Cruising out of Galveston - considering San Antonio pre-cruise

We are cruising out of Galveston on the Carnival Magic on July 19th. We are driving from Illinois and were planning on arriving in Galveston on Friday afternoon, so will have the rest of that day, all day Saturday and Sunday morning to explore the area.

The last couple of days, we've been considering driving to San Antonio on Friday and then heading to Galveston on Sunday morning. We've never been to San Antonio and would love to explore the River Walk area, but I don't know if that's enough time and / or if the drive to Galveston on Sunday morning would be bad. It looks like it's a little less than 4 hours, so not awful, but also not great.

For a little more information about us - it will be our family (my husband, daughters 18 & 17, son 13 and myself) and my inlaws. We've never been to Texas, so haven't explored Houston or Galveston either. My family of 5 loves cruising and beaches! My inlaws love cruising but usually just do an island tour because they are not beach people. So, for our pre-cruise activities, I'm trying to keep in mind that they will definitely not want a day spent on the beach in Galveston. We will probably be going our separate ways while we're at a couple of the cruise ports, so we'd like to stay together on these days.

Anyway, just wanting opinions on this option.

Thanks!

We are cruising out of Galveston on the Carnival Magic on July 19th. We are driving from Illinois and were planning on arriving in Galveston on Friday afternoon, so will have the rest of that day, all day Saturday and Sunday morning to explore the area.

 

The last couple of days, we've been considering driving to San Antonio on Friday and then heading to Galveston on Sunday morning. We've never been to San Antonio and would love to explore the River Walk area, but I don't know if that's enough time and / or if the drive to Galveston on Sunday morning would be bad. It looks like it's a little less than 4 hours, so not awful, but also not great.

 

For a little more information about us - it will be our family (my husband, daughters 18 & 17, son 13 and myself) and my inlaws. We've never been to Texas, so haven't explored Houston or Galveston either. My family of 5 loves cruising and beaches! My inlaws love cruising but usually just do an island tour because they are not beach people. So, for our pre-cruise activities, I'm trying to keep in mind that they will definitely not want a day spent on the beach in Galveston. We will probably be going our separate ways while we're at a couple of the cruise ports, so we'd like to stay together on these days.

 

Anyway, just wanting opinions on this option.

 

Thanks!

San Antonio river walk and Gruene short distance away are special treats in Texas . Galveston is special too with many treats for vacationers not related to Beach eventhough there is 32 miles of it on Island.

It's what you want to Do? Sunday drive to Galveston is 4 hours and doable for you!

Just my opinion... I don't think I would want to make that 4 hour drive on cruise day. And probably not enough time to enjoy San Antonio. There is so much to do in Houston and Galveston, I would choose to spend the time there. Either way, I'm sure you will have an amazing time!

If you get to San Antonio on Friday afternoon/early evening get a hotel by the river walk area and enjoy Friday night there. Hit the Alamo on Sat and do more exploring on Sat (There is also Sea World and a six flags in SA). You can either leave later sat and stay somewhere in between SA and Houston or just wait until sun morn to head to Galveston. It is prob only about a 4 hr drive. Pretty boring until you get to about Katy but you can ride along about 75 mph most of the way so it goes by pretty quick.

Or you can hit the Houston area and visit NASA and the Kemah boardwalk. So it really is just what you want to do.

I live in Austin & would probably recommend just staying in Houston/Galveston area. The River walk is nice, but nothing special. Plus, it will be hot. I rather have a short drive Sun & be around the beach & relax the days before. Galveston's water is pretty murky with lots of seaweed, but lots to do on the island. Ducktours in Galveston is a pretty nice way to sea the island, it's a bus/boat. Good luck!

I live in Austin & would probably recommend just staying in Houston/Galveston area. The River walk is nice, but nothing special. Plus, it will be hot. I rather have a short drive Sun & be around the beach & relax the days before. Galveston's water is pretty murky with lots of seaweed, but lots to do on the island. Ducktours in Galveston is a pretty nice way to sea the island, it's a bus/boat. Good luck!

I agree with staying in Galveston.

But please note we have no seaweed this year!

That is not to say it not will appear, but it was all over the Caribbean and Florida last year also. The sargassum is an ecological feeding system for sea life which originates in the Sea of Sargasso off the coast of Africa. It is filled with small fish, crustaceans, seahorses, etc.

It also helps in the building of the dunes by retaining sand.

It may not be the most pleasant thing for humans, but it is Mother Nature and is very beneficial.

The Gulf has been beautiful with calm, green water.

Today - not - as the storms are coming in off the Gulf and the wind has picked up.

