Houston/Galveston in July - What to see and do?

[Colleen27]

My daughter is going to camp in Galveston the last week of July. She'll be flying down but I plan on road tripping to pick her up and making a vacation of it. I've never been to TX at all and really the only thing I'm aware of down there as far as tourist attractions is the gulf/beaches. So, TX DISers and experienced travelers, what would you consider to be can't-miss attractions in the Houston/Galveston area?

 

[Skippy918]

How old is your DD? It's hot in Texas in July, so unless you are at the pool, water park or beach, it might be too hot to do anything else outside. There's a Schlitterbahn in Galveston. There's also NASA space center and the children's museum. I heard the zoo is nice, but again, it will be hot. The kemah Boardwalk is nice to see and there's also moody gardens. Have fun!

 

[Colleen27]

How old is your DD? It's hot in Texas in July, so unless you are at the pool, water park or beach, it might be too hot to do anything else outside. There's a Schlitterbahn in Galveston. There's also NASA space center and the children's museum. I heard the zoo is nice, but again, it will be hot. The kemah Boardwalk is nice to see and there's also moody gardens. Have fun!

DD who is going to camp is 14. Younger DD (7) will also be along for the trip. Not sure about DS (17) or my husband yet - odds are it'll end up being a girls-only trip because they won't have the time to tag along.

NASA is the only definite on my list right now, not because the kids are all that interested but because I've wanted to see it for years. I'm thinking about the Houston CityPass, which would include the children's museum, zoo, and aquarium as well as NASA. I think that would be a good balance of indoor & outdoor stuff in the heat?

We'll probably want to hit the beach once too, but other than that I don't think we'll be planning a lot of water-oriented fun simply because I know from summer trips to Florida that we all burn very easily when we spend time in the water down south no matter how much time I spend chasing the kids around to reapply sunscreen. We spent about 2 hours at Typhoon Lagoon at WDW in June and that was more than enough sun and water rides for us, so I can't see spending the money for Schlitterbahn.

I'm expecting it to be hot, but maybe you can elaborate on what kind of hot to expect... sticky like WDW in the summer (we've gone in June, Aug, and Sept so I know all about Orlando hot) or even hotter, drier, etc.?

 

[Skippy918]

As far as temps, figure 100+ degrees with high humidity (hotter than Orlando, but not as hot as Phoenix, although somedays when you walk outside, it feels like you are sticking your head in an oven. I'm in the Austin area and it's not as humid as Houston.) and nighttime lows are still in the 80s. Skip the aquarium. We've been and it's really lame especially if you've been to bigger/better aquariums. We loved the children's museum.
The city pass sounds like a good deal. Hope this helps. Maybe there are other local Houstonians on this board that can give pointers on the beach.

 

[Colleen27]

As far as temps, figure 100+ degrees with high humidity (hotter than Orlando, but not as hot as Phoenix, although somedays when you walk outside, it feels like you are sticking your head in an oven. I'm in the Austin area and it's not as humid as Houston.) and nighttime lows are still in the 80s. Skip the aquarium. We've been and it's really lame especially if you've been to bigger/better aquariums. We loved the children's museum.
The city pass sounds like a good deal. Hope this helps. Maybe there are other local Houstonians on this board that can give pointers on the beach.

Thanks! You're the second person to say that about the aquarium so I think we'll pass on that one. From the website it looks comparable to an aquarium that just opened in a mall in my area, fun for locals looking for something to do when the weather is bad and great for school/scout groups and such but not worth the trip as a tourist destination. It sounds like even the aquarium at the Houston Zoo is bigger/better.

 

[moniqueand2]

Since you're driving back what about the Alamo and San Antonio river walk.

 

[EMom]

FYI, Galveston beaches and water are nasty. You couldn't pay me to spend time on one.

 

[AustinTink]

Since you are driving, I'd suggest sightseeing somewhere other than Houston. July heat, humidity and mosquitoes make Houston pretty unbearable in the summer. Plus Houston is pretty boring. I'm a native Texan and I avoid Houston as much as possible even though I have quite a bit of family there. We keep our visits short.

Head on over to Central Texas. Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country. So much more to see and do.

 

[AP1209]

Hey, don't listen to all these Austin people, Houston is great! It is super hot in the summer though. I I would check out Moody Gardens ans the water park in Galveston. Then head into Houston on I-45 and check out Kemah and NASA on your way. We have a great musuem district and zoo in Houston so check out those places. Also check out Discovery Green and Hermann Park, the 2 best parks in Houston. We also have a great theatre district so go take in a show. There are plenty of indoor activites in the summer because its so hot. Houston is not really a touristy place like Austin so you have to dig a little deeper to find stuff but you will have a great time!

 

[Colleen27]

Since you're driving back what about the Alamo and San Antonio river walk.

Since you are driving, I'd suggest sightseeing somewhere other than Houston. July heat, humidity and mosquitoes make Houston pretty unbearable in the summer. Plus Houston is pretty boring. I'm a native Texan and I avoid Houston as much as possible even though I have quite a bit of family there. We keep our visits short.

Head on over to Central Texas. Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country. So much more to see and do.

I thought about that, but we're coming from Michigan so that's in the opposite direction from home and adds 6+ hours of driving to an already long road trip where I'll be the only driver. As I'd like to see Austin I'm not sure I want to add to the drive time to go further west. If a short stay is enough to hit the highlights in Houston/Galveston, that's fine. The nice part about this trip is that I don't have a length in mind - if it takes three days or five to see everything we want to see, it doesn't matter.

 

[Gracedis1]

We love Galveston! My kids enjoyed Pleasure Pier, Rainforest Cafe, and taking the ferry to Bolivar peninsula. Moody gardens is fun but pricey. Have fun!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

What about New Orleans?

