Beach Access #16 - Neptune Circle — Attraction in South Padre Island

Our 1st time at this location, and our 1st time as adults with kids to S. Padre Island. We didn't even know they had public parking, so close to the beach. This was in between 2 housing/apt/condo buildings. You couldn't even tell that this was a parking lot for the beach. We were thinking we were gonna get towed away. Overall, it was a pleasant surprise to find out we didn't have to pay for parking and/or worry about getting towed. They do have showers outdoors, but if it is a busy day expect to wait a long long time, for the people that bring all of their "bathing supplies and shampoos" to "rinse off." The restrooms as you can imagine are tight and limited and also long waits for people to "change" after they bathe. Walking towards the beach front, there is a "covering" cover the sand that you need shoes for. Once you get to the beach portion, it is ok, and as clean as a beach can be. We had some fun and even brought the family pups along and it too was their first time. Regular beach patrols by the Lifeguards was cool and they were pretty mobile. Warning signs for the waves and water were present and visible. Apparently there are "nicer" parts of South Padre, so we will be coming back to find them. Dolphin Tours, Fishing Boat Excursions, and other tours are available for a...

Unnecessarily aggressive employee

The Sun Tide rental guy working on the morning of July 12 was unnecessarily aggressive, and displayed a predatory and cowardly attitude by confronting the women of our group in less than a minute from the time we arrived. Situation: we arrived on the beach near “Public Beach Access #16 Neptune Circle”and started setting up our stuff, leaning our stuff against their rental chairs.

INSTEAD OF standing back for a few minutes like a normal person who is responsible for running and representing a business would do in order to assess the situation, IN LESS THAN A MINUTE he was already aggressively verbally attacking our women about moving our stuff, deliberately standing unnecessarily close to them, so the men stepped in. He very obviously tried to goad us into an altercation, but cooler heads prevailed. He has a CRIMINAL mentality and there must be commensurate consequences for his behavior. He tried to intimidate women and children, customers and tourists. This is very bad for the reputations of SunTide and the SPI PBA system, and must be...

This beach access location is well kept and has a port-a-potty. The parking lot is small with only 12 spaces, additional street parking is available. The beach access walkway is elevated over the dunes with about 10 stairs on each side. If you have a wheelchair, stroller or wagon you will need assistance getting over the stairs. The beach is small on this part of the island with about 100 feet of sand between the dunes and water when the tide is at its normal high point. With the small area of beach spots to plant yourself can fill up fast on busy weekends.

Recommend for: those who arrive early, people without strollers or wagons.

Pros: port-a-potty, clean

Cons: small parking lot, stairs...