Jump to content

How much time to drive from IAH to Galveston? Or stay in League City?


robin16ak
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello! We are flying into IAH at 6 PM on 3/17 and are on the 3/18 Breeze sailing out of Galveston. We decided to get a rental car and drive ourselves, since there are 5 people in our family and even with the drop off fee, it was cheaper than paying per person for a shuttle. I booked the Hyatt near IAH and we planned to drive down in the morning. How much time should we give ourselves? Google Maps says it is 75 miles and about about 70 minutes. Accurate? Will traffic be an issue on a Sunday morning? We have an 11:30 check in time.

 

I'm wondering if maybe we should split the distance and drive down part way the night before. I've seen League City recommended as an in-between, but it doesn't seem to have many options available on Hotwire. I don't really want to drive after flying all night, but might feel safer being closer to the port in the morning. Any feedback on this idea?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We live about 20 minutes from IAH and it takes us about 60-75 minutes to get to the port. I would give yourself at least 60 minutes. The port is very easy to find and park. The big question is always traffic. The traffic going into Houston is worse in the morning and out in the evening. I'm not sure about staying part way there. I'm not sure what is available after Hurricane Harvey but that area was hit harder than north of Houston. I hope this helps you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ohio to Texas, thank you for the insight on time and traffic. I will give us a little extra time than that to accommodate being from out of town and a cushion for traffic. Hotels in League City are running $60-70 more than the Hyatt I found by IAH. I didn't think about the Hurricane affecting things in that area, that is a good point. I'd feel more comfortable having a shorter drive in the morning, but to save that much, we might just stay at the Hyatt. Plus we fly all night the night before, so it may be better easier on our kids to just go to the hotel near the airport and rest and start fresh in the morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We live about 20 minutes from IAH and it takes us about 60-75 minutes to get to the port. I would give yourself at least 60 minutes. The port is very easy to find and park. The big question is always traffic. The traffic going into Houston is worse in the morning and out in the evening. I'm not sure about staying part way there. I'm not sure what is available after Hurricane Harvey but that area was hit harder than north of Houston. I hope this helps you!

 

I have a similar question. We are flying into IAH at 12:00 on Sunday for a 4:00 departure (check in no later than 3:00). Is this doable? How is traffic in Houston on a Sunday afternoon? I am wishing I would have tried harder to fly in the night before but flights were hard to find and more expensive. I am very nervous about it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello! We are flying into IAH at 6 PM on 3/17 and are on the 3/18 Breeze sailing out of Galveston. We decided to get a rental car and drive ourselves, since there are 5 people in our family and even with the drop off fee, it was cheaper than paying per person for a shuttle. I booked the Hyatt near IAH and we planned to drive down in the morning. How much time should we give ourselves? Google Maps says it is 75 miles and about about 70 minutes. Accurate? Will traffic be an issue on a Sunday morning? We have an 11:30 check in time.

 

I'm wondering if maybe we should split the distance and drive down part way the night before. I've seen League City recommended as an in-between, but it doesn't seem to have many options available on Hotwire. I don't really want to drive after flying all night, but might feel safer being closer to the port in the morning. Any feedback on this idea?

 

Galveston Express has a shared shuttle for $30 per person. I can't imagine a rental car would be less expensive. It certainly isn't worth the hassle you are about to put on yourself.

 

You'll have to navigate through the airport to the bus going out to the rental car lot. Then drive across the 4th largest city in the nation on your way to Galveston where you will drop the majority of the passengers at the cruise terminal. The traffic getting in and out is a nightmare and doubly difficult when you don't know any of the traffic patterns.

 

Once you have dropped everyone off you will have to get the rental car back to the lot and then hire a taxi which is in limited supply when ships are in port.

 

Whereas you could simply hop on a shuttle for $150 for the group and have door to door service from aiport to cruise ship. It's really a no-brainer unless you really are saving a ton of money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Galveston Express has a shared shuttle for $30 per person. I can't imagine a rental car would be less expensive. It certainly isn't worth the hassle you are about to put on yourself.

 

You'll have to navigate through the airport to the bus going out to the rental car lot. Then drive across the 4th largest city in the nation on your way to Galveston where you will drop the majority of the passengers at the cruise terminal. The traffic getting in and out is a nightmare and doubly difficult when you don't know any of the traffic patterns.

