5 Fun Things to do in Corpus Christi, TX

Corpus is a cute little city with a lot of hidden gems, fun bars, and cool attractions that are unique to it! The views are beautiful, the food is delicious, and there are some fun things to do in and around the city. We spent around 4 days in Corpus and each day was filled with some amazing activities!

1. Visit the Aquarium

The Texas State Aquarium sits right on the bay of Corpus Christi! It is a huge building downtown with tons of parking and a lot of beautiful open air areas. We were able to purchase our tickets online (yes, there are discounts for students, kids, etc). Once inside, the Aquarium is divided into three sections: left wing, right wing, and outside. The left wing is filled with river fish, fish native to Mexico, and fish native to the gulf! There is also a touch tank in there, and I highly recommend it.

The outside section has the otters, the dolphins, some alligators, sea turtles, and sting rays! They have dolphin shows and times to feed the sting rays throughout the day! It's super fun because you are right there on the bay looking at these beautiful animals! They also have a cool walkway out to a gazebo right on the water. It gives you great views of the ocean and of the USS Lexington!

The right wing is home to coral reefs, birds, lizards, and more! They even have a sloth roaming around! This section was my favorite because of the huge tunnel that cuts right through a massive tank! It's so fun to see all the fish and sharks up close.

It's a great way to spend 4 hours! And, to make it better, all of the proceeds go right to the conservation efforts of the aquarium!

2. Walk the beaches

There is a huge public beach right downtown that is located right where the aquarium and the lexington are! It's called North Beach and it's a huge stretch of beautiful sand and blue water. It shores are filled with resteraunts, bars, gift shops, and hotels! It's a great view of downtown and provides a lot of fun stops along the way!

If you want something a little more quiet, head over across the bridge to the island and walk those sandy beaches! They have drive-up beaches, so you can literally find a quiet spot, park your car, and just start walking! They are much more quiet and local with beautiful dunes and quiet beaches. We found some pretty awesome shells on our walks, and we were also able to see some killer sunsets too! We didn't do this, but they also have horse walks along the beach if that is something that interests you!

3. Explore the USS Lexington

You literally can't miss it. It's a massive boat right on the bay in the downtown area. This is a retired aircraft carrier that went through WWII and has a rich history! It's now a museum that offers a few options: you can take a guided tour, do your own walk through tour, or do a listen tour with your phone. We chose to do a walk through tour and spent close to 4 hours wandering around and taking everything in. The ship is HUGE and there is so much to see!

On the deck they have war planes that you can walk up and you can take a look around the control rooms! The hanger also has some cool planes and other carriers scattered throughout! The hanger is also where you can watch a one hour film (highly recommend!!!!) about the history of the navy, grab some food, and take some fun photo ops!

Now, I will warn you that below decks starts to get creepy. One section has a sick bay, the chapel, and the dentist area, and it gives off some creepy vibes. Even the smell is a little off. It's a huge ship with lots of dark hallways and closed off sections...you get the picture :).

4. Check out the Coffee Shops

Corpus has some of the cutest and most unique coffee shops I have ever seen! I will go more in depth on the food and drinks of Corpus in another post, but I couldn't leave this out! From Island Joe's (which is literally constructed from old shipping containers), to Bien Merite (which has some amazing lemonade AND a flower wall for pics!). There is even an entire Harry Potter based coffee shop complete with themed drinks, floating lights, and more! There were so many cool and unique shops to visit, and there were so many amazing drinks to try!

5. Shop the Gift Shops

There are so many gift shops along the beaches and sprinkled throughout the city! Each one is quirky, themed, and has some amazing hidden treasures. Just along North Beach there are like 5 different ones! You can find some fun classic tacky shirts, some beautiful things found along the shores, and some classic mugs and other goods.

If you head out to the Island, you'll see the biggest and most insane gift shop there is. You can't miss it. It's literally built to look like a massive sand castle equipped with a massive mermaid up at the front. There's even a little path to go and take pictures in front of the store! It has everything you could ever need: shirts, sweaters, sea glass, mugs, postcards, candy, beach supplies, shoes, and more. It's massive and I think we spent a good 30 minutes just wandering around.

Corpus was a fun little place to visit! I was hesitant about it and was sure that we would get bored, but I was VERY wrong and had such an amazing time! For pictures of the trip, head over to my Instagram! For more details and posts about Corpus, check out my other posts!