South Padre Island

Port Brownsville Half-Day Boat Tour

Badge of ExcellenceSouth Padre Island, USA
Port of Brownsville Tour
  • 4 hours
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Learn about everything from the South Texas shrimping industry to the history of Brownsville with this 4-hour cruise. You'll also get a glimpse of Starbase, a rocket factory and launch facility created by Elon Musk's SpaceX. If you’re lucky, you may even spot Atlantic bottle-nose dolphins or migratory birds right from the deck. As an added bonus, coffee, donuts, and shrimp cocktail will be served, free of charge.
  • Learn about local history and the shrimping industry with onboard narration
  • Guarantee your spot on this half-day tour by pre-booking your ticket
  • A captain and crew will be on hand to answer your questions
  • Enjoy a free selection of coffee, donuts, and shrimp cocktail

What's Included

  • Coffee, donuts & small shrimp cocktail during the tour
  • You may bring your own cooler with any drinks or snacks you may like

    Meeting and Pickup

    Meeting point

    • 33256 State Park Rd 100, South Padre Island, TX 78597, USA

      We are located approximately 3/4 mile south of the Queen Isabella Causeway in the Sea Ranch Marina. Turn right into the Sea Ranch Marina and yield right of the Sea Ranch Restaurant. We are behind the restaurant. Look for the Texas Flags. Your boat is the Murphy's Law

    Start time

    09:00 AM

    End point

    This activity ends back at the meeting point.

    Ticket Redemption Point

    Isla Tours, 33256 State Park Rd 100, South Padre Island, TX 78597, USA

    What To Expect

    South Padre Island (Pass By)

    Brownsville (Pass By)

    Starbase Production Site (Pass By)

    Additional Info

    • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
    • Wheelchair accessible
    • Stroller accessible
    • Service animals allowed
    • Near public transportation
    • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
    • Most travelers can participate
    • Upon arrival please request wheelchair assistance. Crew will be glad to assist in boarding the boat.
    • You are welcome to bring a cooler with your own food and drinks. Please no glass containers.
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 60 travelers

    Cancellation Policy

    You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

    • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
    • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
    • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
    • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
    • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
    • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

