Gotta hack to get from Houston Hobby Airport to Galveston hotel?

[DELTABLUE]

My son and dil will be cruising on Grandeur, out of Galveston, on 7-22.  The plan is to fly in on 7-21 and head to the port, to spend the night.  They are 'scheduled' to get in about 10PM.  We all know what 'scheduled' means in this day and age.  Any thoughts on how they can get to their hotel, at that hour, that won't cost more then the price of their cruise?  All thoughts and pointers would be gratefully appreciated.

[smokeybandit]

Uber/Lyft

[Coralc]

I don't know exactly where they are going, but you can check out Ride Guru: https://ride.guru/

[Coralc]

Google also, apparently has some ride comparison tool too. IMO. Galveston is kind of like Port Canaveral. It is a nuisance to try and get from the airport to port hotel/port. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Coralc

[ARandomTraveler]

It's been a while since I cruised from Galveston, but when I did, I reserved a shuttle that takes you from the airport to the port. It was basically a private van, and it was $150 each way. It was the main reason I never sailed from Galveston again. It's a pain in the a$$ and more expensive than it's worth. I think I found the company through the airport, or maybe I just googled "airport shuttles" or something. This was 9 years ago though, I'm sure Uber is probably a better option, and you can reserve an Uber ahead of time. 

[KATHYMAC68]

We used Island Breeze Shuttle. We were able to set our time for pickup from  a hotel at the Hobby Airport to the terminal in Galveston.

We also set the time for pickup when we returned.

They were on time and everything went smoothly.

[Merion_Mom]

I don't know their operating hours, but try Galveston Express.  

 

Shuttle transportation Houston to Galveston- Galveston Express

[robmtx]

Hack.. It was cheapest for us to rent a car one-way from Enterprise. Pickup at Hobby, Drop-off at Galveston the next day. Took short (3.5 mile) Uber from Enterprise facility to pier. Enterprise even offered to give us a ride, but we didn't want to wait.

 

Same concept on the return. We had Uber to take us to the Enterprise place in Galveston where we picked up a one-way rental.

 

The total for two cars + gas was way less than any shuttle or Uber/Lyft round trip. And the added benefit of having a vehicle to run up to Wal-Mart the day before was nice!

 

However, they do close at 10pm at the AP, but you may be able to pickup after hours (you will need to confirm)

 

 

[SimplyAlbert]

6 hours ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

We used Island Breeze Shuttle. We were able to set our time for pickup from  a hotel at the Hobby Airport to the terminal in Galveston.

We also set the time for pickup when we returned.

They were on time and everything went smoothly.

We used them too.  Very happy with their services.

[Jimbo]

52 minutes ago, robmtx said:

Hack.. It was cheapest for us to rent a car one-way from Enterprise. Pickup at Hobby, Drop-off at Galveston the next day. Took short (3.5 mile) Uber from Enterprise facility to pier. Enterprise even offered to give us a ride, but we didn't want to wait.

 

Same concept on the return. We had Uber to take us to the Enterprise place in Galveston where we picked up a one-way rental.

 

The total for two cars + gas was way less than any shuttle or Uber/Lyft round trip. And the added benefit of having a vehicle to run up to Wal-Mart the day before was nice!

 

However, they do close at 10pm at the AP, but you may be able to pickup after hours (you will need to confirm)

 

 

Agree, rent a car super easy.

[rudeney]

This was before the pandemic, but I priced out every option.  For us, the best option was renting a car for the week and paying to park it in a private lot right across from the terminal.  One factor was that we flew in very early the day before,arriving around 10am.  We then visited the Space Center that day, Kemah Boardwalk that night, and stayed in a hotel in that area.  The next morning, we drove to Galveston.  Of course I am sure prices are much different now, but then it was under $300 for the car and about $75 to park.   Oh, and on the return, we had a late afternoon flight, so with the car, we were able to do some shopping and see a movie.

