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Travel guide
Galveston
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to May and October to November
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Welcome
Galveston, in a few days
A barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, an hour from Houston, which in the 19th century was Texas's leading port and richest city, until the 1900 hurricane killed at least 6,000 people there. What remains are whole streets of cast-iron Victorian facades, a 16 km seawall that doubles as a promenade, and a beach town where you eat shrimp facing the tankers waiting offshore.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Strand free · 2 to 3 hThe old "Wall Street of the Southwest", lined with brick and cast-iron buildings from the 1850s to 1890s, where Juneteenth was born in 1865, now full of shops, bars and galleries.
- Afternoon · Elissa and the historic port · about 2 hAn iron-hulled barque launched in Scotland in 1877 and still sailing, to explore from deck to hold, alongside the Texas Seaport Museum's story of the port and its immigrants.
- Late afternoon · Bishop's Palace · about 1 h 30The city's most spectacular stone mansion, completed in 1892 with turrets, carved chimneys, a mahogany staircase and stained glass, which survived the 1900 hurricane and later housed the Catholic bishop.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Courtyard Galveston Island ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€150 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier · 2 to 3 hA 344-metre pier reaching into the Gulf, rebuilt in 2012, with a Ferris wheel, the Iron Shark roller coaster, a carousel and the best view of the seawall and its hotels.
- Afternoon · Seawall Boulevard free · 2 hThe concrete wall built after the 1900 hurricane, now over 16 km long, forms the country's longest continuous promenade, lined with hotels and seafood restaurants above beaches between rock groynes.
- Late afternoon · Bolivar ferry free · about 1 h round tripA free public ferry running day and night across the bay entrance in about twenty minutes, often escorted by bottlenose dolphins among the tankers, with the 1872 Point Bolivar Lighthouse in view.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Courtyard Galveston Island ↗€150 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Moody Gardens · half a dayA non-profit leisure complex with three glass pyramids: an aquarium with penguins, sharks and an underwater tunnel, and a ten-storey rainforest with free-flying birds, monkeys, sloths and bats.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Courtyard Galveston Island ↗€150 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Galveston Island State Park · half a dayThe island's last large natural area, 800 hectares running from a quiet Gulf beach across coastal prairie to bay-side marshes, with kayak trails among roseate spoonbills, egrets and herons.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €140 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to May and October to November
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/galveston
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.