    Traveler Photos

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    Reviews

    4.5
    103 reviews
    Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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    Reviews by Viator travelers.
    Showing 1-10 of 103 reviews
    Disappointed
    Penelope_M, Apr 2024
    Had this scheduled for a Tuesday, they called to reschedule for Wednesday, then called again to reschedule for Thursday. Each time because "the captain who does these tours isn't available". Called again saying needed to reschedule for either Friday or next week, which I couldn't because we leave. They did give me a total refund, but would have preferred the cruise. Why allow someone to book if the captain won't be there?
    Canceled trip
    William_S, Apr 2024
    Trip got canceled so no it was not a good experience, I guess I won’t be booking with them again since we didn’t even get to go on the boat
    Great day on the water!
    Sandy_H, Mar 2024
    Great, fun experience! Noah, Jamie and the other young man were wonderful, and the captain was very informative!
    Beautiful day on a nice boat!
    Elizabeth_R, Mar 2024
    Captain Patrick was fun and personable! His crew Angie, Ethan and Jonah were wonderful! They served us coffee and donuts! Then fresh gulf shrimp! It was a beautiful day on the water! Dolphins followed the boat in the wake! Which was a nice bonus to our trip!
    Response from Host, Mar 2024
    WOOHOOO!! We work hard to meet expectation like yours, come back and visit us soon.
    Starship day cruise
    Elizabeth_C, Mar 2024
    Very informative tour and all the staff were very helpful and exceptionally kind. Wish I could remember their names.
    Response from Host, Mar 2024
    Thank you!! We appreciate the 5 STAR review!
    Love seeing all the ships
    Bruce_F, Mar 2024
    Love seeing the shrimp boats and all the boats being scrapped. It changes every year and never grows old.Love seeing the boat
    HIGHLY recommend!!
    Marcia_L, Mar 2024
    GREAT crew…. Essen, Angie and Patric were truly exceptional at seeing to riders comfort (Essen took pictures for us & even peeled my shrimp 😍). Alerts came out when the dolphins were near and they were often almost touching the boat as they swam along with us! The harbor tour was very interesting with early history and future planning. Smooth ride & plenty of room to move around. DO. IT!!
    Response from Host, Mar 2024
    WOOP WOOP!!! Thank you for the excellent review!!!
    Very interesting and Informative!
    Kathy_H, Mar 2024
    The Captain and crew were very nice and knowledgeable about the area! Loved hearing about Brownsville Port…when we were outside the boat. Unfortunately it was windy, drizzling, and cold … so we sat in the boat half the time, and missed those parts of the tour🥴
    Response from Host, Mar 2024
    We apologize that you missed out on part of the tour. The weather was not cooperating. Thank you for the review.
    Informative. Interesting.
    Carl_E, Feb 2024
    Awesome. Informative. Captain Murphy was very engaging as we saw many interesting sights along the route. Esson and Angie were great support staff and also answered questions about the sites we were seeing. Treats were appreciated. Multiple dolphin sightings! Highly recommended.
    Response from Host, Feb 2024
    Thank you so much for your positive feedback. We appreciate your kind words and are delighted to hear you had a great time out with Isla Tours.
    Brownsville Port trip
    Kay_W, Feb 2024
    Ian is great. Angela a bit brash. Trip was a bit lengthy with a lot of time spend in repetitive items. Could be about a 2 hour trip. Don’t know why I thought it was a Brownsville port to have lunch and see Space X closer.
    Response from Host, Mar 2024
    THANK YOU!!! We appreciate your review.
    Interesting Tour. Informative but a little crowded.
    Jason_T, Feb 2024
    The deck hands, Angie and Ethan, were great. Very friendly and helpful. Assets to this tour. Donuts and shrimp were a nice touch. A highlight was having dolphins run right next to us for a few minutes. Fun to learn about the various Brownsville projects, barges and port ship builds/dismantling. Boat was not the most comfortable. Fairly crowded with awkward seating - especially at the back where there was a constant drizzle from waves hitting the sides and top of the boat and then running down on the seating. Captain's editorial narration style got old. Not sure why he added some weird singing/yodel every time he mentioned Mexico. Also not impressed with him, for whatever reason, spreading misinformation and insisting the Titanic did not sink and was swapped out for insurance claims. He did provide very interesting information about what we were seeing but we could do without the side comments and attempts at some sort of agenda/comedy routine.
    Response from Host, Mar 2024
    Thank you for your review.
    Adventure on the “High Seas”
    Dan_U, Feb 2024
    Not the warm sunny day the weatherman promised, instead high wind, and, spraying salt water showers, our boat tour on Murphy’s Law, was an experience not to be forgotten. A very knowledgeable captain, great mates, Angie and Essen, and multiple awesome sights made for a great trip. Even the salty spray did not dampen the adventure. The Port of Brownsville is an unbelievable active port with tons of product being transported to places all over. The scrapyard, including huge military ships and other freighters, as well as other objects was also impressive. The captain’s shared knowledge of the actual work happenings at the port was impressive. His love of what he does is most evident.Other in formation concerning the Coast Guard, reefs, natural and man made, Space X, and dolphins were shared. Seeing dolphin pods were an added site. Thank you for a memorable adventure. Yes, ship mates Essen and Angie, did a great job. They not only served coffee and doughnuts and on return trip shrimp with dexterity, but also showing they cared about their passengers and their safety.
    Response from Host, Feb 2024
    Thank you for choosing Isla Tours. We genuinely appreciate your AMAZING review and hope to have the pleasure of hosting you again soon.
    Nice tour
    Jodi_O, Feb 2024
    Informative, relaxing, birds and dolphins! Great staff and captain!! We definitely recommend this tour.
    We really enjoyed all the...
    leslie_l, Feb 2024
    We really enjoyed all the info at the scrap yard and watching the dolphins. Essin and Angie were very helpful and knowledgable.
    Very interesting tour.
    MARK_B, Feb 2024
    Captain was very knowledgeable, boat was clean and crew was very nice 👍 Only wish the weather was better otherwise it was very nice.
    Great job!
    Amanda_K, Feb 2024
    Captain Murphy is a funny tour guide. Shrimp cocktail was delicious. Dolphin watching was a lot of fun!
    Always love this trip!
    Dolores_D, Feb 2024
    Riding in the boat watching the dolphin playing and seeing the port of Brownsville as we listened to the history of the ships being dismantled.
    Great half day trip
    Pam_P, Feb 2024
    How informative Pat was regarding history of island and Port of Brownsville. We enjoyed meeting new friends from around the world while watching dolphins play outside the boat in the waves. It was a nice treat for donuts in am and fresh shrimp at the end. Overall 5+
    Fun trip!
    Betty_V, Feb 2024
    A great narrative of the area and its history plus a few dolphins!! Esson was great! Patrick was a great host!
    Response from Host, Feb 2024
    Thank you for the great feedback. (:
    Best boat ever!
    Cheryl_B, Jan 2024
    The Deck Hand Angie greeted us at the check in desk. Had is sign our waivers and got us our tickets. When it was time to get on the boat she was there to assist everyone on safely and with a smile. She is a wonderful asset to your Capt Murphy Family. Ive been on several similar boat rides all over the country from FL to CA and NJ and yours was the best. The Capt was funny yet very informative. We learned so much about the South Texas Area. We saw so many Dolphins. It was almost as if you paid them to perform for us. I can't wait to bring more friends and family back to South Padre Island and take your boat out again.
    Response from Host, Jan 2024
    AWESOME!!!! Thank you for the review!!!
    Likely to Sell Out

    From $37.90

    up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

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