Sandcastle Lessons - Andy Hancock — Attraction in South Padre Island

What could be better than relaxing on the south beach of San Padre Island with the breeze blowing over the gulf, the gulls wheeling in the air, and the sun not yet hot enough to require shade and a cold drink; Building an epic sand castle! For our 35th anniversary my lovely wife surprised me with a Sandcastle lesson from one of San Padre’s finest if not the best classical castle builder, Andy Hancock. Andy is a continuous stream of stories, anecdotes, information, and knowledge as we went back-and-forth with buckets of water and shoveled sand into a higher and higher tower. He is a patient instructor demonstrating the tools and the techniques for carving a awesome castle even if it does not last for longer than the day. The time flies by as we got into the detailed work to transform a solid block of sand into a beautiful work of architecture with doors, windows , hewn stones, stair ways, rooms, hibiscuses, and other personal decorations. Any thing that we wanted to embellish our creation with! Make sure that you prepare with sunscreen and water because it’s easy to get into the zone where Time just flies by and you’re just focused on putting the finishing touch on one room then one more detail then ... you get the idea. Thank you Andy. And thank you so much to my amazing Arzella! This is time and money well spent. Anthony...

As a local to South Padre Island, I have had the privilege of knowing Andy Hancock since day one! I have always been inspired by his passion & talent, not only as an artist & teacher, but as an ethical business owner & vital member of this community as well. I've had the pleasure of observing a recent lesson and it is clear that he loves what he does. As a world renowned sand sculptor / wood carver / art exhibit coordinator / etc. his many talents have taken him around the globe, yet he remains humble & kind, he loves to share & teach, and he is so encouraging & motivating to his students. My recommendation to people visiting South Padre Island or Port Isabel: set up an appointment with Andy Hancock as soon as you get to the area... not only will you learn how to build the best sandcastle you've ever made, but, because he is so well connected in the community & is always on top of neighborhood goings-on, he will exceed your expectations for any concierge as well. Plus his up beat personality is a great way to set the mood for a fun island trip! He's a great entertainer and will surely teach you much more than you expect! His lessons are worth every penny and he's had students travel great distances just to learn from a world renowned artist. This is a true...

My family (wife and 3 kids, 12, 10 and 9) had a great 2 hour lesson with Andy on December 23rd. I texted Andy the day before, I wanted to make sure we had good weather. He responded shortly with the time he had open and where to meet. We walked on to the beach where Andy was finishing up a lesson with another family.

Andy was extremely knowledgeable, funny, entertaining, great with the kids and so much more.

We were all extremely impressed, to go from loose sand and water on the beach to our "towering" castle. Andy really kept the kids involved at every step, sharing his countless tips and tricks, to transform the sand into a fantasy wonderland.

I am thankful we were able to learn from Andy. I highly recommend if you are visiting South Padre Island you take any of Andy's lessons. We had spend several days on the beach before our lesson and had seen numerous "traditional" sand castles on the beach. Never again will we be building such "castles" that are only a few inches tall.

I did not realize it when I booked the lesson, but it included a set of the small tools you will need to build detailed sand sculptures around the world for decades to come.

Thank you Andy for teaching us a skill that will entertain our family on beaches around the world for...