Flights from Galveston to Houston

[3red7s]

Good morning all.  I had heard that traffic in Houston is extremely heavy.  When we disembark from Galveston & head back to the Houston airport, what is the earliest flight we should consider?  thank you 

[Jam0610]

Traffic in Houston is a nightmare. I would make any flight after your cruise at least in the afternoon.

 

[time4u2go]

10 minutes ago, 3red7s said:

Good morning all.  I had heard that traffic in Houston is extremely heavy.  When we disembark from Galveston & head back to the Houston airport, what is the earliest flight we should consider?  thank you 

Which Houston airport?  That makes a difference.

 

Also, when I saw your thread title, I thought, "that would be a short flight!"

[swoopy2110]

Just now, time4u2go said:

Also, when I saw your thread title, I thought, "that would be a short flight!"

Me too

[Zach1213]

As mentioned earlier, there are some critical things missing...such as which airport (IAH or HOU) and what day of the week. Yes, Houston traffic is nasty, since it is the fifth largest metro area in the US (not far behind DFW as the fourth). 

 

4 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Also, when I saw your thread title, I thought, "that would be a short flight!"

 

Back in the 1950s-1980s, there were some flights from Galveston to what is now IAH on various now defunct airlines like Braniff, Trans-Texan, and a couple others. 

[3red7s]

This would be utilizing the Bush/Houson airport.

[3red7s]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Which Houston airport?  That makes a difference.

 

Also, when I saw your thread title, I thought, "that would be a short flight!"

oh good grief....just noticed that .....sorry for the confusion 

[LeeW]

Hobby airport is 41 miles from the port and around a 45 minute drive with no traffic.  Add at least another 30 minutes to Bush.  We have gotten on ship transfers as early as 8 AM (bus almost full, so it left within 5 minutes).

[voyager70]

We made a 2:30 flight out of IAH with ease, but traffic was not too bad that day. I wouldn’t book anything before 1:00. 
 

[Scottee25]

2 hours ago, 3red7s said:

This would be utilizing the Bush/Houson airport.

 

You also didn't say which day of the week?

 

How you were getting to IAH? Royal transfer? Shuttle? Uber?

 

What month are you sailing?

 

If you are getting off the ship on a Saturday/Sunday morning the traffic will not be that bad. However construction in IAH has some terminals as a real mess. 

 

Another thing to keep in mind is Galveston can sometimes be overwhelmed with fog which can close the port and ships need to wait for the fog to lift before they are allowed to enter port and dock.

 

If you are returning on the weekend, you're getting off at 8AM, and there is no fog, there isn't any reason why you couldn't make a noon flight. However, it wouldn't hurt to pad a couple of hours in there in the event there are any road closures due to construction/accidents on the way to the airport.

[3red7s]

We are going in on September 28th (Saturday) & Returning on October 6th (Sunday). we plan on using Express shuttle, to and from. It looks like folks say not to book anything prior to 2:00 pm.  Not looking to race to the airport, just want to be sure of getting there.  Thanks for ALL your info

 

[George C]

Noon is fine for flights from hobby add 45 minutes for other.

[smokeybandit]

I wish you could fly from Galveston. Sure would make things a lot easier.

[Galveston Cruiser]

On 5/30/2024 at 7:02 PM, smokeybandit said:

I wish you could fly from Galveston. Sure would make things a lot easier.

There is ongoing discussion to re-certify Scholes Field for commercial air traffic  The FAA has already performed inspections.

When, who and where flights will commence has not been determined, but progress is being made.

[Mike45LC]

Thank you for this thread.  I came across it as I am beginning to look into transportation/hotels/activities for my Christmas  (2024) cruise out of Galveston.  In the past, I've cruised out of Miami, Ft Lauderdale, San Juan, NYC, Los Angeles, Vancouver.  Imagine my surprise today when I discovered that I can't fly into Galveston and have to fly into Houston!!!

 

I will most likely fly into Houston (Hobby) and use ground transportation into Galveston the day before the cruise.  Is the Tremont House a good choice for the night before a cruise?

 

Is there anything in Galveston that is a "must do" requiring me to fly in for a couple of days, or can I just fly in the day before, eat dinner, go to bed and Uber to the ship the next day?

 

I expect that on debarkation day, a Friday, a flight out of Hobby after 2:00 p.m. should be reasonably safe.  I hope!

 

 

[Galveston Cruiser]

Galveston is an island 50 miles south of Houston in the Gulf of Mexico.  With a population of a little over 50,000 vs, Houston area of over 6 million it makes no sense to have a large commercial airport.

There are multiple services including Uber to transfer to the island.

 

The Tremont is a beautiful hotel located downtown but there are others facing the Gulf just as nice.  We also have wonderful restaurants for every taste and price.

 

This island has a tremendous amount of history and is home to many "firsts" as well as the place of the worst natural disaster in U S History - the Great Storm of 1900 killing over 6,000.

 

See visitgalveston.com to discover more about this great city.

 

A 2 PM flight out of Hobby allows more than adequate time.