Ideas on things to do in Galveston

[SardisGrandma]

Cruising on May 27 th out of Galveston. Taking 14 yr old GD & driving down. Just booked room for 25th at Gaidos. Any ideas of what we can do?? GD never traveled before. Has never seen a beach so I know we'll be doing a lot of beaches this trip.

[ssb]

Cruising on May 27 th out of Galveston. Taking 14 yr old GD & driving down. Just booked room for 25th at Gaidos. Any ideas of what we can do?? GD never traveled before. Has never seen a beach so I know we'll be doing a lot of beaches this trip.

 

With a couple of days only

There is plenty to do in Galveston/Kemah/Nasa area

There are special events in Galveston

area almost every weekend

See

galveston.com (what to do)(calendar of events) your vacation calendar dates

Sign up on Galveston.com for email of weekly events

see also:

galvestonhistory.org ---------Galveston Historical Foundation !!!!!!

moodygardens.com ------ just look at site !!!!!!

www.thegrand.com/calendar – 1894 Grand Opera House !!!!!!

 

 

Clearlake

Nasa Space Center

Kemah board walk - kemahboardwalk.com

 

Galveston:

Beaches Beaches Beaches

Old town Galveston *- Strand To Post Office Street

(lots of shopping, ice cream, old army surplus store, nautical shop, fine restaurants) Restaurants, Antiques, Shops, Bakery and Coffee shop

Wineries and wine festivals

Restaurants overlooking gulf and on port

Two first class convention centers

Many live theater venues

Many live music venues

Free concert nights - old town Galveston *- on strand

Free film nights -old town Galveston *- on strand

Free band nights-“family/kids” oriented-summer outdoor Tuesdays 24th & Sealy

1894 grand opera house * (a must seetour, and/or performances of many types)

Chess park

Artist festivals

Museums

Antique stores and art Galleries

Horse drawn carriage rides

Swimming in Gulf

Fine restaurants

Night scene

Galveston Historical Foundation properties*

Many Historical and Victorian homes

Galveston has second largest preservation membership in United States

Wooden Carved Trees Tour (wonderful)

Bishops palace (wonderful)

Moody mansion(wonderful)

Ashton villa (wonderful)

Moody gardens *(lots and lots and lots to do) (massive, fun and family oriented)

Schlitterbahn water park

Restored tall ship schooner Elissa www.tsm-elissa.org (wonderful)

1900 storm and pirate jean lafite documentary films at port

Pirates Store

Maritime museum- www.tsm-elissa.org

Airplane museum (Lone Star Flight Museum)- http://www.lsfm.org/

Railroad museum - http://www.galvestonrrmuseum.com

Oil drilling rig museum - www.oceanstaroec.com

Sea wolf park – WWII submarine and destroyer - www.cavalla.org

Large souvenir shop over gulf water - Murdochs

Walks and shelling on the beach

Cruise ships (RCCL, Carnival, Princess, Disney)

Fishing (piers, wadefishing and charters-offshore & inshore))

Golfing

Skate board park large

Kayaking trails

Surfing and children surf camps

Kite flying on beach

Marine life and children marine care educational camps at Moody Gardens

Marine life and children marine camps at Texas AM University - Sea Camp Programs

Various Running events with major Triathlon event

Sand castle building event

Shopping shopping shopping

Dolphin watching and port water tours

Turtle rescue farm behind San Luis Resort

Carved damaged trees tour from storm

Free ferry ride and a short cruise to Bolivar

Duck tour (amphibious boat)

Galveston.com/ interact and discover/cams

Many major weekly events and festivals not mentioned

as example :

Confederate Reenactment

Sanctioned and Fun Runs

Triathlon Events

Art Walk (every 5 or so weeks year around)

Dickens on Strand (Dec) ----LARGE - http://www.dickensonthestrand.com

Lone Star Motorcycle Rally (Nov) ---LARGE - www.lonestarrally.com

Mardi Gras Galveston (Feb) ----LARGE - www.lonestarrally.com

October Fest

Beer Fests

Wine Events and Fest

Greek Fest

Epicurean Evening of all restaurants

Shrimp Fest

Yega’s Wild Game Cook Off,

County Fair - LARGE

Children’s Fest

Feather Fest - Large

Old Timey Bathing Beauty Fest

And many many more !!