[Tlbecker1]

I just priced renting a car for just 2 days before our cruise.  It was $110.00 for each day.  We will just plan on taking Uber or a shuttle.

[lchvatal]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:48 AM, robmtx said:

Hack.. It was cheapest for us to rent a car one-way from Enterprise. Pickup at Hobby, Drop-off at Galveston the next day. Took short (3.5 mile) Uber from Enterprise facility to pier. Enterprise even offered to give us a ride, but we didn't want to wait.

 

Same concept on the return. We had Uber to take us to the Enterprise place in Galveston where we picked up a one-way rental.

 

The total for two cars + gas was way less than any shuttle or Uber/Lyft round trip. And the added benefit of having a vehicle to run up to Wal-Mart the day before was nice!

 

However, they do close at 10pm at the AP, but you may be able to pickup after hours (you will need to confirm)

 

@robmtx this is the dil of DELTABLUE,

 

Thanks for the info, unfortunately, there are no one way rentals available. We would have to rent it for the full cruise and then pay parking on top if that. 

 

[lchvatal]

@smokeybandit we are considering lyft. We are just a little leary about the time because it's late. Thanks for the info. 

[lchvatal]

@Merion_Mom Thanks! Unfortunately, their last shuttle runs at 8pm.

 

[lchvatal]

@KATHYMAC68 Thanks! I am waiting to hear back from them. 

[lchvatal]

46 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

I just priced renting a car for just 2 days before our cruise.  It was $110.00 for each day.  We will just plan on taking Uber or a shuttle.

Yes, unfortunately it was the same price but we would have had to rent the car for the entire cruise and park it while we were on the ship. They did not have any one way rentals. Galveston Express' last shuttle is 8pm, but they start back up in the morning. That is not an option for us, but may be for you. I am waiting to hear back with a quote from Island Breeze Shuttle, they are looking pretty good from what I saw online. They do run after after and charge a $50 service charge after 8:01 pm and 6:59 am for a private vehicle. That is fine with me, I prefer that late at night. 

[Tlbecker1]

2 hours ago, lchvatal said:

Yes, unfortunately it was the same price but we would have had to rent the car for the entire cruise and park it while we were on the ship. They did not have any one way rentals. Galveston Express' last shuttle is 8pm, but they start back up in the morning. That is not an option for us, but may be for you. I am waiting to hear back with a quote from Island Breeze Shuttle, they are looking pretty good from what I saw online. They do run after after and charge a $50 service charge after 8:01 pm and 6:59 am for a private vehicle. That is fine with me, I prefer that late at night. 

Thank you for all of the information.  We are arriving after 8, so I think for us we will just get an Uber.  I really hope that the shuttle works out for you.😀🤞.  We haven’t cruised out of Galveston in at least 10 years, so I will make sure to keep that in mind going forward.  Thanks again!

[Lane Hog]

Good luck.  Another option is a black car service - I've used info@limochampion.com before and had great service.  Rate in March was $250 from IAH which for four people is cheaper than UberXL or the cruise line bus.  Might be less from Hobby.

[lchvatal]

@Tlbecker1 I think we are going with Island Breeze Shuttle. It will be $135 plus tip for the two of us. Our flight lands around 10pm and the shuttle will take us to our hotel in Galveston. Not sure what Uber would be. Good luck! 

[robmtx]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:28 PM, Tlbecker1 said:

Thank you for all of the information.  We are arriving after 8, so I think for us we will just get an Uber.  I really hope that the shuttle works out for you.😀🤞.  We haven’t cruised out of Galveston in at least 10 years, so I will make sure to keep that in mind going forward.  Thanks again!

 

If getting an Uber, maybe also download and have Lyft as well. You can compare prices and maybe get a better price.  e.g. we recently got off the ship in Port Canaveral and Uber wanted $59 to go to Coco Beach! Lyft was $22. Uber was surge pricing at the time while Lyft was not.