Fishing In Corpus Christi

Fishing is one of the fun things to do in Corpus Christi. A good option is to go on one of the bay fishing charter boats. Using “fish finders”, these fishing boats will take you out to wherever the fish is currently biting. One such outfit is C & T Bay Charters.

The Bob Hall Pier on North Padre is a good option too. You can fish there for King Mackerel, Shark, Red Drum, and several other species. The beach around the pier is great. If the kids don’t want to fish, they can hit the waves and have a good time too.

To me, a good option for deep sea fishing is to go to Port Aransas and use one of the deep sea fishing companies there. That avoids spending extra time crossing the Corpus Christi Bay on your way to the deep waters.

Corpus Christi Aquarium

My kids like the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi.

It’s not a very big aquarium, but it has some very good educational exhibits. The Islands of Steel, an under-water habitat built around a replica of an offshore oil platform, is great. Of course, the dolphins are always a hit.

The Aquarium does seem to be a little pricey, but overall it is a great place to take the kids to.

USS Lexington

Visiting the USS Lexington is one of the really cool things to do in Corpus Christi!

It is a WWII-era aircraft carrier with several airplanes on deck. You take a self-guided tour through the ship. I found it incredibly educational, and it left me in awe of what our armed forces do for us!

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because there are lots of stairs to climb. We went in the summer, and I was glad we wore hats. It gets quite hot on the landing deck. There is so much to see that we spent 2 to 3 hours there.

Visit the USS Lexington if you can. It truly was one of the highlights of our vacation in Corpus Christi!

Dolphins

One of the special things to do in Corpus Christi is a dolphin cruise!

Can you imagine how much kids (and grown-ups) like it to see dolphins swimming up close to the boat, and even sometimes coming close enough to touch them? This is a great experience that my kids love!

Dolphin Connection Texas provides a service that lets you do exactly that! Make reservations though. They are quite popular.

We hope this article has been helpful. All the fun things to do in Corpus Christi can provide a great Texas family vacation to anyone!

PS. Also see our page on Corpus Christi hotels.

There’s no doubt about it — RV camping fans love the Lone Star State!

There are many great places to go RV camping in Texas!

Here are ten great reasons to pack up the RV and take a family vacation to Texas: 

1. RV Camping to Abilene – This north Texas town played a big part in frontier days, and it offers visitors the chance to experience the Lone Star State during the days of cowboys and cattle drives. Be sure to visit Frontier Texas, where multimedia experiences will teach your kids about the people and places that contributed to the development of Texas.

2. Austin for RVers – Looking for an urban destination with plenty of place to play outdoors? Go no further than Austin, where a string of lakes along the Colorado River march right into the middle of town. Fish, camp and hike at Lake Austin, Lake Travis or any of the four other lakes within easy driving distance of the city.

3. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area – A pink granite dome in the heart of Texas? That’s right — Enchanted Rock State Natural Area boasts a four-hundred foot granite dome that’s perfect for hiking and rock climbing. A day use area, this park doesn’t have RV camping facilities, but nearby facilities such as Fredericksburg RV Park offer comfortable camping.

4. Galveston Family RV Vacation – With fantastically fun places like Moody Gardens waiting to entertain your family, it’s time for an RV road trip to Galveston. Don’t miss the Battleship TEXAS, the Seaport Museum and the great RV campground at Galveston Island State Park.

5. Goliad State Park and Historic Sites – Park your RV at this state park northwest of Corpus Christi and then immerse yourself in Texas history. Ruins of an 18th century mission, the birthplace of General Zaragoza and the Mission Espiritu Santo State Historic Site are just three of the fascinating places to visit near the Victorian town of Goliad.

6. Lake Mineral Wells State Park – In an area once known for its healing mineral waters, this state park is popular with hikers, bikers and equestrians, thanks to a scenic twenty mile trailway. Just forty five minutes from downtown Fort Worth, the park welcomes RV campers with full-service campsites and nice amenities.

7. Port Isabel – Right across the Queen Isabella Causeway from Padre Island, the city of Port Isabel is an historic treasure. Port Isabel Lighthouse can be explored and photographed to your heart’s content, and the Treasures of the Gulf Museum and Port Isabel Historic Museum are a short walk away.

8. San Antonio for RV Campers – The City of San Antonio, TX is filled with cultural, historic and just plain fun attractions for the entire family. Why not park your RV at one of the many area campgrounds and then spend your vacation enjoying the city’s Paseo del Rio Riverwalk, historic treasures like The Alamo and a walk on the wild side at the San Antonio Zoo?

9. Seminole Canyon State Historic Park – An incredibly rugged setting near the US/Mexico border is home to some of the best preserved pictographs in the world. Take a guided tour into the canyon to explore ancient cave art, and take advantage of convenient RV camping on-site.

