Galveston

[Heimey]

Hello all. My wife and I are looking at booking our first cruise out of Galveston. Which airport is the best to fly into for that port and how far away is it? 
 

thanks a lot in advance for your help

Heimey

[Bgcruising]

Hobby is the closest. Carnival offers a transfer from IAH though. Are you coming early?

[Bgcruising]

Hobby is 30 miles closer, its 41 miles to the port. IAH is 70

[Purvis1231]

We use Hobby when possible since it is smaller and closer to where we need to go in the Houston area. Carnival has transfers from both airports. 

[Heimey]

49 minutes ago, Bgcruising said:

Hobby is the closest. Carnival offers a transfer from IAH though. Are you coming early?

We would be coming one or two days before. We always rent a car. Is there somewhere close to cruise port to drop rentals off?

 

thanks again everyone 

Heimey

[BlerkOne]

There is Enterprise on the island, closed on Sundays.

[Joe817]

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

There is Enterprise on the island, closed on Sundays.

You beat me to it. Also, I kind of, sort of remember that Enterprise on Galveston does not allow 1 way drop offs once you get to Galveston. Can anyone verify? 

[Bgcruising]

You definitely need a car to get around Houston if you are staying a few days. Car drip off is limited in Galveston.  What you might consider is renting the car at the airport, returning it to the same place on cruise day, and take the carnival shuttle to the port. Remember to purchase it in advance.

[WildBlueYonder64]

If you've never been to Galveston, a suggestion would be to take a shuttle from the airport to a hotel in Galveston and spend your time exploring Galveston. There is a trolley service that will take you around the downtown Strand and all up and down Seawall Blvd. Galveston has a lot of history, a cool vibe and delicious seafood fresh from the Gulf. Uber is also available on the island. Great way to start your vacation!

[ssb]

Galveston ISLAND is a major tourist destination. Start your vacation early. 

[1kaper]

On 6/18/2022 at 1:47 PM, Joe817 said:

You beat me to it. Also, I kind of, sort of remember that Enterprise on Galveston does not allow 1 way drop offs once you get to Galveston. Can anyone verify? 

 

You are correct.  They do not allow 1 way drop offs.  
We dropped our rental car off in La Marque.  It wasn't too expensive for an Uber back to the hotel on Galveston. 

[Lee Cruiser]

When we go in September, we are actually going to get a ride (shuttle or Uber) from Hobby to the Enterprise location in Galveston to rent a car.  It is cheaper there and we can just drop it off there the morning of the cruise.

[little britain]

On 6/20/2022 at 3:40 PM, 1kaper said:

 

You are correct.  They do not allow 1 way drop offs.  
We dropped our rental car off in La Marque.  It wasn't too expensive for an Uber back to the hotel on Galveston. 

I have just rented a car in Houston ( close to airport but not an airport pickup) with one way drop off in Galveston via Enterprise app.   The app wouldn’t allow me to do it with IAH pickup 

Edited July 22, 2022 by little britain

[1kaper]

2 hours ago, little britain said:

I have just rented a car in Houston ( close to airport but not an airport pickup) with one way drop off in Galveston via Enterprise app.   The app wouldn’t allow me to do it with IAH pickup 

I checked a number of places but maybe it was an availability issue 

[little britain]

On 7/22/2022 at 9:31 PM, 1kaper said:

I checked a number of places but maybe it was an availability issue 

For next April?!
 Anyway the Enterprise office is about a mile from the hotel so walkable. instead of having to get back to IAH then over to the car rental area.

[Galveston Cruiser]

12 hours ago, little britain said:

For next April?!
 Anyway the Enterprise office is about a mile from the hotel so walkable. instead of having to get back to IAH then over to the car rental area.

Not a walkable area; I do not recommend.

[little britain]

3 hours ago, Galveston Cruiser said:

Not a walkable area; I do not recommend.

We can Uber then! 

[Galveston Cruiser]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

We can Uber then! 

Taxi or Lyft

Uber is not permitted in the Port area, but will drop off outside the gate