Hutchins, TX to Galveston day of departure?

[superrupe]

Hello, we are booked on a 7 day out of Galveston on a Saturday. We are planning from driving from Kansas to Hutchins, TX the day before. We will wake up and drive to Galveston Saturday morning. According to Google Maps, it’s a 4.5 hour drive. Is this advisable?
 

Also, is there anywhere better to stay coming south on 45. Not necessarily set on Hutchins, just looking to get through Dallas the night before. 
 

Thanks for your help. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by superrupe

[GJustice]

We've done it from Wylie (about an hour) North, and if you enjoy the stress and aggravation, go for it.

 

We prefer getting to Galveston the day before and having a low stress departure day.

[Cuckoo7]

Driving down from Oklahoma...  Typically, we stay just outside of Galveston (Texas City, League City), but on one cruise, the time we could get out left us staying in a hotel about three hours north (Fairfield, TX, I want to say).  We hit some traffic on the way but left early enough the next morning that it wasn't an issue at all.  It was nice splitting the drive.

 

On our last cruise out of Galveston, though, we were forced to do the entire drive on the morning of.  We ran into an overturned cement truck on I-45 south of Houston.  We were stuck for hours and BARELY made it to the port in time.  Carnival reps were aware of it when we got there, but I don't know if, or how long, they would have waited.

 

If it's at all possible, get as close as you can the day before.  🙂

 

 

[txjim09]

Unless there's a reason you picked Hutchins, I'd consider heading down the road another 2 or 3 hours.  Maybe have an early dinner in the Dallas  area (highly recommend Roots in my town) and be ready to pass through Houston the next day.

 

I will add that I've always seen an evening in Galveston the night before (or Kema when the Houston terminal was in operation) as the perfect start of a vacation.  Pretty pricey now but worth the cost.

[Lane Hog]

Personally I'd push further on Friday night to Corsicana at a minimum.  Hutchins is still well within the MetroMess...

It's a 10 hour total drive from Wichita, and while I know some people don't like doing more than 6-8 in one shot, if you're going to worry about Dallas traffic, you might as well worry about Houston as well.  The traffic there is worse (having lived in Dallas and worked in Houston...).

League City is a very easy drive the morning of your cruise.  Quick stop at the Walmart for last minute items, and we're parked at the port within an hour.  If there's a traffic backup on I-45, I know we'll still get thru in time even if it means hopping on side roads to the causeway.

[dan4182]

If you don’t mind driving further South on the first day stop in Huntsville, Texas. Several nice hotels/motels there or you can go even further South to Conroe, Texas. Both cities are on I-45 and easy drives to Galveston the 2nd day.

[imacruiser99]

I personally would drive as far as you can the first night and have a shorter drive to Galveston on Saturday.  Even on Saturday, Houston traffic can be bad and depending on the number of cruise ships in port on that day, getting into Galveston can be a hassle.  If you can make it to an area north of Houston, you may be in better shape on time to the port if there are issues (and you could select an earlier boarding time).

[DougL]

Is there a reason why you don't want to stay in Galveston? My wife and I did March of 2020 and loved it. We plan on doing the same thing next March. Fly into Hobby, rent a car and stay in Galveston. Unless there's better options. 

[Lane Hog]

6 hours ago, DougL said:

Is there a reason why you don't want to stay in Galveston? My wife and I did March of 2020 and loved it. We plan on doing the same thing next March. Fly into Hobby, rent a car and stay in Galveston. Unless there's better options. 

I think the main issue was its a 10 hour drive, and that's more than a lot of people want to do in one shot.

[cruiselvr04]

We live in the Dallas area and still go the night before getting south of Houston although we’ve thought about leaving the day off.  1-45 is accident prone, there’s no way off or around if you get stuck.  We have sat on the freeway for a couple of hours more then once so there’s always some risk.  I’d drive as far south as you can safely do.  If we were to try to try the day if we’d be leaving the house at 5 a.m. ( normally a 5 hour drive) to give us at least another 4 hour cushion for traffic, flat tire etc.  
 

Galveston is great but very expensive on weekend nights.  We only stay there when a cruise leaves during the week.  You can save hundreds of dollars by staying just south of Houston in League City or near NASA and have an hour to drive in the morning to the pier.  

[nuggyboy]

I live in Dallas and have take a few cruises out of Galveston and I've left the morning of (around 5am). Never had any problems and made it to Galveston with plenty of time to spare. However, that was before I have my daughter. I'm going on a cruise with her this summer and I think i might play it safe and get down to galveston the night before.

[dan4182]

League City, Texas City and Kemah all have decent hotels and are only a short drive to the pier.

 

if you ever get stuck on I-45 because of a wreck, construction, etc go over to SH 3 and take it or SH 146 South. They join I-45 just before the causeways onto the island.

[lifes-a-beach]

We live on Lake Conroe and leave at 8:30 to head down the morning of.  Never had a problem. There are some hotels along I-45 in Conroe. Avoid Shenandoah and the Woodlands. The closer you get to Houston the more crime you will encounter. 

[happy cruzer]

Anyone stay at the Motel 6 in Texas City?  Just want a basic room and safe parking lot.  Thanks.

[dan4182]

There are better choices in the Texas City area.