Thirteen restaurants. Thirty-one days. And definitely zero rules about how many tacos you’re allowed to eat. The 2026 Taco & Margarita Trail kicks off in Port Aransas on Thursday, October 1 (alongside the Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail), and I’ve been plotting my taco game plan since the second I saw the list. Because here’s what I learned the first time I did this taco trail back in 2021: the eating is the easy part. But the strategy to hit them all is where you find the real winners.
The last time I explored the Taco & Margarita Trail in Port A, it was a three-day weekend in 2021 with eight restaurants and $7 combos. Despite our best efforts to eat all the tacos in town, we made it to four. Four! This year the trail runs the entire month of October and there are 13 participating restaurant stops, so the real question is how to pace it and still want a taco on stop number nine.
Here’s how I’d tackle it.
How the trail works (the non-brochure version)
The Taco & Margarita Trail runs October 1 through 31, alongside the Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail, in Port Aransas. Each restaurant that participates creates its own taco and margarita pairing, priced special for the month, and the combos are available the whole month. There’s no set order and no deadline pressure. Pick a spot, order the combo, and move on to the next one whenever you’re hungry again.
The part I love: every restaurant gets to show off. Nobody is just handing you a basic taco and a house margarita. You end up ordering things you’d never pick off the regular menu, and that’s the whole point… to explore!
TIP: If you're planning your beach trip to Port A soon, check current availability on VRBO or Expedia here. Popular dates like Spring Break, Summer weekends, SandFest and holidays book up fast, so don't wait to secure your rental ASAP.
The 13 restaurant stops, grouped so you’re not zigzagging all over the island
Here’s every combo on this year’s Taco & Margarita Trail, pulled straight from each restaurant’s listing. The stops fall into four natural groups, so you can knock out the trail one outing at a time. Prices are per combo, before tax and tip. Curious about the desserts on the 10 stops on the Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail? I’ve got the scoop on those too.
The price cheat sheet, cheapest to priciest:
| Restaurant | Taco | Margarita | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sip Yard | Buffalo chicken taco | Frozen margarita | $12 |
| Fins Grill & Icehouse | Crab cake taco, with rice | Watermelon Chipotle | $15 |
| Trout Street | Agua chile shrimp taco | Banana Reposado | $17 |
| Black Marlin | Buffalo chicken tacos | Pineapple Jalapeno | $20 |
| Reds at Palmilla | Buffalo chicken tacos | Pineapple Jalapeno | $20 |
| Grumbles | Two blackened tuna tacos | Island Heat | $21.99 |
| Castaways | Crispy ceviche taco | Apple Cider | $22 |
| BierHaus Port A | Two shrimp tacos | Prickly Pear | $24 |
| Seafood & Spaghetti Works | Two fish tacos (grilled, blackened or fried) | Signature house | $24 |
| Port A Beachlodge | Your choice of two tacos | Guava | $24 |
| Roosevelt’s at The Tarpon Inn | Fire Me Up tacos (blackened mahi) | Prickly Pear | $25 |
| BlueWater Cowboy | Fried shrimp poblano tacos, with rice | Port A Vice | $28 |
| Stingrays | Chicken street taco | Blue Marlin | TBD |
The eleven priced combos add up to about $253 before tax and tip. If you split every combo with a friend, the whole trail costs closer to $127. That’s my kind of math.
Group 1: The Cotter Avenue crawl (5 stops)
Five stops sit along W. Cotter Ave., and Roosevelt’s is a short walk east at The Tarpon Inn, so this is the easiest group to do on foot if you want.
Fins Grill & Icehouse (420 W. Cotter Ave.), $15 A panko-breaded crab cake taco with cabbage, pico de gallo, sliced avocado and chipotle ranch, served with rice, paired with a watermelon chipotle margarita that blends sweet watermelon with smoky chipotle. A crab cake in a taco is the twist I’m most curious about, and it’s the second-cheapest combo on the trail with rice included.
Sip Yard Port Aransas (123 W. Cotter Ave.), $12 Crispy fried chicken tenders tossed in buffalo sauce, topped with ranch and pico de gallo, served with a frozen margarita. It’s the cheapest combo on the entire trail, which makes it my pick for an easy opening stop.
Trout Street Bar & Grill (104 W. Cotter Ave.), $17 The boldest combo on the list: Mexican shrimp cooked in a spicy, sour agua chile sauce, served in a handmade guajillo corn tortilla. The margarita is a banana reposado made with muddled banana and a caramel and chocolate rim with brown sugar, which sounds like dessert in a glass. The patio faces the marina, so time this one for sunset.
→ Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail pairing: Banana mastachon with sweet cream cheese icing and sliced bananas $9
Grumbles Seafood Co. (850 Tarpon St.), $21.99 Two blackened tuna tacos with slaw, avocado and creamy sriracha, paired with the Island Heat margarita: sweet pineapple and coconut, zesty lime, and a subtle jalapeño kick. Read more in my Local Spotlight on Grumble’s.
→ Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail pairing: Key lime pie $5.99
Roosevelt’s at The Tarpon Inn (200 E. Cotter Ave.), $25 A late addition to the trail: the Fire Me Up tacos, with blackened mahi, mango salsa, crispy onions and spicy mayo on corn tortillas, paired with a prickly pear margarita. Sweet mango, spicy mayo and crunchy onions on blackened fish is the combo I’m most curious about, and The Tarpon Inn has been a Port A landmark since 1886.
Group 2: Beach Street and Alister (3 stops)
These are the three I already know from the 2021 trail, so I’m curious to see how this year’s combos compare.
