Driving from Kansas City to Galveston

[SaturnMom]

Dear cruise critic member,

 

I will be appreciated if someone can help me with this. Had anyone drive from Kansas City to Galveston before? I searched the forum but only find two older posts with related topic.  DH booked a last minutes cruise to escape the cold winter. We are sailing out from Galveston on Saturday 4/13 on Carnival Freedom.

 

My plan is driving from Kansas City to Dallas on Friday, which will take about 7 1/2 to 8 hours. Spend a night at Dallas, then drive another 5 hours down to Galveston the next morning. If we leave Dallas at 7:30 am, then we will arrive Galveston no later than 1 pm. I think it is doable, because lot of fellow cruisers are driving from Dallas of departure day. 

 

My only concern is if anything happen on I-45 that morning, like accident, that the highway has to close for hours; then we probably not going to make it. But if it happened, then the shuttle service from Houston to Galveston may be affected too, then the cruise line may forced to delay the departure time. Have this happened before? 

 

I try not to drive straight down to Houston, it will take almost 12 hours and it is not fun. If we move the stopping point to somewhere between Dallas and Houston, do you have any suggestion for a safe town to stay overnight? 

 

Thanks in advance,

Peggy

 

 

[Texas Tillie]

There is no way I would drive from Dallas to Galveston on the day of departure. You talked about accidents between Houston and Galveston, but what about accidents anywhere along the way from Dallas to Houston? What about car trouble? If you are a gambler, go with your plan, I'm not. You might consider staying at Huntsville. Not sure but I'd think it's about 100 miles from there to the port.

[JBSteelerfan]

Our last trip down, we had to drive down departure morning due to scheduling conflict.  But we left at 430am just to be on the safe side.  It can be done, but I would definitely leave earlier than 730am because aside from possible incidents on I45 along the way, Houston traffic will be worse as it gets later in the day.  That's what always slows us down.

[ssb]

Leave early as said above . Saturday mornings traffic should not bad  . 

 

[SaturnMom]

Hi everyone, thank you for your input. I will ask my hubby if he want to drive all the way from Kansas to Houston or get up super early (4 am) to drive from Dallas to Galveston in the dark. I will give him all the pro and con. If we are driving straight to Houston, I may find a hotel on the outer skirt of Houston to avoid rush hour traffic. Is Friday 8pm still rush hour? 

 

We try to cut the driving time to 8-10 hours because we don't like to drive after dark, especially on the area that we not familiar with. And the other factor is the boarding time, I haven't check in to the cruise yet, with the ship almost fully booked, I think we will be assigned to a very late boarding time. Then after we park our car, we will have to carry our luggage for hours. 😂

[mongo59r]

SaturnMom,

We live in Wichita Ks and make the drive to Galveston regularly. What we have taken to doing is traveling the day before and usually spending the night in Huntsville, Tx. This leaves us a couple of hours drive on departure day, but still gives us some room for error. As always YMMV.

[SaturnMom]

Hi mongo59r,

How does Huntsville, TX feel like? I know it is a small town with a state university, do you feel safe at that area? Is it easy to find restaurant open after 8/9 pm?

 

Thanks.

[coldinkansas]

We are from Topeka and our last trip we stayed in Huntsville.  Nice hotel right off the highway. That makes for an easy trip on embarkation day with really no worries. We even stopped and had breakfast with friends in Houston, stop at Buckee's and easy drive to parking at Lighthouse. We had a 12:30 check in and even with the Massive rain we were on board by a little after 1pm.  Have a great trip !!

[mongo59r]

We usually stay at the Hampton Inn and haven't had any reason to feel unsafe. There is the usual round of chain restaurants that should fit your needs. Check Tripadvisor for details. 

[lifes-a-beach]

Huntsville is a very safe place unless you’re buying drugs or engaging in other criminal activity.  You can pretty much replace the name “Huntsville” with any other town or city along that route and the message will be the same.  My daughter completed her masters at the university there and teaches at the university.  It’s perfectly safe.  As for timing, no way would I drive from Dallas day of.  We live on Lake Conroe which is about 25 minutes south of Huntsville and we leave around 9 and always have lunch on the ship, no problem.  

[SaturnMom]

Thank you everyone for your input. We will drive from Kansas City to Dallas, have a early dinner at 5, then drive to Huntsville to spend the night, sounds like a perfect plan.

 

Thanks again.

[lifes-a-beach]

You might consider this

 

https://leonageneral.com/

 

Their steaks are amazing and its just a great place to eat.  Not fancy.  Just awesome.  Better get there early though as there is always a line for when they open at 5:30.  No reservations. 

[callie79]

My daughter attends the university in Huntsville. She feels safe and loves the area. Just a FYI there is major road construction on I45 between Huntsville and Galveston so please check traffic and allow plenty of time for unforeseen traffic delays. 

[LuckyStar]

On 3/4/2019 at 9:10 PM, SaturnMom said:

Dear cruise critic member,

 

I will be appreciated if someone can help me with this. Had anyone drive from Kansas City to Galveston before? I searched the forum but only find two older posts with related topic.  DH booked a last minutes cruise to escape the cold winter. We are sailing out from Galveston on Saturday 4/13 on Carnival Freedom.

 

My plan is driving from Kansas City to Dallas on Friday, which will take about 7 1/2 to 8 hours. Spend a night at Dallas, then drive another 5 hours down to Galveston the next morning. If we leave Dallas at 7:30 am, then we will arrive Galveston no later than 1 pm. I think it is doable, because lot of fellow cruisers are driving from Dallas of departure day. 

 

My only concern is if anything happen on I-45 that morning, like accident, that the highway has to close for hours; then we probably not going to make it. But if it happened, then the shuttle service from Houston to Galveston may be affected too, then the cruise line may forced to delay the departure time. Have this happened before? 

 

I try not to drive straight down to Houston, it will take almost 12 hours and it is not fun. If we move the stopping point to somewhere between Dallas and Houston, do you have any suggestion for a safe town to stay overnight? 

 

Thanks in advance,

Peggy

 

 

Make sure you make a stop at Buckee's in Madisonville.  Its about half way between Dallas and Houston.  It's a huge tourist trap, gas station, food stop that is pure Texas.  

[SaturnMom]

Thanks for the suggestion. We are so exciting, 28 days to go.

 

[mongo59r]

Have some Minski's for me before you leave!!

[TxShipShape]

I live south of Dallas at a lake.  about 300 mi to the port.  4-5 hrs no weather /traffic.  check txdot website for construction delays.  I usually leave around 5am the day of in case their are problems.  If Huntsville is too far try Ennis (260m to port)or Corsicana(230mi to port).  There is also a Buckles south of Houston take exit 17

 

BTW on the way back take some time to stop around Ennis to see the bluebonnets