I also recommend staying in the Houston/Galveston area. There are plenty of places to visit. One thing not mentioned is that the typical Sunday traffic from either Austin or San Antonio back to Houston on Sundays during the summer months can be brutal. Many Houstonians visit (or have vacation homes) Austin/San Antonio and nearby areas in the summer and all return Sunday mainly via I10 (if returning from San Antonio). You would need to be very careful planning your return to Houston on a Sunday.

Thanks for the info. We are driving down from Kansas and was thinking of doing San Antonio on Friday evening & Saturday then driving to ship on Sunday. May think of driving over on Saturday evening instead.

Just my opinion... I don't think I would want to make that 4 hour drive on cruise day. And probably not enough time to enjoy San Antonio. There is so much to do in Houston and Galveston, I would choose to spend the time there. Either way, I'm sure you will have an amazing time!

Yes, there are things to do in Houston and Galveston, but San Antonio is a much more important site seeing location and people come from all over the country to see the Missions, including Thr Alamo and the Riverwalk. Being a Texan, most of us don't mind driving too much, so I'd say a day is enough time to visit the Alamo, walk the Riverwalk, and ride the little sight seeing boat through the Riverwalk. If you drive like the Texans, that Galveston drive won't be too bad.

Don't bother with Galveston's beach. It's not very pretty and the water is quite brown from sediment from the MS River. I go there, because it's the only beach we have but its just not awesome. The Strand in Galveston is nice for shopping and there are cute little bars and restaurants along the Seawall.

Be warned, however, that if you do choose SA there will be TONS of people and lines for everything. It's super busy in the summer. Riverwalk on a Sat will be a very hot mess of wall to wall people. If you don't mind the people and lines, go to SA, see the Ruverwalk and The Alamo, and eat some really good Mexican food (cannot be found on the Riverwalk!). If you mind the crowds and waiting, go hang around Gslveston for the day. Maybe stop at the Houston Zoo or museums or Hermann Park on the way down. In Houston, try to look up road construction, because there is a LOT of it going on!

Have fun!

I wouldn't risk driving in on Sunday morning. There is only one highway between San Antonio and Houston and it's only two lanes in each direction for a large part, it doesn't take much for it to get blocked. I'd be more inclined to stop in Dallas for a day or two, and make sure you are in Houston on Saturday night.

Each city in Texas has history and I would not rank one over the other.

Where you stay depends on what you want to do.

From the Lone Star Flight museum to the Ocean Star Drilling Rig, the new J.P. Bryan Museum, Bishop's Palace, Moody Mansion, Tall Ship Elissa, Texas Seaport Museum, 1894 Grand Opera House, Movies on the Great 1900 Storm, The Pirate Jean Lafitte and Immigration into Galveston - there is a tremendous amount to do with little driving.

Let's not forget Schlitterbahn and Moody Gardens!

Also great restaurants from casual to white table cloth in every price range.

BTW: The beach water in Galveston happens to be beautiful this week Some days it does appear muddy, but that it not the majority of the time.

Yeah, like everyone else, I wouldn't chance a Sunday drive from SA to Galveston. Your kids might also get bored with the river walk within a hour or two. Google Kemah, Space center Houston, Moody Gardens, and Galveston Schlitterbahn and see what the family likes.

I spent most of my life in East Texas/Houston. During my work career I had to alternate between Houston and San Antonio every other week. As a tourist with only a couple of days I would go with the San Antonio area for two day. Not for the "tourist" attractions, but for the history available. 30 minutes for the river walk and then off for the mission tours, Gruene, TX and a bit of Hill Country. Either drive down to about Schulenburg Saturday night and enjoy a great dinner or make the run to Galveston Sunday morning. I would go half way Saturday night.

Thanks everyone for all the posts.

After getting together with my inlaws last night, I think we've decided on staying in either Houston or Galveston and saving San Antonio for another trip.

My mother-in-law's first thing was she said she'd like to do the space center again, so that will probably be our top priority and then build our day and a half around that.

Thanks again for all the comments. I think we just decided that we'd like the departure day to be as stress free as possible and since we've never really done anything in Texas, we may as well keep it close to where we are cruising from.

Smart. We live in SA and his sister is in Spring. We drive to them the day before and drive down to Galveston after a heavy breakfast. Less than 90 minutes to the port. No way would we go straight to G from home

Thanks everyone for all the posts.

 

After getting together with my inlaws last night, I think we've decided on staying in either Houston or Galveston and saving San Antonio for another trip.

 

My mother-in-law's first thing was she said she'd like to do the space center again, so that will probably be our top priority and then build our day and a half around that.

Kemah can be pretty fun if it's not super crowded. Also if you want some history the San Jacinto monument and USS Texas aren't too far away.

Also don't forget that Houston has a pretty good baseball team and the A's are in town that weekend. Unlike Chicago tickets are usually available the day of the game, especially against Oakland.