What to do in Houston

[Scootiemonkey]

We took the Disney option of arriving the day before our cruise and staying at the Marriott. We'll have most of Sunday free. Is there anything to do around the airport? Any low cost transportation options? Thanks in advance.

 

[aggiedog]

Where in Houston? Which airport? Houston is HUGE. It is very spread out, and both airports are on the far edges of it. Intercontinental to the north, Hobby to the south.

The Johnson Space Center is pretty cool and near-ish Hobby. There's a zoo. A Children's Museum and a nice Science Museum that has a butterfly atrium. Those are all north of Hobby close to the center of the city.

 

[Scootiemonkey]

Thanks. We'll be at George Bush.

 

[Luvzmy3boys]

The big Houston attractions like the zoo, children's museum and science museum are very close to each other and entertaining but located near the Texas medical center area which is a good 30+ minutes from Intercontinental Without traffic. Because the medical center is HUGE-- there has always been a ton of traffic whenever I have been in that area. DH is from Houston but we have not visited in a few years but seems like a car is a must there. Everything is very spread out. Kids also liked space center which is on the way to Galveston. We stayed in Clear Lake near the space center but not much else to do around there other than space center.

 

[aggiedog]

There is not a lot around Bush. A rental car would get you to the med center and the museums. There is a light rail that goes to the med center but I'm not sure how far north it runs.

 

[dglilbit]

What time of year will you be there? Are you talking this Sunday or a Sunday a few weeks out?

 

[DisMom829]

I would recommend The Woodlands area, they have a great shopping area along the waterway and several wonderful restaurants that offer outdoor dining overlooking the water. Brio is our favorite, it is Italian food. It wood be a great place to unwind from the flight and pick up any last minute items.

 

[dglilbit]

By George Bush:
*Pappas Seafood restaurant
*Italiano's Restaurant
*Asian City across from Deerbrook Mall
*Deerbrook Mall in Humble, TX
*Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens

Houston discount guide might give you some ideas.

 

[texas disney mom]

The space center is incredibly disappointing and overpriced

 

[texas disney mom]

The light rail is token. You have to have a car in houston. Its not a very fun place to visit.

 

[texas disney mom]

The natural history museum and the zoo are decent and very kid friendly (about 30 min from bush airport) but they can be overcrowded depending on the day. Parking can be very difficult. The Woodlands area (about 30 min from airport in other direction) is nice but it is just shopping. At Christmas time they set up a temporary ice rink but if you are used to northern ice rinks it is small and disappointing. But if you are looking to just get out The Woodlands probably does have the nicest atmosphere, especially the market street area. There is the Galleria also for shopping and better ice skating. Again, very crowded area. Anywhere in the Houston area the traffic can be unpredictable and travel times can quickly double. If you are looking to eat tex mex Chuy's is very good and reasonably priced. Also very kid friendly. There are a couple in the houston area. If you go there make sure you ask for your kids dessert (comes with kids meal) towards the end of the meal. It is an orange push up pop. For some reason the waiters always "skip" it for us unless we ask.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We stayed in Clear Lake near the space center but not much else to do around there other than space center.

We live in Kemah, not very far from the Space Center.

Here in Kemah we have the Kemah Boardwalk.
http://www.kemahboardwalk.com

Not all that awfully far away is the Battleship Texas ( http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/battleship-texas ) and the San Jacinto monument & museum ( http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org ). Not too far in the opposite direction from us we have a nice, newer, not usually overcrowded outlet mall, Tanger Outlets in Texas City. AND, in front of the outlets is a really big Buc-ee's. If you've never been in a Buc-ee's you'd be in for a treat. Baybrook Mall is being expanded right now and they are adding a new Dave & Buster's. I'm not sure when that will open. There's a new Top Shot Golf Center that is also going to be opening any day now. Oh! And there's always the Main Event family fun center and the movie theater. Lots to do.

 

[EmilysDad]

would strongly recommend staying by the medical center - several hotel options in the area and you'll be close to the zoo and museums. Also, zoo and science museum opens at 9AM on Sunday whereas Children's museum opens at 12.

 

[chivi50]

I would also recommend The Woodlands, it's 20-30 minute drive from Bush Intercontinental. Expect to drive 45 minutes to an hour for downtown Houston.

 

[aggiedog]

So, OP, are you sensing a general non-tourist theme for Houston? LOL. I lived there 4 years. It's fine to live in, but doesn't do/need much to attract tourists. It's a business center for the state, and public transportation is not a priority. It is pretty easy to navigate, so if you do rent a car for the day, you won't have any problems finding things.

 

[JBanesBunch]

There's a good children's museum in The Woodlands. Lots of nice shopping and eateries. Also, Mercer Arboretum is close by Bush IAH. Don't go to Deerbrook Mall in Humble (pretty ghetto). I would definitely rent a car for Houston travel; you won't be close to the light rail at all up by the airport - it only runs from downtown to the med center.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

To the OP, just whatever you do try NOT to be going places aside from short distances during rush hours. You really don't want to do that. A couple weeks ago my oldest son & I got caught inside the 610 loop on the west side at 5:00. It took us over 2 hrs to get home. Normally that's 45 minutes or so drive. It was not fun. Don't be trying to drive across the city at typical busy times.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So, OP, are you sensing a general non-tourist theme for Houston? LOL. I lived there 4 years. It's fine to live in, but doesn't do/need much to attract tourists. It's a business center for the state, and public transportation is not a priority. It is pretty easy to navigate, so if you do rent a car for the day, you won't have any problems finding things.

True. Houston is definitely more of a business hub.

 

[ukintheus]

Unfortunately your options are limited, as you might have guessed by now! Traffic on a Sunday isn't an issue, but your transportation options are. There is no good public transportation system that you can use from IAH so your options are limited to a rental car, taxi or Uber. The museum district/med center will run you about $70 each way in a taxi, but once down there, there are several things that you can access either by the light rail, or just by walking. Are you coming in for the repo cruise to San Juan? I am just thinking of time of year and weather etc. If it is around the holidays there is a small town, that is now a suburb of Houston, called Old Town Spring. You can google it. There are shops, places to eat and they do a lot of stuff around the holidays. It would be easy to get to by cab. The Space Center won't work for you without a rental car, the cab fare there would be astonomical (ha ha).

 

[Ofinn]

We live in Kemah, not very far from the Space Center.

Here in Kemah we have the Kemah Boardwalk.
http://www.kemahboardwalk.com

Not all that awfully far away is the Battleship Texas ( http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/battleship-texas ) and the San Jacinto monument & museum ( http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org ). Not too far in the opposite direction from us we have a nice, newer, not usually overcrowded outlet mall, Tanger Outlets in Texas City. AND, in front of the outlets is a really big Buc-ee's. If you've never been in a Buc-ee's you'd be in for a treat. Baybrook Mall is being expanded right now and they are adding a new Dave & Buster's. I'm not sure when that will open. There's a new Top Shot Golf Center that is also going to be opening any day now. Oh! And there's always the Main Event family fun center and the movie theater. Lots to do.

I checked out the Boardwalk Inn in Kemah. It looks likes the Boardwalk Inn at WDW. Unfortunately its also priced like the Boardwalk Inn at WDW. It does look like a fun place though.