Dallas to Galveston

[pn1]

I'm planning some time ahead having booked a seven-day cruise from Galveston (Navigator of the Seas; January 4 2015).

 

My general plan is to rent a car at Dallas for the duration of the trip (probably about three weeks including the seven day cruise).

 

The general idea would be to take a leisurely trip from Dallas using two lane highways as far as practical to get a local roadside "feel". Perhaps two or three days in each direction? Hopefully staying at smaller localities. Different routes in each direction.

 

My thinking is that it would probably be better to do one car hire from Dallas returning there. I understand secure parking is available at Galveston for cruise passengers.

 

So I would appreciate any advice/tips for the pre and post cruise road trips and the parking at Galveston.

 

I've enjoyed several two lane or "roadside" USA trips but haven't been to Texas apart from two transit stops at DFW.

 

I particularly enjoy eating at roadside cafes/diners. And of course the usual friendly comment "you're not from 'round here?" when they hear my (strange?) Australian accent.

 

Thanks in advance from Paul in Australia (who trusts it's OK to ask this sort of question here)

[Texas Tillie]

Here's some suggestions from a native Texan -

 

Plan on going through Austin and San Antonio either going or coming. Yes, they are big cities, but you should see them plus all of the small towns around them. You should probably plan on driving as far west as the "Hill Country" out west of Austin and San Antonio.

 

On your opposite drive to/from Dallas, you should do East Texas - the area east of interstate highway 45 and the Louisiana boarder.

 

Between San Antonio and Houston, be sure to stop at the Bucee's at Luling! Check it out on the internet.

 

Take a look at maps and come back for more questions!

Edited February 17, 2014 by Texas Tillie

[txjim09]

I agree with Texas Tillie but the itinerary depends upon how much time you have. It's probably a stretch to hop off the Qantas flight and drive to Austin so consider the first night in Dallas or Ft Worth. Austin and San Antonio are must-see locations (be sure to check out the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park) but I'd consider Rockport and Corpus Christi if you have time.

 

Galveston to Dallas direct is not particularly interesting but a detour to East Texas is worth the trip.

 

January is hit or miss on weather, however. Let us know how much time you can spend, I suspect we can suggest additional must-see locations. I'd also take a look at http://thedaytripper.com/ for additional ideas.

[TC1957]

Lots of nice places to see between the two (Dallas and Gavleston), but then it is Texas...would you expect anything else? :D

 

Are you a history buff? There are lots of places along the highways and Dallas. There are Presidential Libraries (3), Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Washington-on-the-Brazos (birthplace of Texas), the Missions in San Antonio (especially the Alamo), the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville (you can see "Ole Sparky"), the San Jacinto Monument and Battlefield, Johnson Space Center, etc.

 

Do you like shopping? Fredericksburg (just west of Austin), Salado (just north of Austin on I-35.

 

If you go to Fredericksburg, make a run to Luchenbach. The Texas Hill Country is nice (prettier in the summer and fall in my opinion).

 

Want to go a little out of the way? Beaumont and see Spindletop, the Babe Didrickson Zaharius Museum. Then you can take a drive along the beach and cross the ferry to Galveston Island (if you feed the sea gulls you must do it from the back). On the island you can go see the Bishop's Palace and Moody Gardens.

 

So much to do, so little time.

[pn1]

Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

 

My plan is to be away from Australia for three weeks and I want to spend a little time in the Dallas and Houston areas - mainly to check out the light rail systems because I'm a bit of a public transit buff.

 

I would also like to visit the site of the November 1963 event in Dallas.

 

I wouldn't plan to drive too far after arriving at Dallas because it's a 15 hour flight across the Pacific plus another few hours to Dallas! And the dreaded line (at LAX) for US immigration that can some times take more than one hour.

 

But being so far down under we realise it takes a long time to get anywhere!

 

I'd appreciate any thoughts about parking at (or near) the Galveston cruise terminal. It does seem a better idea to get one return car rental from Dallas rather than separate bookings even if the rental car is parked at Galveston for seven days while I am on the cruise.

 

Paul in Australia

[GoVikes]

We have lived in TX for 7 years. These are some of the things we have enjoyed in our time here. Ft. Worth does a neat cattle drive. Dealy Plaza was interesting. There is also a Bucee's on I-45 between Dallas and Houston--definitely worth a stop there. Their jerky is the best ever!

San Antonio is great--love the Riverwalk and Alamo.

Houston has lots of great museums and way too many great restaurants. ;)

Galveston--we loved the Moody Mansion, and found the Ocean Star Oil Rig museum to be very interesting.

