My love of the Texas Gulf Coast only continues to grow! Our most recent trip to the coast had us staying in Port Aransas, which is a town on the coast with not only a beautiful stretch of beach but also nice places to stay, fun things to do, and great places to eat. Today I’m going to share with you where to stay in Port Aransas for a family vacation. We loved Cinnamon Shore, and I think you will too.
Where to stay in Port Aransas for a Family Vacation
Cinnamon Shore hosted our stay so I could share my experience with you. All opinions are my own.
If you’ve been googling where to stay in Port Aransas, you’ve probably seen a ton of options, from hotels to resorts to home and condo rentals. Cinnamon Shore is a hybrid of a resort and private home and condo rentals. The homes are mostly vacation homes, but Cinnamon Shore manages rentals for the homeowners throughout the year. The end result is that you get to stay in a beautiful home managed by a professional management company in the hospitality business.
I do love Airbnb for many things, but if you’ve read my Airbnb vs. Hotels post, you know I’ve had some issues with weird owners or scenarios when arriving at an Airbnb. What I like about Cinnamon Shore is that you get to stay in a nice condo or home with prime beach location, but you also have round-the-clock service and facilities like you would at a hotel.
What is the beach like at Cinnamon Shore?
The beach at Port Aransas and the surrounding areas is beautiful. Lots of white sand beaches that stretch on and on for miles. We were there right after a hurricane, so the water was a little churned up, but if you visit any other time you can expect clear, blue water. The first time I saw it I was actually shocked because I didn’t know that Texas had beaches this pretty! What a treat to have this in our home state. Here’s a live Beach Cam so you can see how pretty it is!
In early October, when we visted, the water was warm and the kids played all day in the sand and sea.
Like many beaches in Texas, you can drive onto the beach. Growing up in Southern California, where you have to park many blocks away from the beach and haul all of your stuff AND YOUR KIDS all the way to the coast and then walk up and down the beach looking for an empty place to set up said stuff, which you will later have to pack up again and take with you on the journey back to the car, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this little luxury.
You can rent a golf cart from Cinnamon Shore and drive it right onto the beach. So, load up all your stuff for the day, cruise over the boardwalk, and set up camp for the day wherever you want! Or, you can also rent chairs with an umbrella right on the beach if you’d prefer to walk and have things all set up for you.
One more thing about the beach – if you like shells, you’ll have so much fun walking the shore looking for beautiful shells! We found some really amazing ones.
What to do at Cinnamon Shore
Of course, the beach is the highlight here. But you actually have a lot of options for things to do in the resort, too.
There are three restaurants located on the property, all of them an easy walk or golf cart drive from your home. Grab a pizza at Dylan’s, or make a reservation at Lisabella’s. Both restaurants offer takeout. You can also grab something to eat at C-Bar, which you’ll find at one of the resort’s pools. We actually had dinner delivered from C-Bar one night…it was a great, inexpensive, kid-friendly option.
There are several pools on the property. We started off at the beach and spent the afternoon at the pool.
On the weekends, you’ll be able to enjoy live music on the lawn. Guests can take sandcastle-making or surfing lessons for free on the beach! You can see a full list of activities here. And don’t forget to bring supplies to make s’mores, of course!
You can also cruise down the beach to downtown Port Aransas in your golf cart. Y’all, this is SUPER FUN and if you have kids with you, they will love doing this!
What are the houses like at Cinnamon Shore?
You can rent a condo or a house, all of them well-appointed with anything you’d need feel at home. This is a really great place for vacation with friends or a large group, since most of the homes seem designed to hold lots of people. I kept texting my sister saying our family needs to all go in together and rent a house here for a vacation one day! For this trip, we stayed in a one-bedroom condo with a sleeper couch and had plenty of room for our family of four.
I really feel like this would be the perfect location for a family reunion or a trip with friends.
You can take a look at the houses, condos, and townhomes available for rent here.
You can find my Instagram stories about Port Aransas and Cinnamon Shore here – this will give you a good idea of the lay of the land, the condos, and the area in general.
Questions? Let me know and I’ll do my very best to answer them.
I use Beachcomer rentals at stayinporta.com . They have a large number of condos and houses to choose from and are always so accommodating and friendly