Visiting Houston TX and the Gulf Coast - Any advice?

Mrs Noggin and myself are heading to Houston at the end of the month for a 2 week vacation.

We are planning to do some shopping (the Mrs at the outlet villages and me at Lighthound!) then travelling down to Galveston and the along the coast to Corpus Christi.

The question is - do you Guys have any suggestions of places to go or things to do while we are there?

I am also a bit of a Surefire nut, so any suggestions of where I can find a good range would also be nice...

Thanks - Pete :wave:

The more popular area for shopping is the Galleria area, Galleria Mall. Pretty big with plenty of places around the area too. A few attractions nearby as well, including an ice skating rink in the mall and the water wall near Williams Tower. Lighthound is in Pearland, south of Houston. I haven't yet been there, but would like to next time I am in the area.

In downtown, my favorite hangout is Minute Maid Park for a baseball game, then nearby is Flying Saucer which serves food but mostly known for their dozens and dozens and dozens of beers on tap. Good stuff and reasonably good food.
Also a cool place in downtown area is The Aquarium. Its a restaurant that has some ridiculous fish tanks and such, plus some rides such as ferris wheel and what not. They also have this restaurant at the Kemah Boardwalk, which is between Houston and Galveston. The boardwalk is definitely worth going to. Shops, food, rides, etc. It got torn up pretty bad during our last hurricane, but I am pretty sure its back to normal now.
I assume you have your own car while here, so its worth mentioning: many areas of Texas coast you can drive your car on. Some of these areas you do need a pass to do so. I always enjoy taking a little drive on Crystal Beach, though it has been a long time since I have done such.

Another area to "be" is The Woodlands, which is on the more North area of Houston on I-45. They have a variety of attractions and a little river with a boat running through the area that you can take a ride on for a few bucks. As you area heading in that direction, just south of The Woodlands is Old Town Spring.

Also worth some mentioning area the couple of state parks in Houston area. In south Houston you have Brazos Bend State Park which is popular for the alligators. Same with Huntsville State Park, which is likely a little too far north for you.

I have ~20 years experience in Houston, so if you have any other questions, let me/us know.

-Cameron

Wow - thanks Cameron, that's exactly what we were looking for!

Anyone else? lovecpf

If you go to Crystal beach, you will take the ferry (take Ferry Road to get to the ferry). That's kind of neat for us Texans, maybe fairly normal for your formal Englishmen.

Close to Kemah is NASA Space Center. Yes, that NASA, the one with the Space Shuttles! You can take a tour and they have activities.

In Galveston, take some time to shop on the Strand (restored 19th century iron-front commercial buildings). It's full of local shops, stores, restaurants, and bars...worth a look. If you get hungry, walk over to Willy G's (decent seafood). Just down from Willy G's is a jack-up oilrig....they give tours (cheap, maybe $10 a person). It's pretty interesting. Moody Gardens has an IMAX theater and a rainforest pyramid.

Meganoggin said:

Wow - thanks Cameron, that's exactly what we were looking for!

Anyone else? lovecpf

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I ALMOST FORGOT!! Go to the following website to plan your trip. It is paid for by me and fellow Texans (State of Texas Tourism board).....free to you!

You can click on "cities & regions", then search any city you will visit. It will bring up the city (then click it). That will show all the major things to do there and allow you to click each item for a full description.

They also have a trip planner (free). You'll need to sign up, but once you do, you can put what city you will be in each day and it will give you all the options for local attractions and events. Plus, if you are driving, you can print your entire itinerary along with driving directions.

Anyone visiting Texas should try this. If you live in Texas, you should know about it, since you are paying for it. We use it all the time.

www.TravelTex.com


This is your best resource for visiting Texas. Plus, it gives you a chance to research everything. We look forward to having you!

Thanks King of Wylie, great suggestions.

Does anyone know if you can just turn up at MinuiteMaid Park and get tickets? I guess it depends on the opposition? Or is it all Ticketmaster?

Keep 'em coming please! - Pete

Haha -- They are the Astros...not the Cubs And upon further investigation to their schedule, they are not playing any teams that have a huge traveling fan base, so you should be good. The only time the game will even remotely fill the park is if Roy Oswalt is pitching, and even then, you shouldn't have much trouble getting a ticket.

You can show up 5 minutes to game time and usually get a seat of some sort. They range from $7 to $50. It's worth going to though. Minute Maid Park is a nice park. Get a seat on the first base side, as you will then see the entire Houston skyline. If you can go on a Friday night, you will be very entertained at the end, win or lose. They have a firework show (fairly impressive actually) at the end of every Friday night home game, so look into that. Friday night home games around the time you are here are 4/23 and 5/7. Tours are available of the park too, just got to plan that ahead a little on that.