Austin is a fun city.

 

I think your idea of the one rental from Dallas is probably best. I believe we parked at Lighthouse for our cruise from Galveston.

[txjim09]

Glad to see you are spending time in the DFW area! Shameless plug here, if you are taking the DART Green Line north on your Light Rail tour, take a look to the right as you approach the Farmers Branch station, you will get a glimpse of my son's Eagle Scout project! Get off at the downtown Carrollton station and head over to Babes Chicken, great food and a memorable experience.

[The Mister]

Glad to see you are spending time in the DFW area! Shameless plug here, if you are taking the DART Green Line north on your Light Rail tour, take a look to the right as you approach the Farmers Branch station, you will get a glimpse of my son's Eagle Scout project! Get off at the downtown Carrollton station and head over to Babes Chicken, great food and a memorable experience.

And if you ride the DART Red or Orange lines during rush hour (not recommended), you might see me! :)

[Stevesan]

Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

 

My plan is to be away from Australia for three weeks and I want to spend a little time in the Dallas and Houston areas - mainly to check out the light rail systems because I'm a bit of a public transit buff.

 

I would also like to visit the site of the November 1963 event in Dallas.

 

I wouldn't plan to drive too far after arriving at Dallas because it's a 15 hour flight across the Pacific plus another few hours to Dallas! And the dreaded line (at LAX) for US immigration that can some times take more than one hour.

 

But being so far down under we realise it takes a long time to get anywhere!

 

I'd appreciate any thoughts about parking at (or near) the Galveston cruise terminal. It does seem a better idea to get one return car rental from Dallas rather than separate bookings even if the rental car is parked at Galveston for seven days while I am on the cruise.

 

Paul in Australia

 

 

ParkNCruise is across the street from the terminal.

They offer covered parking option.

 

For some unknown reason, Cruise Critic blanks out a direct link.

Enter: www dot Galvestonparkncruise dot com

Edited March 8, 2014 by Stevesan

[Rudyard]

Between San Antonio and Houston, be sure to stop at the Bucee's at Luling! Check it out on the internet.

 

If the OP isn't able to visit that Bucee's, the new one in Texas City will be opening in a couple of months.

[George C]

Glad to see you are spending time in the DFW area! Shameless plug here, if you are taking the DART Green Line north on your Light Rail tour, take a look to the right as you approach the Farmers Branch station, you will get a glimpse of my son's Eagle Scout project! Get off at the downtown Carrollton station and head over to Babes Chicken, great food and a memorable experience.

 

There is a great Itilian place across from Babe's with excellent Itilian food, but JFK site is a really intersting place , we always bring vistors to there and the museum most intersting thing in Dallas, Ft Worth stockyards also very nice place about 30 mins from dfw.

[George C]

Name of the Itilian place is Amici's in downtown Carrolton

[VideoTech]

..........

My plan is to be away from Australia for three weeks and I want to spend a little time in the Dallas and Houston areas - mainly to check out the light rail systems because I'm a bit of a public transit buff. ..............

 

I hope you're not too disappointed with our light rail efforts here in Dallas and in Houston. The systems are basically designed to get people to and from downtown, and while they're well run and nice to ride, they're not terribly convenient for destinations other than downtown. You will find that the big cities of Texas were built around the automobile, and that's really the only way to get from point A to point B.

 

Like you, I'm a rail fan, and I hope we'll see more light rail development, and hopefully, one day, High Speed Rail between the big cities (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

 

To the recommendations of San Antonio, Austin (and the surrounding "Hill Country") I'll add Jefferson, over in East Texas, which you could visit on your way to or from Galveston. It's a lovely little town with nice B&B's, a historical flavor, and lots of antique shops.

 

Since you're a rail fan, you might be interested in a ride on the "Texas State Railroad" in Palestine. Google it...

 

Enjoy your visit to Texas - it's a huge and varied state, with lots to see and do.

[cruzin lady]

Sam's on I-45 exit # 197 is a large restaurant with a wonderful buffet that you

might want to consider. You could detour from your 2 lane highway for a

great meal.

 

Happy planning, and a big welcome to Texas.

 

Cruzin Lady

[bptex]

You could actually use mass transit for almost the entire trip if you really wanted to. There are shuttles from DFW Airport to the Trinity Railway Express, which can take you pretty much anywhere in Dallas you'd want to go or into downtown Fort Worth.

 

You can ride the TRE to either side and catch an Amtrak train to Austin, then to San Antonio and you can switch from there to a train to Houston. From Houston you can find shuttles to the port.

