SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Spring Break is a month away and South Padre Island is preparing for the first “normal” Spring Break in years.

City leaders talked to Chamber of Commerce members about what they can expect this year.

Usually, South Padre is a college party spot, but last year it was marketed as family-friendly Spring Break with schools not having their usual time off.

“This year is going to be a little different because you’ll have colleges that close for a week that didn’t have that closure the last year or the year prior,” said Claudine O’Carroll, the South Padre police chief.

After smaller turnouts the last two years due to COVID, Jim Pigg, the South Padre fire chief, said the city is ready for Spring Break to return to normal.

“We’re prepared, we’ve been doing this for a long time, we’ve been planning this out since December, our numbers look like they are going to be up,” Pigg said. “So, we are expecting some good crowds to be here. We’re expecting a lot of collegiate kids as well as a lot of families.”

Various city officials and members of the Chamber of Commerce said they expect the daytime to be more family-friendly while the nights will gear more to the college crowd. Business owners also say they’re looking forward to everyone returning.

Businesses will be holding concerts and other events during the week to attract the crowds.

Clayton Brashear, the owner of Clayton’s Beach Bar & Grill, said he wants people to “have a good time, stay safe, and the kids are out of school so come on out and have a good time.”

But don’t party too hard.

Pigg said that the South Padre fire department will have an emergency site at the convention center to deal with minor medical issues, but getting to the nearest hospital in Brownsville will take a long time and have to battle traffic.

He said getting from the island can “take up to two-three hours” depending on the day. “If we’re having big crowds, we can expect delays up to four hours,” Pigg said.

He encouraged people who do come to the island to drink responsibly and look out for their friends and each other.

You can view the full calendar of events on South Padre Island’s website.