Tulsa to Galveston

Have you made the trip from Tulsa to Galveston ? We plan on arriving at least the night before our cruise. Do you drive straight thru ? Do you drive half or more of the way and then finish that morning ?

What is your experience ? Thank you in advance :)

Have done the OKC area to Galveston various times. We have done both drive all the way to Galveston and stop somewhere and drive the rest the day of. The times stopped have been in some town north of the Houston metro and in Houston.

I think the key to drive straight through is to leave early enough in the morning to make it to Galveston the night before for a nice dinner. Then the next day can check out Galveston a bit in the morning before getting on the ship. That would be like leaving 7am or 8am the day before from just about anywhere in Oklahoma.

The times stopping had to do with not able to leave early enough and having a free night stay at a hotel in Houston. Would rather tough out the 8 hour drive and make it the night before.

Have you made the trip from Tulsa to Galveston ? We plan on arriving at least the night before our cruise. Do you drive straight thru ? Do you drive half or more of the way and then finish that morning ?

What is your experience ? Thank you in advance :)

Unless you make it south of downtown Houston you will still have at least a two hour drive (due to traffic) the day of departure. If you go south of Houston before you stop you might as well drive all the way to Galveston.

Thanks for the replies . I think we will get up early and drive all the way and enjoy Galveston for the evening before the cruise :)

Thanks for the replies . I think we will get up early and drive all the way and enjoy Galveston for the evening before the cruise :)

We have done the OKC to Galveston drive MANY times. We have done it two different ways:

We sometimes leave early afternoon on Friday and drive as far as Corsicana, TX. Stay the night there, get going a little later on Saturday and make the drive into Galveston. We can then spend Saturday afternoon wandering around the Strand or Seawall without being road weary. My wife and I do this when we are travelling alone.

We often cruise with another couple and we drive down together. For this we leave very early Saturday morning (like 5 am) and drive straight through to Galveston. With the usual quick stops and a meal break, this usually puts us into Galveston around 1 to 2 pm. Still plenty of time to see the sights and enjoy some food and drink. With us 2 husbands sharing the driving, the road weariness is diminished.

Of course, this all depends on your cruise departure day. We have had to adjust this when taking a cruise leaving on a Monday instead of our usual Sunday! Bottom line: Travel time OKC to Galveston using I-35 > I-20 > I-45> Hardy Toll Rd > I-610 > I-45 7.5 to 8.5 hours depending on the traffic situations in the major metro areas.

Hope this made sense and helps you out! :D

Pete

I've done the drive from the south side of Houston (30 minutes north of Galveston) to Muskogee and back many times. It's an easy one day drive if you get a good nights sleep the night before and stop every couple of hours to get gas or take a short break.

Thanks all ....any good places that you stop along the way to have a meal or stretch the legs ? What is the best route past Dallas and Houston , I heard traffic could be crazy.

Thanks all ....any good places that you stop along the way to have a meal or stretch the legs ? What is the best route past Dallas and Houston , I heard traffic could be crazy.

Hwy 45 south is the most direct route, unless you want to wind through all the back roads:)

The Hardy Toll road is a good option, but it does cost. I have no clue as to how much as I have an Easy Tag. We drive to and from the Woodland via the toll road and it is a time saver as well as avoiding 45 north of Houston - lousy road - needs to be repaved:eek:

Traffic can be good or bad anywhere; depends on the time of day going through any major city.

Is the Hardy Toll Road or Loop 8 the better option to avoid the Houston Traffic on a Wednesday ? I have read both these options

Is the Hardy Toll Road or Loop 8 the better option to avoid the Houston Traffic on a Wednesday ? I have read both these options

It all depends on the time of day. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line!

Beltway 8 is a much longer route as you will go in a half circle.

Traffic during peak hours will back up on any highway.

To and from the Woodlands, I take 45 south to the Hardy Toll Road to 610 to 59 South to 45 South. This avoids 45 through downtown which can be a headache any time of day.

Our recommendation is to give yourself 2 days for the trip. It took us more than 2 hours just to drive through Houston on a Saturday! Coming back it was just as bad. We will NEVER drive directly through Houston again. Would rather take back roads around it. Dallas wasn't quite as bad--only 1 hour through there on a Friday.

We drove from Tulsa as far as Corsicana the first day and spent the night. Ate at a great Italian restaurant in the downtown area and then took advantage of the wonderful pastries at the Corsicana Fruitcake company there.

Second day drove on in to Texas City where we spent the night (much cheaper than Galveston). Then an easy 20 minute drive to the port on the morning of sailing.

Why try to drive it in one day and start your cruise worn out? But to each his own...

I've done the drive from the south side of Houston (30 minutes north of Galveston) to Muskogee and back many times. It's an easy one day drive if you get a good nights sleep the night before and stop every couple of hours to get gas or take a short break.

I've done this from Lake Jackson to Muskogee for many, many years, as that's where my Mom lives. It is an easy one day drive. Just drive in the day before and you'll be fine.

Coming from Tulsa , what route can you take to avoid the major traffic in Dallas ?

We have done this drive many times and generally Dallas is not a major problem unlike Houston which is very unpredictable. Around Plano there is an HOV lane that goes as far as the LBJ. Use it to avoid all the on and off traffic. Once you get past the downtown area, it is a piece off cake except for the low speed limit (60MPH) which extends too far south.

What is the HOV lane ?

It's a high occupancy vehicle lane. Requires at least two people in it I think

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" It took us more than 2 hours just to drive through Houston on a Saturday! Coming back it was just as bad. We will NEVER drive directly through Houston again. Would rather take back roads around it. Dallas wasn't quite as bad--only 1 hour through there on a Friday"

What route do you usually take LUVSNORKELING ?

If you are driving down on Hwy 69, the small town police departments in southern Oklahoma like to catch speeders, especially in Kiowa, Stringtown, Tushka, and Caney. Watch your speed through all towns. Starting a vacation with a speeding ticket is not good!

Vicki