 

Or grab a rental car in any of the cities. Personally I'd avoid driving in Houston at all costs and I'd strongly recommend avoiding Austin traffic when the sun is out.

 

As for can't miss stuff I'd make sure you visit Gruene Hall, Cheatham St Warehouse or Floore's Country Store. Then I'd make sure you head to Lockhart for some awesome barbecue. You can do these from either San Antonio or Austin, it's about the same drive either way. Floore's is actually in San Antonio and is where Willie Nelson's career started. New Braunfel's is also a cool little community and they have an awesome hotel with it's own brew pub if you are into that sort of thing (Faust Hotel).

 

Oh and there is a Bucee's in San Marcos, right on the access road.

 

The Alamo would be a can't miss, it's an easy walk from the train station and there are dozens of hotels in the area. You can rent a bicycle here if you want. The old Pearl Brewery in San Antonio has a Culinary Institute of America campus on site now with a couple of supporting restaurants, it's an awesome place to visit now. They don't make beer anymore though. It's down the street from Fort Sam Houston, it's fairly secure but you should be able to visit the Quadrangle still.

[TEXASMUNK]

Yes visit the site of Delay Plaza, but head over to Ft Worth....spend a night in the stockyards...watch the longhorns parade (morning and evening). Then head south to Waco..visit the Texas Rangers Museum....one Ranger, one riot...they settled Texas and were the long arm of the law.

Then head south to what we call the only weird place in Texas...Austin. LBJ Library, the hill country.....back roads to San Antonio.....the Missions and the Alamo...they, head towards Houston...NASA is a great visit....but do not ignore the island of Galveston....lots to see and do!

 

And the return...yup, head north via state highways, through East Texas

 

Lots of parking options, we use EZcruise (google).

[Junkhouse]

I would head southwest through Glen Rose, work your way south to Llano (stop in at Coopers for beef on the barbie. Take a look see at our mini Uluru, Enchanted Rock before passing through Fredericksburg Head to Austin and then San Antonio.

[panoramaofthepast]

What to do in Dallas? - Sixth Floor Museum [JFK]; Bush Library; Deep Ellum [quirky bars and nightlife]

 

One thing - Austin and Houston are in different directions, so you will do lots of driving!

Austin: LBJ Library; Bullock Museum [Tx history]; 6th Street [bars & night life] About 3.5 hours by highway from Dallas

 

San Antonio: Alamo and the Mission Trail; River Walk - another hour south of Austin - leave there and go up to Fredericksurg [WW2 naval museum]and the Hill country -

 

OR - head east out of Dallas to the Piney Woods of East Texas - small towns, rolling hills - then go south to Galveston

 

Parking in Galveston - We always use EZ Cruise. It's gated and protected; they will drop you off at the terminal and pick you up on your return.

 

Enjoy

[ikirumata]

I would head southwest through Glen Rose, work your way south to Llano (stop in at Coopers for beef on the barbie. Take a look see at our mini Uluru, Enchanted Rock before passing through Fredericksburg Head to Austin and then San Antonio.

 

On your way to Glen Rose, make sure to stop in Granbury and check out their historic town square!

[Jimnbigd]

The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo starts Jan. 16, 2015. http://www.fwssr.com/

You might enjoy going to that to get a real cowboy taste of Texas.

 

As for getting to the ship from Dallas, how much time do you have to drive before the sailing? If you have a couple of days, try this:

From Dallas, take US 175 east through Athens towards Jackonville.

In Jacksonville, take US 69.

In Rusk, stop and take the Texas State Railroad.

Maybe spend the night in Rusk.

Stay on US 69 through Lufkin to Beaumont.

 

From Beaumont, you have two choices to get to Galveston.

One is a Ferry at Port Bolivar -- From I-10 east, take exit number 129, highway TX-124 south, then TX-87 to Port Bolivar and the Ferry.

The other Texas highway 146 south (I-10 exit number 798) through La Porte (goes near the Bayport cruise terminal and Kemah Boardwalks amusement park). TX-146 runs into I-45 -- take I-45 south to Galveston.

 

I use EZ Cruise for parking in Galveston. http://ezcruiseparking.com/

They often have discounts for $5 or $10, and booking online saves another $5. The official government parking lots in Galveston are more expensive than EZ Cruise and other private parking lots.

 

Another option is to stay in Galveston at a hotel that lets you park for free. The Galvez is a old hotel you might like. Moody Gardens is also popular.