That would be less "out of your" way than SA/Austin.

 

[NewRVLady]

when you say she is "going to camp"-I hope its indoors & air conditioned at night?
It is beastly hot in July
The only "Aquarium" I can think of in houston is attatched a restaurant downtown-not like a real Aquarium-I like the Moody gardens one-and their Rainforest (but pricey)
Agree with others-THIS is not a beach you want to go to

 

[NewRVLady]

I Googled Houston Aquarium vs Moody Gardens Aqm and found this.....

TexasTheKid

Location: Houston, TX
1,305 posts, read 2,446,297 times
Reputation: 1140
The Downtown Aquarium is a pricey Joe's Crabshack with some fish tanks and a ferris wheel. Personally, I think you'd be better off in Galveston.


Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/houston/697054-downtown-aquarium-vs-moody-gardens-houston.html#ixzz3t102vNCK

 

[EMom]

Moody Gardens in infinitely better than The Downtown Aquarium and can be a very loooooong day because of all there is to see, especially if you get the all inclusive pass. There is plenty to see and do in Galveston, I just wouldn't give the actual beach any time at all, since it is nasty. Aside from Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn is fun and many of the lines are covered so you don't get fried. A side trip to NASA is worthwhile. Between Kemah Boardwalk and the Galveston Pleasure Pier, you have two similar choices. The Children's Museum of Houston will be fine for the younger one, but the 14 y.o. will be bored stiff, so maybe do that when the 14 y.o. is at camp. Get to NASA early and get the tram ride out of the way before it gets too hot and you get stuck on an afternoon tour.

 

[CynBeth]

We are going to Houston and San Antonio the end of June for 9 days for the first time! We plan to get tickets to see the Astros and we have a list of attractions for both cities.

 

[Colleen27]

What about New Orleans?

That would be less "out of your" way than SA/Austin.

I didn't even think of that, but that would be an awesome detour! It looks like it only adds about 1.5 hours to the total drive time, and it would get DD14 off my back about going without her (I have a conference trip there next Sept.).

when you say she is "going to camp"-I hope its indoors & air conditioned at night?

"Camp" is at A&M's Galveston campus. It is a marine bio program, not a traditional summer camp. They will be out in the weather during the day for the field parts of the camp, including some time out on a research vessel. But since they run all summer and campers aren't told to bring fans I would guess the residence halls they use are air conditioned.

Moody Gardens in infinitely better than The Downtown Aquarium and can be a very loooooong day because of all there is to see, especially if you get the all inclusive pass. There is plenty to see and do in Galveston, I just wouldn't give the actual beach any time at all, since it is nasty. Aside from Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn is fun and many of the lines are covered so you don't get fried. A side trip to NASA is worthwhile. Between Kemah Boardwalk and the Galveston Pleasure Pier, you have two similar choices. The Children's Museum of Houston will be fine for the younger one, but the 14 y.o. will be bored stiff, so maybe do that when the 14 y.o. is at camp. Get to NASA early and get the tram ride out of the way before it gets too hot and you get stuck on an afternoon tour.

Thank you. NASA is a must because I am of the generation that grew up obsessed with the space program. I think DD14 would be okay at the children's museum; she loves playing with her little sister at the one in Ann Arbor and the Houston museum looks more active than ours. I think we'll end up picking one of the amusement attractions as well, as something more towards the 14yo's tastes.

Bummer that the beaches there aren't worth seeing. We adore the Gulf side of FL so I was hoping for similarly lovely waters in TX.

We are going to Houston and San Antonio the end of June for 9 days for the first time! We plan to get tickets to see the Astros and we have a list of attractions for both cities.

I thought about Astros tix but DH would be bummed that I went without him (seeing a game at every MLB stadium is on his bucket list) and DD7 would be bored senseless. Somehow she isn't a baseball fan, which makes her sort of the odd one out in our family.

 

[jessie31383]

My daughter is going to that camp next year. Possibly this summer, but I have not signed up yet. She wants to be a marine mammalogist (sp?) Basically work with marine mammals. We live in the Dallas area and took a weekend trip to Houston and Galveston during the July 4th weekend this past year. We loved it but we were only there for a couple of days. As far as the beach, no it is NOTHING like anything you see in Florida. We spent one full day at Nasa, and honestly regret not buying a pass to go back another day. My other daughter wants to be an astronaut. They have really cool things that you can book in advance like lunch with an astronaut. Since we were there on 4th of July we actually did spend the day at the beach. Even though it is not as nice as Florida we still enjoyed looking at the water and getting sea shells. They had an awesome parade right before the fireworks and I have to say it was one of the best little parades we have seen. We have said that we want to go back every year for the 4th! We did not make it to moody gardens, but we want to do that for sure on our next trip. From what I understand you really want 2 days for it. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[::danielle::]

Moody Gardens in infinitely better than The Downtown Aquarium and can be a very loooooong day because of all there is to see, especially if you get the all inclusive pass. There is plenty to see and do in Galveston, I just wouldn't give the actual beach any time at all, since it is nasty. Aside from Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn is fun and many of the lines are covered so you don't get fried. A side trip to NASA is worthwhile. Between Kemah Boardwalk and the Galveston Pleasure Pier, you have two similar choices. The Children's Museum of Houston will be fine for the younger one, but the 14 y.o. will be bored stiff, so maybe do that when the 14 y.o. is at camp. Get to NASA early and get the tram ride out of the way before it gets too hot and you get stuck on an afternoon tour.

Ditto all of this!

 

[NewRVLady]

Colleen- super cool!!that campus is on its own quiet island next to Galveston
My BIL does a 6 week program with Graduate college students in Florida- great major