10. Toledo Bend Reservoir/Lake Sam Rayburn – Two top bass fishing lakes sit side-by-side on the Texas/Louisiana border. Toledo Bend Reservoir is surrounded by the unspoiled beauty of the Sabine National Forest and Lake Sam Rayburn cuts right through the middle of Angelina National Forest. If you’re looking for a spot to make an extended fishing and RV camping trip to Texas, these two lakes fill the bill!

Are you planning to go RV camping in Texas? I’d like to help you prepare for your camping trip by providing you with some information about Texas RV parks. Armed with this information, you will know what to expect and have more fun when you go RV camping in Texas.

Did you know that there are two basic ways in which people use their RVs and that RV parks that cater to each type of RV-er offer different features? I want to tell you all about that. 

I think it is also important that you understand RV park pricing and what may, or may not be included in the price.

Then there is another fun use of an RV that not a lot of people have ever thought of…

Two Basic Forms of RV Usage

There are several ways to use an RV and it turns out that the usage of your RV affects the parks as well. The two primary models are vacation RV usage and full-time RV usage.

Vacation RV Usage

Vacation usage means that you might store the RV a large portion of the year and you use it for vacations, like spring breaks, summer vacations, and Christmas.

Parks that focus on Vacation Usage

Typically, vacationers who go RV camping in Texas are interested in parks with amenities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, saunas, jacuzzis, work-out centers, and more. You’ll find more parks with amenities near vacation or tourist destinations, such as Texas coastal areas or Texas Hill Country areas.

Usually, these parks are almost always in better condition, have a more festive atmosphere, and have much nicer RVs as clientele.

However, if you go RV camping in Texas during an off-season, being in a park with 400 spaces and you are one of three RVs in the park, that might take away from the fun. I know my children enjoy meeting other kids, so a few neighbors isn’t a bad idea.

Full-time RV Usage

Full time usage means that people live in their RVs full-time. There are really two different types of full-timers – those that are living and working in the area long term, and those that are living in their RV, but really staying in an area for a month or more at a time.

Parks that focus on Full-timer Usage

I’ve found that parks that focus on full-timers tend to have fewer amenities and have to work very diligently to make sure that rigs are kept up. The “just-passing-through” types of full-timers usually have extraordinary RVs, so rules that limit the age of RVs tend to make neater parks with more travelers and have more amenities.

Parks that understand the dynamic of RV age have rules on the age of the RV, night time noise rules, and even have their park subdivided into a full-time section and a vacation section. I’ve seen this done very well with an Austin park called La Hacienda RV Resort.

Setting Your Expectations On RV Parks

If you use the knowledge above, you’ll be able to know that RV parks in Killeen, Corpus Christi, Longview, and other industrially-oriented towns are more for full-timers and are going to likely have older RVs and few amenities. This isn’t a perfect rule, but should help you locate places quickly.

Here is an example of a nicer RV Park in Corpus Christi, a city which has more parks oriented to full-timers.

Hill Country vacation towns like Wimberley and Fredericksburg will have nicer parks and a large vacation population. This is true around Bandera as well. For larger cities, if the cities have a strong tourist contingent you’ll find nice parks that cater to both crowds so you can expect to find what you want.

Understanding RV Park Pricing In Texas

To help you budget your stay, here are some guidelines about pricing.

What I’ve seen when we went RV camping in Texas is that parks range from $250 – $550 per month. These are monthly rates. Usually, to calculate a day rate, you could divide the monthly rate by 10. It is common to have a $30 rate for a day rate at an RV park.

This means that RV parks are priced below most hotels, but also priced so that you have an incentive to purchase an entire month.

Electricity and Internet? Included or Not?

There are no standards on whether or not you get free cable or internet, but the cable is usually off of an older box that does not provide HD signals. The RV parks’ internet I have found to be sporadic as well, even if offered by a service provider contracted by the park. This is so common that I never anticipate having WiFi, even if it is offered.

The one item that is worth exploring is the electric service. In Texas summers, the electric bill for cooling even a small camper will easily be $100-$200. In my personal experience, where I have had to pay for electric, it seemed higher than it would have been in my sticks and bricks house.

If you go RV camping in Texas during the summer and electric is included in the bill then that has some real value. In the rest of the seasons, it isn’t very important.

Tailgating – RV’ing In A Class By Itself

There is a usage for an RV that has nothing to do with RV camping in Texas that is worth mentioning. If you are in Texas in the Fall, taking your RV to a football game to tailgate is a wonderful experience.

Texas has a number of great colleges and I personally have been to College Station for a Fall football game. Rest assured, I’ll be doing that again! Be prepared to run off only your stored water and generator. Make sure you bring your college flag, and remember – BIGGER is better!

This should give you a good place to start with RV camping in Texas. Enjoy your trip!