 

Once you have dropped everyone off you will have to get the rental car back to the lot and then hire a taxi which is in limited supply when ships are in port.

 

Whereas you could simply hop on a shuttle for $150 for the group and have door to door service from aiport to cruise ship. It's really a no-brainer unless you really are saving a ton of money.

Thanks for this information. The rental car is actually only $280 for the entire week and it will cost us $360 to take the shuttle round trip. The other problem is that we don't fly out until 9:30 pm on the day we arrive back and the the latest shuttle gets us to the airport at 4:30. Any ideas how long we can stay on the ship after docking?

It might be worth the 5 hour wait at the airport though to save on the headaches. I am just hopeful that we don't have any flight delays or we will miss the shuttle as well. Also, we have reserved parking in the closest lot to the terminal which has a shuttle and is close enough to walk (I think).

I really appreciate your input!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for this information. The rental car is actually only $280 for the entire week and it will cost us $360 to take the shuttle round trip. The other problem is that we don't fly out until 9:30 pm on the day we arrive back and the the latest shuttle gets us to the airport at 4:30. Any ideas how long we can stay on the ship after docking?

It might be worth the 5 hour wait at the airport though to save on the headaches. I am just hopeful that we don't have any flight delays or we will miss the shuttle as well. Also, we have reserved parking in the closest lot to the terminal which has a shuttle and is close enough to walk (I think).

I really appreciate your input!

 

Galveston Express offers luggage storage and has a shuttle departing Galveston at 17:00 on Sundays. You can store luggage and spend some time touring Galveston before heading back to the airport.

 

The ship typically docks first thing and the first people are out shortly after 08:00 each morning. I believe the goal is to have everyone off by 10:00

Link to comment
Share on other sites

kellerfam, I ended doing the same thing and renting a car for the entire week. The rental car and parking for the week come up to a little less than $400, cheaper than a shuttle both ways, and we have the flexibility to stop and see other sights on our way back. Our flight doesn't leave till Sunday evening so we were hoping to hit up the Children's Museum or something like that on Sunday after we get off the ship.

 

MOCowBell, thanks for the information. We changed our plans to just get the car for the week and pay parking at the port. It comes out to cheaper than paying for the one-way charge each way and just a bit cheaper than a shuttle both ways. I am hoping to eliminate some of the headache that you explained doing it this way. We can fly in, get our rental car, grab dinner on the way to the hotel. Then in the morning we can take off when we want, stop if we need to, and just park the car at the port, eliminating the rental car drop off at the port and potential taxi to the port issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Just a heads up......I live in the Dickinson/League City area and there is MAJOR freeway construction going on. It's passable but plan to be delayed. Certain times of the day, I-45 South can be a parking lot. It's worse on the weekends. Also some roadwork going on on the causeway leading into Galveston. There are plenty of hotels in the League City area, but be aware that you need to plan on at least an extra hour if you are coming from IAH.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a similar question. We are flying into IAH at 12:00 on Sunday for a 4:00 departure (check in no later than 3:00). Is this doable? How is traffic in Houston on a Sunday afternoon? I am wishing I would have tried harder to fly in the night before but flights were hard to find and more expensive. I am very nervous about it!

 

Traffic is worse on the weekend! Lots of road construction on I-45. I wouldn't waste any time at the airport. That timeframe is doable. Be warned there is lots of road construction when you get closer to Galveston, in the Webster area and heading south. When you cross the causeway into Galveston, take the Port Industrial exit. It will be the quickest route to the pier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

bradsnana, thank you so much for the heads up about road construction. I just talked to my husband about it and we are going to give ourselves about 3 hours to drive from IAH to Galveston on Sunday morning for the cruise. If we get there early, we can just drive around and check out what there is to see. Thank you again for passing that info on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're personally going to fly in the night before and stay near IAH the night before. I'm gonna rent a car as well and drive down. We are staying 2 days post cruise as well and it just seemed like more hassle to shuttle and Uber for the last couple of days. Paid $250 for a full size via Costco. I would suggest paying the port parking fee, instead of the paying for the drop off fee with the rental car company. Those are normally really expensive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...