Vanity Question - Is Houston a Good vacation spot for the family?

6-27-2017 | jonno

[jonno]

We are looking at vacation spots - is Houston recommended?

[FamiliarFace]

Love Okaloosa!

[FlingWingFlyer]

If you haven’t been to San Antonio, I’d go there. JMO.

[Sequoyah101]

Wish him well and hope he comes home safely.

Being in need of work or maybe cancer treatment are the only good reasons I can think of for going to or being in houston. Ever.

We survived there for 28 years. We did all we could to make the best of it. Whatever you think of to do within a hundred mile radius a drove of other people have the same idea. The houston area and most of texas in general make an almost desperate attempt to create something interesting, relevant or enjoyable / pleasant to do.

Miserable climate, traffic, filth, flat as a board.

Absolutely not a choice place for intentional family vacation. Id never go there without very good and necessary reason.

[Lera]

[[Our oldest is meeting up with some friends, and we thought we might accompany him. Our youngest is eleven. My concern is the summer heat (we’re from “up north”) and family activities. Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. ]]

Summers are hot and wet.
Hurricane season has started .

I’m in central Florida and most northerners go up north in the summer because they can’t take it here (Houston is worse)

Fall is a much more enjoyable time to visit.

[SecondAmendment]

If you have access to a car, I would suggest spending a couple of days in Houston, and then drive 3 hours west to spend a couple of days in San Antonio.

[jonno]

Thanks to all of you - I really appreciate your input.

If we do decide to go (and survive), I’ll report back our experience.

jonno

[luckystarmom]

Nasa is great and then go to Galveston and stay on the beach. Lots of fun in Galveston.

[morphing libertarian]

north in the summer, south in the winter. Best wishes.

[Grams A]

Go to Kemah and NASA. Might want to head on south to Rockport area and Port Aransas. Great beaches at Port A. Water park in Galveston is also great for kids. Unless you’re a museum buff you might want to stay away from Houston. Lots of highway/freeway construction, traffic and city folks from most everywhere but Texas.

[Grams A]

We go to Pass Christian for a week in June and stay down at the west end where it is quiet. Beaches are clean, food is great and we have several fav golf courses.

[TheMom]

It’s Summer in Texas, so it’s going to be hot - no getting around that. There will be some traffic issues, but not as bad as folks are saying.

Look into buying a ‘City Pass’, it will give discounts on popular attractions (the zoo, aquarium & museums) I highly recommend the zoo, if your family is into zoo’s.

Also look into activities in the surrounding cities. Sugar Land has a great Kid’s Museum; Lake Jackson has the Sea Center; Clute has a mini museum that is fantastic. The beaches here are not that great, so don’t get to excited about them. Galveston and Kemah do have some family friendly activates to check out.

[Slyfox]

I live in Dallas and I have spent a week in Houston during the summer. I spent one whole day at NASA back in the late 1970s when the Space Shuttle was nothing more than a display on a table. I spent another day at the science museum downtown. That was neat. Galveston was great too. They have a thing called the Grand Strand, I think, which has some pretty good tourist places including an old military shop. They have a waterpark in Galveston which is owned by the same people who own the Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. Also, you can buy fresh shrimp in Galveston and it is crazy good. You can also go ocean fishing.

The traffic in Houston area the evening is standstill during rush hour, something like from 3 to 7 pm, so just make sure you aren't not having to be on the highways between those hours in Houston. If you have more time you could drive down the coast to Corpus Christi and maybe even to South Padre Island. The reason why the water in Galveston is so muddy looking is because it gets the Mississippi River silt. The further south you go the clearer the water gets.

[Clutch Martin]

How about a nice riverboat cruise on the Mississippi?

[867V309]

Is Houston a Good vacation spot for the family?

Depends.
The family of what?

[eyedigress]

Have a good time wherever you go. Chattanooga is cool and you have Sweetwater not far away.

The Lost Sea is a treasure. http://thelostsea.com/

I’m headed to Hatteras. I can’t wait.

[Reno89519]

NASA is about 3-4 hours. Nothing else in the area remotely interesting. We just came home from there yesterday. Most of our trip was up in College Station.

If you have time drive down the coast to Aransas Wildlife Refuge--alligators and crocs, etc. Or over toward New Orleans.

[Reno89519]

Skip the downtown aquarium. VERY disappointing and small. The best we’ve found is the science center in San Francisco and the Baltimore Aquarium. Neither near Houston.

[warsaw44]

LOL! so funny I’m crying - what a hoot!

[plain talk]

You could try surfing with your boy at Galveston.

[laplata]

Whatever you decide, have a great time.

Yes, please report back.