Hi. My wife and I were there last summer and stayed a week. It's a great place. We mainly stayed on the beach and explored down the island all the way to the channel. I recommend a 4X4 for the deep sand, however I saw cars make it all the way to the end of the island. I didn't do any detecting, but it's fairly deserted and you probably could without much problem. I can recommend a nice place to stay that's not terribly expensive and less than 2 blocks off the beach. You can contact Steve Hathcock, the owner of Padre Island Trading Company for detecting details. I don't have the link to his website but you should find it without much trouble. Let me know if you can't and I'll send it to you. He has written some books about the island. I haven't read them, but they looked interesting. I can share some information about the shipwrecks and the Singer ranch if your interested. Don't forget about the Texas treasure laws! Good luck and I hope you find the "big one" while your down there.