Sun, sand and surf are readily available on beaches throughout the Coastal Bend area A few of the draws of Port Aransas beaches are nature tours, a variety of restaurants and Horace Caldwell pier. - Credit: Michelle Christenson/CT

Hit the beach Whether you're looking for bikinis and boom boxes or shells and solitude, Coastal Bend beaches offer scenes to fit almost any type of sun worshiper's wants. Padre Island National Seashore features miles of secluded beach - if you have a four-wheeled drive or four-legged means of transport. - Credit: George Tuley/CT Padre Island National Seashore The seashore - home to the area's most pristine beaches - boasts 65 miles of beachfront, most of it sparsely populated. Here, you'll find mostly families and retirees. With a four-wheel drive - necessary after the first few miles of the seashore - drivers can head toward good fishing and shelling on isolated stretches of sand. The visitor center at Malaquite Beach sells snacks and souvenirs, and guests can rent umbrellas and other beach paraphernalia. Entrance to the park is $10 per car, good for seven days. A one-year pass is $20. Bob Hall Pier and J.P. Luby Surf Park For a more raucous outing, try the beaches between Bob Hall Pier and J.P. Luby Surf Park, where throngs of young revelers crowd onto the sand to swill beer, play volleyball, splash in the waves - and try to make a splash with each other. If you intend to park right at the water's edge, arrive early to stake out your spot. During peak times, vendors rent beach equipment and sell refreshments on the beach. The store at Bob Hall Pier also sells snacks and rents equipment. For $1 each, visitors can walk onto the pier to fish or watch the surfers below. Mustang Island State Park At this park, where beaches are more serene, families in tents and RVs spend quiet weekends. Beachcombers can find shells and other treasures on the shores here. And the park offers showers, dressing rooms and restrooms, and concessions with souvenirs, ice, firewood and snacks. Entrance is $3 per person per day. Children 12 and younger enter free. J.P. Luby Surf Park is the place to be for young people who want to have a raucous time. - Credit: David Adame/CT Port Aransas Here, beaches also attract families, who swim, camp and fish off the rock jetties on either side of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Horace Caldwell Pier - Bob Hall's twin - draws fishing groups, and surfers splash in the water below. Nearby restaurants offer a feast of choices - from cappuccino to cajun food - and visitors can arrange wildlife trips and fishing excursions through several Port Aransas companies. To park on city-owned beaches in the area, visitors need parking stickers, which cost $6.50 a year and can be bought at the visitor center or at nearby Port Aransas stores. Some portions of the beach require Nueces County beach stickers at a cost of $5.39 a month or $10.78 for the year. Magee Beach A small patch of calm bay water near downtown Corpus Christi, Magee Beach is an ideal swimming hole for children - or a good place to wade after a stroll along Corpus Christi's seawall. Visitors can grab a seat on the seawall and watch boats sail nearby or visit the nearby bayfront memorial to slain Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez. A walk to the bayfront T-heads, where sailors and shrimpers moor their boats, offers a glimpse of local mariners. Corpus Christi Beach This area is a favorite for locals who want to make a quick jaunt to the water and for tourists frequenting the motels along the bay. The calm waters of Corpus Christi Bay are ideal for children and inexperienced swimmers. Restaurants abound in the area, and Lexington Museum on the Bay, Texas State Aquarium, Columbus Fleet and Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History are nearby. Rockport Beach This multipurpose recreation spot, which sits on Aransas Bay, offers swimming and a variety of other fun stuff - playground, picnic facilities, exercise trail, lighted fishing jetty - that make the place ideal for families. Visitors also can take advantage of volleyball courts, a bird observation platform, a saltwater swimming pool and a boat ramp. Entry is $3 per vehicle per day or $5 for three days. Stickers are $10 for six months or $15 for a year. A multivehicle family sticker that permits as many as three vehicles entrance for a year is $25. - Heather Howard

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