 

On the return, I think you have more time, right? So then I would drive to San Antonio. You could drive I-10, but highway 90 or 90A (a.k.a. ALT90) would be more scenic. San Antonio is a very historic city (at least for a USA city -- not like Europe of course). It has a large zoo. Fiesta Texas and Seaworld (theme parks) will be closed for the winter then. In fact, expect cold weather over most of Texas -- even possible ice on the roads. So plan your time for this. Frankly if there is ice on the roads I suggest not driving that day. From San Antonio, take US-281 north. In Johnson City, tour the LBJ ranch (President Lyndon Johnson's ranch). You could take back roads to Glen Rose and/or Granbury. Maybe stay at bed-and-breakfast places here -- in fact, you might like bed-and-breakfast places for most of your stays -- just google search: texas bed breakfast

Then, you should be back to enjoy the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Bring some heavy coats -- It can be below freezing in January.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Jimnbigd

[pn1]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies and suggestions; most appreciated.

 

An added bonus is that I am able to plan spending Christmas with my daughter who may very well be in the Dallas area at the same time as me! Fingers crossed.

 

Plans are to arrive direct from Australia (the long flight from Sydney to Dallas!) on 23 December 23. The cruise departs Galveston on January 4 and returns on January 11.

 

Flight home is via Dubai (yes Dubai so it's an around the world itinerary) on January 14.

 

So my plans will now be for a shorter road trip from Galveston to DFW (i.e. Jan 11-13). That gives me a more leisurely road trip (after spending Christmas with my daughter), say, from December 27 to January 3.

 

I do want to ride the light rail systems but I appreciate American cities are geared for the car (oops, automobile).

 

Any thoughts on suitable "suburban" places (close to a light rail stop) in Dallas and Houston?

 

It will be interesting to compare Christmas in Texas to here in Australia. And there'll be New Year's Eve to consider too?

 

But right now time to consider my next travel adventure - to Taiwan next week.

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions and tips.

 

Paul in Australia

[Jimnbigd]

There are lots of places for a good New Years party in Dallas. If you want a real Texas experience, try Billy Bobs in the Fort Worth stock yards. Regardless, you'll need to make reservations early -- maybe even now.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Jimnbigd

[The Mister]

Any thoughts on suitable "suburban" places (close to a light rail stop) in Dallas and Houston?

Are you asking about lodging or activities? In Dallas, plenty of lodging options along all of the lines. Activities vary by location, of course.

 

If you are at all into theater (theatre?), at Mockingbird Station (not suburban, but there you go) there's a great quirky venue called Pocket Sandwich Theatre. Frankly a bit of a cultural icon of Dallas. I don't know what, if anything, they typically have going on during the Christmas-New Year's gap, though. (Leading up to Christmas they will have a musical version of Dickens's Christmas Carol. It's an annual tradition there, and they sell out most nights. If you can manage to stretch your vacation back just a few days it might be worth it for this alone.) Would be good to check closer to time.

 

Also great food and shopping at Mockingbird Station, as well as one station north (Lovers Lane Station).

 

In a suburban location, the Eisemann Center is in Richardson at Galatyn Park Station. Their schedule for the rest of the year is not yet available. That one is a much newer location. Also quite a few dining and lodging options within walking distance. (It also happens to be just blocks from the church that I attend.)

Edited April 2, 2014 by The Mister

[pn1]

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments; most appreciated.

 

A bonus is that my (adult) daughter will be in the USA at the same time so we've organised to meet in Dallas for Christmas.

 

Arrival in Dallas (off the flight direct from Australia: the world's longest non-stop run?) is December 23. We've booked five nights at the Magnolia Hotel downtown.

 

Daughter returns home and I start the road trip (using suggestions above) December 28. Cruise departs Galveston January 4 and returns January 11.

 

Departure home (via Dubai) is on January 14 so I plan to stay January 13 somewhere near DFW. Long segments Dallas-Dubai and Dubai-Melbourne but it was better value to fly that way home; and have the bonus of a Dubai stopover.

 

Any tips for a family Christmas in Dallas? It will be a real experience for us; I gather Christmas is celebrated quite differently in the USA to Australia.

 

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions.

 

Paul

Edited May 10, 2014 by pn1

[lady_cruiser]

....

 

Between San Antonio and Houston, be sure to stop at the Bucee's at Luling! Check it out on the internet.

!

 

OMG, I miss that place so much. I would always stop at Bucee's whenever I went to visit my sister when she lived in San Antonio. I would make it a point to stop on the way to San Antonio and on the way back to Louisiana. I just wish it wasn't a 7 hours drive to get there from here, otherwise I would be there once a month.

 

If they ever built one in Louisiana between Lafayette and Baton Rouge they would make a killing.