Houston/Galveston things to do in January

[realtrip]

Hello, I am planning my flight to Houston. I was wondering whether I should fly in on Wednesday or Thursday ( flight arrival early afternoon) for a Sunday cruise. I would like to see a bit of Houston and a bit of Galveston. We will not have a rental car. Is there enough to see to justify arriving on Wednesday? Also, we are coming from Montreal (it will be super cold here, so it will obviously feel wonderfully warm in Texas!). We thought we'd stay at an airport hotel in Houston (saw there was a bus to bring us into town). Then uber to Galveston on Saturday.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you bunches!!!

[ssb]

Yes begin your vacation early. You need more time than Wednesday on for Houston .

 

galvestonhistory.org

visitgalveston.com

galveston.com

pier21.com

moodygardens.com

nasa

and much more

 

[Lane Hog]

Without a rental car, you may be a bit limited in what you can see and do in Houston proper, depending on your interests.   What I've done is rent a car at the almost downtown Hertz for 24-48 hours (returning it there).  It's usually cheaper than renting from the airport and definitely a lot less hassle.

Staying in the downtown area would let you hop both the light rail system and have access to some of the express buses that go where the light rail doesn't.  There isn't a bus that will take you to directly to NASA or the boardwalk area in Kemah, but you can get close and then hop an Uber.

[Texas Tillie]

Do not stay around the airport. It is in the middle of no where, a long way from anything of interest in Houston. It's also not the "best" neighborhood. Staying near downtown would probably be better. There is enough to see and do in Galveston for at least 2 full days. See the list above on Galveston. For Houston see visithoustontexas.com

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Texas Tillie

[BallFour4]

Perfect winter day in Galveston:

• Breakfast at Mosquito Cafe
• Walk around the Strand area
• The Bryan Museum
• The Elissa at the Seaport Museum
• Dinner at The Gumbo Bar (two of them on the island)
• Good night sleep before your cruise

Call us, we will come over for gumbo. 🙂

Edited August 3, 2022 by BallFour4

[Langoustine]

My wife and I lived in Houston (the Montrose district) for four years. Without a car, it is virtually impossible to see anything of Houston. Go straight to Galveston. I also lived in Montreal at one time, where even 40 years ago there was an excellent public transportation system; the same is not true in Houston.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Langoustine

[tetleytea]

In Galveston itself, I have to go with Moody Gardens--especially if you're there in early January and their Festival of Lights is still open.   And the oil rig museum (which literally fits inside an offshore oil rig).  If you look off the Galveston beach on the seawall, you can see operational offshore oil rigs in the distance.  The Strand, which is their touristy area for the cruise ships, has a nice pirate museum and something about the 1900 hurricane.   Jean Lefitte was a famous French pirate who helped found Galveston.  There's also a Harry Potter phone booth near the pirate museum, if anyone in your party is a HP fan.  

 

NASA is probably one of the top 5 tourist sites in Texas, and it's on your way between the airport and the port.  It's just not in Galveston proper.

 

[realtrip]

Thank you everyone!