Trauma 1 Emergency Hospital on Island – Univ. Texas Medical Branch/Sealy Hospital

[geckog]

Moody Gardens is great. I'm sure your GD would love it.

 

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[ssb]

Moody Gardens is great. I'm sure your GD would love it.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

 

I agree!!!!!!

 

http://www.moodygardens.com

[canuckcruiselover]

We just spent 2 nights prior to our Mariner sailing at the Quality Inn & Suites on Seawall -- great value for money. Decent complimentary breakfast and free wi-fi.

 

We bought a day pass for Moody Gardens which was well worth it and much cheaper than paying separate admission fees. The rainforest pyramid is amazing. We also really enjoyed the 3D shark film.

 

We had a rental car so did our own tour of the area and the tree sculptures which are incredible works of art.

 

Aside from the pea-soup fog on New Year's Eve which made driving "exciting" and not leaving the cruise terminal until 5 pm on Jan 8th because of dense fog, I would be happy to spend more time in Galveston, especially in the summer. We took a picture of what we could see of the Carnival ship while we were waiting for the fog to lift before docking.

[TruckerDave]

The end of May, the water park (near Moody Gardens) should be open. As others have said, Moody Gardens is nice. (as a side note, if anybody is going on a cruise in Dec you might want to check out the "festival of lights" at MG. They decorate the whole Moody Gardens with a bunch of xmas lights. if you like that type of thing its a cool way to spend and evening. plus they open up the rain forest and aquarium at night as well). but back on topic....if you like sports you can prob get a good seat for an Astros game. (Houston area residents will get the little joke there:D) There is also the Aquarium downtown and of course NASA. Galveston will probably be packed that time of year as its around Memorial day. While Houston is no Orlando or Los Angeles with the major tourist things, we do have plenty to do. So welcome to our fine city and enjoy. (just don't complain about the traffic and endless road work....we already do that ;) )

[Aggiebuttercup]

Schlitterbahn Galveston would be a huge hit with a teenager, if you're up to a day of water slides and rafting along the lazy river. If you go, go EARLY, when they open. You can bring in your own drinks and food (no glass bottles or alcohol). http://schlitterbahn.com/gal/

 

I also second Moody Gardens. They have their own beach, but don't waste your money - you should be able to find a good beach along the seawall. If you want more privacy, take the ferry to Bolivar Penninsula. It will bring you towards Crystal Beach. http://www.galveston.com/galvestonferry/ Even if you don't want to do the beach on the mainland, the ferry is a fun, free ride. If it's a peak time, you can park your car and walk on and just take the ferry roundtrip.

 

One of my favorite things to do in town is explore the tall ship Elissa. http://www.galvestonhistory.org/Texas_Seaport_Museum.asp

 

Definitely make time to go to the Strand and see LaKing's Confectionary http://www.galveston.com/laking/. This is an old-fashioned candy store. Most times they have someone making candy by hand for you to watch. The candy and ice cream are excellent, and it's a nice trip back in time.

[Aggiebuttercup]

If you want to drive half an hour, also consider Space Center Houston and the Kemah Boardwalk. The boardwalk is fun to explore in the evening - there are rides and restaurants. http://www.kemahboardwalk.com/ It is a fun, safe area.

[ssb]

Schlitterbahn Galveston would be a huge hit with a teenager, if you're up to a day of water slides and rafting along the lazy river. If you go, go EARLY, when they open. You can bring in your own drinks and food (no glass bottles or alcohol). http://schlitterbahn.com/gal/

 

I also second Moody Gardens. They have their own beach, but don't waste your money - you should be able to find a good beach along the seawall. If you want more privacy, take the ferry to Bolivar Penninsula. It will bring you towards Crystal Beach. http://www.galveston.com/galvestonferry/ Even if you don't want to do the beach on the mainland, the ferry is a fun, free ride. If it's a peak time, you can park your car and walk on and just take the ferry roundtrip.

 

One of my favorite things to do in town is explore the tall ship Elissa. http://www.galvestonhistory.org/Texas_Seaport_Museum.asp

 

Definitely make time to go to the Strand and see LaKing's Confectionary http://www.galveston.com/laking/. This is an old-fashioned candy store. Most times they have someone making candy by hand for you to watch. The candy and ice cream are excellent, and it's a nice trip back in time.

 

 

At waterpark there are price discounts for afternoon entry also!

Check website