I'm close to locking in a nilgai hunt on the king ranch in mid March, and I was thinking of having the family come down for spring-breakery as well. Kids are 7-14. Y'all know of any good places to stay or things to do in that general area? I haven't stayed in that part of the state before. We like outdoorsy but don't want to camp or RV or vrbo (wife likes a drink/food made for her and a nice sunset on vacation).
Thanks!!!

I would say finish up your hunt and head to Port A, but it will be a zoo for spring break. Rockport would be a lot more peaceful and could check a couple of boxes for the wife.

Take a tour of the King Ranch Museum in Kingsville. It's been years since I was there but it had some interesting items on display.

Not much other than to hit up Kings Inn for dinner one night. Probably worth the drive to corpus for the fam but SB does become a big CF on the island.

I'd go fish Baffin.

When I reached out to King Ranch late last year they were booked until about May for day hunts on Nilgai. I'll probably book one for next year.

Report back on the trip!

Eat a King's Inn, go fish Baffin, and spend some time on the coast.

Well, there's a Whataburger in Kingsville.

I've actually got a work buddy whose dad has a big lease…so I'll be getting my first hunting hookup ever…I can taste the savings already…and yes depending on signal down there I may try my first ever goin' live thread

That's awesome! I hope to one day too be the entertained and not the entertainer.

Looking forward to the thread

https://www.baffinbayrodandgun.com/

You can go watch Navy T-45's bounce at NAS Kingsville. I actually did this one evening for about 2 hours when I was stuck down there.

Padre island

Go to mansfield

Are you on the north or south end of the ranch? If your wife wants a resort, you will probably need to go to South Padre (spring break will be crazy).

Port Aransas also crazy for spring break doesn't really offer "resort". Closest would be a VRBO at Palmilla or cinnamon shore. They have pools with bartenders. Nice restaurants also, but will be packed.

Other family friendly options near San Antonio.
Hyatt hill country or lost pines.
JW Marriott

The ranch is kind of no man's land for what you want for your wife. Most of the answers here are places I love, but don't fit what you want for your wife

If she would be up for an OB kind of spring break, the options above would be a lot of fun for fishing etc.

IMansfield is really unique, but it's 99% outdoor related. Restaurants are east to get in and out. But that's because they are nothing special. I'd book a fishing guide for a few days and get out of there. You can get a pretty nice house.

I would say Cinnamon Shores especially if you are going to be out of pocket. Lisa Bella's is in the center of Cinnamon Shores and we usually eat there every time we head down. Dylan's has the best Pizza in Port A to me and it's in Cinnamon Shores. The beach for wife and kids will be the best place as far as crowds are concerned.

Port Aransas will be a zoo with probably every golf cart in Port A rented.....and we have a lot of them.

The one negative will be the price at CS.....I would think you might get in on the high end of $400 per night....maybe....... that's normal but I think they probably are higher on annual busy weeks.

Our ranch is 25 miles away from Kingsville a couple of other suggestions are eat at Big House Burgers (it's nothing great, but it's great by STX standards) and go to King Ranch Store so your wife with can get a couple of things for mementos from your trip to Kingsville.

ItsA&InotA&M said:

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Take a tour of the King Ranch Museum in Kingsville. It's been years since I was there but it had some interesting items on display.

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Also take in the ranch store in Kingsville........if it's still open

Thanks everyone!!
this gives a lot of options to plan with, really appreciated - I haven't heard of any of these things before (outside of golf carts on port A).
In laws live in San Antonio so that may end up part of the plan at some point during the week.
Regarding where on the ranch I'll be hunting - I don't actually know yet, I'll find out on Tuesday when I'm having a planning meeting on it with my buddy.

I agree with eating at King's Inn. Anytime I am close to the area (which isn't often) I enjoy their food.

My wife is from Kingsville and raved about King's Inn. It was gross in every imaginable way.

Port A Pizzaria > Dylan's

If you thought traffic before was something…….island/Port A traffic from CC across the causeway bridge is going to be madness.

Construction of the causeway bridge down to one lane going and coming. Unless they finish it up before spring break.

Bufatso's was much better than Port A Pizzaria on it's best day!

I have owned a place in Port A for over two decades. The best FOUR places all closed...Bufatso's, Quarter Deck, Beulah's and Taco Rama/Shrimp House.

Sadly in my opinion,with one exception, places in Port A aren't as good as they were before
Hurricane Harvey, Staff, chefs & price....

The only exception is The Phoenix and we only go there when you can sit outside.

I agree with Beulah's. That was the best restaurant in the whole Coastal Bend. Now, some of my favorites are Tortuga's Grill, La Playa, Irie's, sometimes Roosevelts and Black Marlin. Lisabellas can be very hit or miss. But it is convenient if you're staying at Cinnamon Shore. You are right about staffing problems and places not being able to handle the holiday weekend crowds.

Tortuga's, MacDaddy's & Finn's are owned by one guy. I would rank them in that order.