Other palces you could go visit are

There is an outlet on 290 north a few miles past FM 1960 http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=77.

The katy mills mall http://www.simon.com/Mall/?id=1253

A nice place to eat is Fogo do Chao on westheimer and Dunvale close to the galleria http://www.fogodechao.com/, Taste of Texas http://tasteoftexas.com/ Don Eraki http://doneraki.com/ or Saltgrass http://www.saltgrass.com/locations/index.htm

You could visit Nasa http://www.spacecenter.org/ or discovery green http://www.discoverygreen.com/

If you have kids go to the children's museum http://www.cmhouston.org/

There is also the Natural science museum http://www.hmns.org/ and the zoo http://www.houstonzoo.org/

We have microcenter and fry's if electronics are your stuff http://www.microcenter.com/ and http://www.frys.com/

There is also http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/ on fondren and Richmond, close to the galleria.

Enjoy your stay, I would suggest to stay away from the east side of 610 loop.

I'll think of some more places to go and let you know.

This is awesome! Thanks Guys!

Great suggestions and many that aren't found on the tourist websites - exactly what we are looking for, real tips from the experts.

Any more ideas anyone?

This may not be applicable if you've been here before, but be aware that all that "bragging" about everything being big in Texas can be painfully true about travel. When we've had folks visit from places where driving thirty minutes is a long trip, they are shocked at the distances we drive just for routine activities.

The time and distance required to get between cities here in Texas will get you to other states "back east."

It is further from El Paso, TX (furthest city west) to Texarkana, TX (furthest city east) than it is from Texarkana to Chicago IL.

Welcome to Texas, though, and I hope you have a wonderful visit!

I spent my college years down in Galveston back in the mid-80's. Moody Gardens and The Strand have already been mentioned. One of the less visited spots is Seawolf Park which has a couple WW2 warships you can tour. You can also hit the Elissa, a ship from 1877 that's been fully restored. If you like historic homes, try the Bishop's Palace and the Moody Mansion.

Great ideas from everyone! I am geting sore fingers from checking out all the links! I have a feeling we will have a great trip.

Does anyone have anymore tips?

I have to give a plug for Joe's BBQ in Alvin, TX.

Growing up, we always stopped there when we went to Galveston (lived in Sugar Land). Mmmmmm.....chopped beef sandwich and homemade cobblers with Blue Bell icecream. I'm just say'in.

It sure looks like we will have an action packed time (and put a good few pounds on)!

Anyone have a favourite Surefire dealer?

Pete.

A big place that people like to visit around here is the Kemah Boardwalk. Galveston is awesome, and if you like Sushi you will pass the best sushi in town (IMO) on the way down there, Masa Sushi. There is also a VERY cool bar downtown called notsuoH (Houston spelled backwards), definitely worth checking out.

Agreed. Masa Sushi is excellent. Don't forget to eat at locally-owned Mexican restaurants also. They truly are great.

I am really looking forward to the Mexican cuisine. I have another little hobby - growing chillies! The so called Mexican restaurants here in the UK are usually vey poor. So I can't wait (I also like a good steak and I think i am going to be in for a treat!).

Thanks again everyone - keep 'em coming! Pete.

You said:

Meganoggin said:

good steak

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Response:

Texas Road House.


Sure -- some are going to stay Saltgrass, Outback, etc. But the atmosphere at Texas Road House is really cool. Plus, the name has Texas in it and that's where you are going on vacation. Ha! It's a chain, so there are plenty of them around Houston. I have been to Saltgrass steakhouse only a small number of times, but was never as pleased.

bobisculous said:

You said:



Response:

Texas Road House.


Sure -- some are going to stay Saltgrass, Outback, etc. But the atmosphere at Texas Road House is really cool. Plus, the name has Texas in it and that's where you are going on vacation. Ha! It's a chain, so there are plenty of them around Houston. I have been to Saltgrass steakhouse only a small number of times, but was never as pleased.

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Texas Road House is a family restaurant, similar to Outback & Saltgrass. Any of those 3 are fine chains.

If you want a mroe formal setting, see Pappas Brothers Steakhouse or Fleming's Prime Steakhouse.

You could also visit the San Jacinto Battleground monument and climb aboard the USS Battleship Texas

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/san_jacinto_battleground/