Tampa Bay, Corpus Christi for Bargain Spring Breaks

If you’re still looking for an early-spring escape within the United States, consider these two budget-priced possibilities.

* St. Petersburg/Clearwater Beach, Fla. On the west coast of Florida along Tampa Bay, these seaside cities have managed to hold on to their lower-key profiles as retirement and low-cost resort areas. Downtown St. Pete, though, has recently undergone a renaissance; now it’s been dubbed the “Cultural Coast,” boasting several major museums (including impressive collections at the Salvador Dali, Florida International and the Fine Arts).

Clearwater Beach and the other local beach communities all have personalities of their own. Clearwater Beach is self-contained and centrally located, with a casual air and a pier where sunset-gawking rivals that in Key West. Throughout are nature sanctuaries (such as nearby, unspoiled Caladesi Island, with sandpipers and sea turtles) and mangrove estuaries for sea kayaking. Anchored by sea oats, the beaches are blindingly white. Other attractions include casino boats and dolphin-watching cruises.

Best of all, you can enjoy most everything for a pittance. Not far from the beach in Clearwater Beach, the Bay Esplanade’s Ibis Inn, telephone (727) 441-4421, has small doubles starting at $46 a night, and in mid-April prices drop to $27. Even lower is the Clearwater Beach Hostel, tel. (727) 443-1211, with dorm-style rooms at $13 (an annual membership of $25 is required) and private rooms for as little as $35.

At the Copacabana, tel. (727) 442-5694, on Mandalay Avenue, meanwhile, doubles run as low as $40. And beginning in May, after the high season ends, rates can drop by about $15 per night. Local chow spots offer some good deals too. You can score a good meal for under $10 at places like Frenchy’s, tel. (727) 446-3607.

For more information, try the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Convention and Visitors Bureau, tel. (727) 464-7200, Internet https://www.stpete-clearwater.com.

* Corpus Christi, Texas, is another vacation prospect. This Navy town on the Gulf of Mexico about 3 1/2 hours from Houston can make for an interesting and economical vacation--a fact greatly appreciated by the spring breakers who flock here in April. There’s a lot to do. You can explore the aquarium, the carrier USS Lexington and more than 100 idyllic miles of Padre Island National Seashore; or go on scenic cruises and watch dolphins play, and indulge in any water sport you can think of.

What especially sets Corpus Christi apart is its fiesta spirit. Downtown’s a veritable hotbed of cool music clubs, museums and piers geared toward fun in the sun (buy shrimp right off the shrimping boats).

The area also has its share of inimitable Texan flair. For example, the 825,000-acre King Ranch ($4 adults, $2.50 children), birthplace of the modern ranching industry, is just 40 minutes away in Kingsville.

There are plenty of ways to stay on a budget hereabout. South Padre Drive is the big motel strip, halfway between downtown and Padre Island; typical chain choices are Motel 6, tel. (361) 991-8858 ($42 to $52 a night), and Red Roof Inn, tel. (361) 992-9222 ($47 nightly). And right on the beach, in the middle of the downtown hubbub, the Bayfront Inn, tel. (361) 883-7271, has spartan yet comfy units for $60.

For discount dining, Mexican food’s an especially good option, and you can chow down on fresh corn tortillas, tacos and burritos for rock-bottom prices (tacos $1.10 and burritos $2.10) at the Acapulco Restaurant, tel. (361) 994-7274. Blackbeard’s on the Beach, tel. (361) 884-1030, meanwhile, has aquariums and trophy fish on the walls, dozens of beers, live acoustic music and various lunches and dinners for under $10.

For more information contact the Corpus Christi Visitors Bureau, tel. (800) 766-2322, or Internet https://www.corpuschristi-tx-cvb.org or https://www.cctexas.org.