Roosevelt's lost a lot of customers when they reopened up after Harvey....including us. We have gone back a couple of times this year and it has rebounded. They have opened the 1886 Bar in the old Beulah's building. It's nice and quiet. You can get drinks, appetizers and I think things off the menu.

Montego Bay was our favorite place. Best food and probably the most expensive and slowest....it took well over an hour to eat there. Their rent jumped drastically and they had to close. Originally it was La Barataria and located at Island Mooring's. She moved to the old Lisa Bella's location next to The Tarpon Inn. We went there on a Friday night and she had a couple of new dishes and it was great. We decided to go back on Saturday. It was great. A kitchen fire burned it down about midnight.

There is very little office space in Port Aransas and it's in great demand. The strip mall that has Miss K's and the Local's Wine Bar sold and it's causing a big jump in their rent. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't converted to offices.

Corpus will be fine if you stick to North Beach. Spring Breakers don't really stay there. You can take the kids for a beach day there then visit the USS Lexington and the Texas State Aquarium.

At that age my kids liked the Lex.

ISMM48 said:

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If you thought traffic before was something…….island/Port A traffic from CC across the causeway bridge is going to be madness.

Construction of the causeway bridge down to one lane going and coming. Unless they finish it up before spring break.

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If you're coming from the north, via I-37, to avoid the causeway bridge traffic, take the 881 exit two miles south of Mathis and go thru Sinton, Taft, and Gregory to AP and Port A.

But, to avoid waiting at the ferries, take 358 (SPID) around CC to Padre Island, then north to Port A. It's a little further, but none of the traffic delays or ferry lines to wait in.

King's Inn was The Bomb back in the day, when the Browns owned/ran it. Heard it's gotten pricey, but my son went to Baffin Bay Seafood Co. in Riviera recently, and found it excellent.

I got out of A&M in the mid 60's and went to work in Premont. We got paid every other Friday. We would head to King's Inn on one Friday and the Mesquite Inn the following Friday. They were close and both were excellent.Wives liked Mesquite better.

When Hurricane Beulah hit Baffin it washed the King's foundation out from under the bathroom dropping the wall down about 2'....they never closed and the bathroom was open.

Was a fish, in Dorm 10 when Beulah hit, so "missed it", but it's the only time in my lifetime it rained "too much" in George West, where I grew up.

Unfamiliar with Mesquite Inn, or have forgotten about it.

I don't remember exactly where it was. I would say 2-3 miles before you get to King's Inn. It was out in the woods...not on the bay. Centerpole might know.

BoerneGator said:

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ISMM48 said:

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If you thought traffic before was something…….island/Port A traffic from CC across the causeway bridge is going to be madness.

Construction of the causeway bridge down to one lane going and coming. Unless they finish it up before spring break.

---

If you're coming from the north, via I-37, to avoid the causeway bridge traffic, take the 881 exit two miles south of Mathis and go thru Sinton, Taft, and Gregory to AP and Port A.

But, to avoid waiting at the ferries, take 358 (SPID) around CC to Padre Island, then north to Port A. It's a little further, but none of the traffic delays or ferry lines to wait in.

King's Inn was The Bomb back in the day, when the Browns owned/ran it. Heard it's gotten pricey, but my son went to Baffin Bay Seafood Co. in Riviera recently, and found it excellent.

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358 to padre island is gonna be backed up unless they finish their construction. It's down to one lane east and one lane west. So the ferry may actually be shorter. It all depends if they can finish the causeway work in time.

Friend said he witnessed two knuckleheads drag racing to the single lane cutoff, both went into the wall…. Hahahaa

BoerneGator said:

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Was a fish, in Dorm 10 when Beulah hit, so "missed it", but it's the only time in my lifetime it rained "too much" in George West, where I grew up.

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I missed it too. I wasn't born until December.

sunchaser said:

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I don't remember exactly where it was. I would say 2-3 miles before you get to King's Inn. It was out in the woods...not on the bay. Centerpole might know.

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Sorry my friend, that was before my time.

King's Inn is still the original and always will be in our family. Railroad Station in Odem or the Railroad Seafood & Brewery in Corpitos give a similar experience because the Tartar sauce is the same, but there is no substitute for the boards creaking under the weight of your server bringing a family style meal to the table. Have not tried Baffin Seafood yet, I'm available for a meetup after planting. Damn, this is making me hungry.

I know it is not on the table per the direction the thread has gone but I would urge the OP to avoid SPI on spring break with his young family. Not the time to enjoy the beach there as a familly IMHO.

Maybe after the sixth Annual Aggie Fly Fishing weekend at Port Mansfield we can hit one of those places. I really miss NW80 and think about the plans he made....

You and me both. I think of him often. I remember once asking him 'Doc, are you sure you're going to be happy down here? It's kind of the end of the world' and he just said "Well, you're there, aren't you?"

It sometimes brings a tear.