Padre Island Surf Camp, Corpus Christi

After hearing a recommendation from a reader a few years ago, my daughter wanted to attend Padre Island Surf Camp each summer!  Her summers have been full of riding camps and last year she did a White Water Rafting Camp through Girl Scouts, and we never had the time.  Last year, we were able to make that happen for her, and she and I couldn’t have loved it more!

The camp counselors were AMAZING at helping all the kids learn how to get up, and they all had a great time!

In fact, she loved it so much that she went back in June, 2016!

Know Before You Go

You need to pre-register for the camp, because they do fill up.

You can register for an entire week, or just select days, or split your week up anytime during the summer (as long as there is availability).

They offer a $5/day lunch option.  My daughter can be picky, so we skipped on it at registration, but were able to ask daily about the lunch, and pay for only the days she wanted.  Which means pizza.

The camp location is very convenient, and we were able to drive down onto the FREE beach and play in the water while watching her lessons!

 

What to pack

The Surf Camp provides each camper with a Billabong Rash Guard to wear during the camp, to help identify them.  They also provided drinks and a snack.  We packed a small bag each day with the following:

sunscreen

lunch or money for lunch

towel

Although my daughter is a strong swimmer, and was even on our local swim team briefly, I was still concerned about safety.  Before camp I called and asked about life jackets.  I was told that although they are welcome to bring and wear one, it’s much easier to balance themselves without one.

I gave her the option and she passed on wearing one.  When we arrived, I was surprised that none of the campers, even the youngest, were wearing life jackets!  The counselors did great at watching them, and while the older campers like my daughter went out pretty far, the younger ones stayed closer to the beach.

I was so proud of my daughter, who by the end of the first day was able to ride in a wave all the way, and steadily improved all week!

At 13, I think my daughter did great, but as with any sport that requires balance, the earlier you get them started the better!

On Friday, they had a surf competition with all the campers.  My daughter was thrilled to have made it to the finals!

During our week, they had 2 days of bad storms pop up in the afternoon, and had to call camp.  Since we would only be there that week, we weren’t able to use the 1 full day she has as a makeup day.  They told me we can come back later this year to use it, or even next year.  Of course, she’s already told me that next year she wants to do it again!

Make a Day (or Week) of it

Since my daughter did the week long camp, we planned a vacation with friends down in Port Aransas for that week.  We had the absolute best time!  Port Aransas was about a 20 minute drive each way to camp, and some days we stayed on the beach and watched, while other days we went around the island playing!

The Texas State Aquarium is a world-class aquarium with amazing exhibits and animals from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean!

Mustang Island State Park

We spent one night on the beach at Mustang Island State Park.  Click HERE for more information.

Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery

Each summer, you can watch as baby sea turtle hatchlings are released onto the sand of Padre Island to walk their way to the water!  It’s an unbelievable thing to watch, and definitely worth getting up a little early.  For more information, click HERE.

Red Dragon Pirate Ship in Port Aransas was so much fun, for both my younger and older boy!  Click HERE for more information.

We had an amazing time at Horses on the Beach!  Click HERE to visit their website.

We loved our sand castle building class from the Port Aransas Sand Castle Guy!  Click HERE for more information!

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Padre Island Surf Camp

Click HERE to visit their website.  

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Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun! 

Michelle 

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