Castaways Seafood and Grill (337 N. Alister St.), $22 A crunchy ceviche taco filled with mahi and scallop ceviche, pineapple jalapeño slaw, garlic aioli and pickled purple onion, paired with an apple cider margarita. Castaways was my favorite stop in 2021 (blackened mahi and a mango margarita with tajín that was almost too pretty to drink). An apple cider margarita might be the most October drink on the whole trail. Give yourself time to wander, because the walls are covered in island art.
→ Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail pairing: Strawberry cheesecake taco with roasted pecans $8
BlueWater Cowboy (229 Beach St.), $28 Two corn tortillas filled with six fried shrimp, poblano serrano aioli, homemade pico de gallo, feta, house candied jalapeños and chopped romaine, served with a side of white rice. The margarita is the Port A vice, a strawberry coconut margarita served on the rocks. It’s the priciest combo on the trail, but it’s a full meal, so this is the one to split.
→ Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail pairing: Homemade brownie with homemade ice cream $12
Stingrays Tap House & Grill (401 Beach St.), A chicken street taco with the Blue Marlin margarita, which is the electric blue one. In 2021 the chicken fajita taco with mango salsa and the golden frozen margarita, which tasted like liquid sunshine, made this a surprise favorite. The patio at Stingray’s is dog-friendly, too.
→ Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail pairing: Homemade banana pudding with whipped cream and cinnamon $9.99
Group 3: The Palmilla double (2 stops)
Black Marlin Bar & Grill (258 Snapdragon), $20, and Reds at Palmilla (132 Palmilla Beach Dr.), $20 Both are at Palmilla Beach, and both list buffalo chicken tacos coated in signature buffalo sauce with cabbage, pico de gallo and ranch, paired with a pineapple jalapeño margarita. Make it a beach-day group. Since the combo reads the same at both, pick your vibe.
Group 4: The outliers (3 stops)
These three are spread out, so I’d tuck one into a day when you’re already driving around.
Seafood & Spaghetti Works (910 State Hwy 361), $24 Two fish tacos, grilled, blackened or fried, paired with their signature house margarita. Jay’s, as the locals call it, is a favorite in our family. In 2021 I liked the fried shrimp taco with cilantro avocado sauce so much that I ordered a second one, and the house margarita went down easy.
→ Sweet Traditions Dessert Trail pairing: Apple pie cobbler with vanilla ice cream $9.99
BierHaus Port A (522 E. Avenue G), $24 Two shrimp tacos with a prickly pear margarita, the bright pink one in their photo. Locals love this one.
Port A Beachlodge (2016 On the Beach Dr.), $24 The only combo where you build your own: pick two tacos from Jamaican jerk shrimp, grilled fish with creamy cilantro lime sauce, or coconut shrimp with coconut cream, plus a guava margarita.
My weekend game plan (6 stops, zero regrets)
If you only have one weekend and want to hit the highlights, here’s how I’d do it. Download the Taco & Margarita Trail Checklist first, then plan your first stop here…
Saturday: the Cotter Avenue crawl
- Start late morning at Fins, then walk your way toward the water
- Sip Yard for the middle stop
- Finish at Trout Street around sunset and split the banana mostachon from the Sweet Traditions Trail
Sunday: lunch, then the beach
- Late lunch at Castaways (that crispy ceviche taco has my attention), then follow it with the cheesecake dessert taco. It’s the only place on the trail you can eat a savory taco and a dessert taco at the same table.
- Head to Palmilla for the afternoon and pick Black Marlin (indoor seating) or Reds (fire pit + bar), since the combo is the same.
- Stay for sunset with that pineapple jalapeño margarita
Six combos across two days sounds like a lot, so let me tell you about my made-up rules.
My own rules I’m following this year
- One combo for two people. Split everything. It’s the only way to make it past stop three.
- Three stops a day, max. Anything past that and you’re just eating, not tasting.
- Go midweek if you can. October is quieter anyway, and a weekday taco crawl feels like cheating.
- Pick a designated driver. Yes, that includes the golf cart.
- Score as you go. I made a printable checklist with all the stops so you can jot down your combo, rate it, and note whether you’d go back.
- Save room for dessert. Six of these 13 restaurants are also on the Sweet Traditions Trail.
Making a weekend of it
October is one of my favorite times to be on the island. The crowds thin out, the beach is wide open, and midweek stays are easier on the budget. If I said “there’s tacos and margaritas at the beach”, how fast could you pack a bag? I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t hesitate to head toward the coast before the sun went down. I did the same as soon as I heard about the Taco & Margarita Trail happening in Port Aransas.
If you want to turn the Taco & Margarita Trail (and the Sweet Traditions Trail) into a weekend trip, check current availability on VRBO or Expedia here.
The short version for skimmers
- The trail runs October 1 through 31, with 13 participating restaurants
- Each restaurant has its own taco and margarita combo at a special price ($12 to $28), good all month
- Group the stops into four legs: Cotter Ave., Beach St. and Alister, Palmilla, and the outliers
- Split every combo and cap it at three stops a day, but plan for the dessert trail too
- Six of the 13 stops also have a featured dessert on the Sweet Traditions Trail
- Download the free checklist to score your favorites
Grab the free printable checklist
The 2026 Taco & Margarita Trail checklist has all 12 stops, room to write down your combos, a rating for each one, and a spot for your top three.
Keep planning your trip
- Sweet Traditions Trail: Desserts on Port Aransas’ Beachtober Dessert Trail
- Port Aransas Restaurants: My Full Guide
- 5 Reasons to Visit the Beach in the Fall
- Port Aransas Annual Events Calendar
- Where to Stay in Port Aransas
- Start Here: Your Port Aransas Planning Hub
See you on the trail (I’ll be the one splitting a taco)!