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What do you recommend for a day trip to Galveston? Which beach, what to do, what to eat?

by Jill Jarvis Leave a Comment

Beach
I am not an expert on Galveston, so I asked the BigKidSmallCity community! Here are the tips we got!

  • Beaches – Galveston has many beaches. Some are free, some charge. Some less-crowded, family-friendly beaches are mentioned below.
  • Beach Town – Nice & quiet and no sea wall.
  • East Beach – Lots of parties and events take place on this beach (and alcohol is permitted). Boardwalk, stage, restrooms, showers, concessions. $8/vehicle.
  • West Beach – Drive up to the water, open the tailgate and enjoy. West Beach is free!
  • Galveston Island State Park – Bathrooms, changing areas and outdoor showers.
  • Stewart Beach – Good family beach with restrooms, showers, concessions, lifeguards. $8/vehicle.
  • Porretto Beach – Private beach at Seawall & 10th. $8 to visit.
  • Ride the Ferry – The ferry is free and fun to ride (with your car)! Just check the wait time online first.
  • Pleasure Pier – Amusement Park & Dining on the water!
  • Tour the Tree Sculpture – Tour the sculptures created from the trees that Hurricane Ike damaged.
  • LA Kings Confectionery – Watch them make salt water taffy!
  • Shrimp N Stuff – Kid friendly, great food and very casual. It’s way off the seawall so patrons are mostly locals and people that know about it.
  • Sunflower Cafe – Bakery, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  • Mosquito Cafe – Located at the East End Historical District of Galveston and not the usual tourist spot.
  • Cajun Greek Restaurant – Really unassuming, plain Jane decor, but food is awesome for big and little kids alike.
  • Mario’s Ristorante – Best pizza around!
  • The Spot – Great burgers!
  • Other tips:
    • Drive a truck, SUV or van, if you can. Many beaches let you back up to the water so you can have an instant spot for a picnic or shade.
    • Bring your own beach chairs and umbrella. Some beaches also rent them out for around $30.
    • Bring plastic jugs with tap water to use to rinse off sandy hands and feet.
    • Bring baby powder. It magically gets sand off of skin!
    • Margaret shared this great ritual that seems so easy that the day trip to Galveston just got “do-able” for families with young kids:  We drive to West Beach where we can pull our van onto the beach, arriving around 9:30am (free!). We set up our canopy, a large sheet, and some fold up chairs. We play (snacks and water on demand) until 11:30am, change, and pack up. We go to Shrimp and Stuff located on Ave. O where they have great seafood for kids and adults (have non-seafood items too) for lunch. Then we drive back to Houston in time for the kiddos to take a nap around 1pm.

Filed Under: All, Beach, Galveston, Things to do, You Asked Us! June 26, 2014

About Jill Jarvis

Jill Jarvis is the owner of JillBJarvis.com, a BigKidSmallCity.com and Things to Do in Houston, with Kids, blog!

She is the mom of 4 and started the website years ago... when she was tired of constantly cleaning up the same mess in the family room.

Another mom showed her that you could just go do fun things in Houston, without hours of planning.

This inspired the blog and changed everything about how she enjoyed life in Houston, with kids!

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jill-jarvis-bigkidsmallcity-circle-300 Welcome!  JillBJarvis.com is the go-to blog for things to do in Houston with kids!  It is upbeat and dedicated to making our big city feel small.   START HERE!    

On this website you will find a full list of Houston weekly events, things to do around the city, travel ideas and resources for parents.

I know just what it’s like to be overwhelmed by work, life and family. I spent a lot of years traveling for work, missing big milestones for my kids and feeling bad about everything.

I started this website to make a list of all the events happening around Houston and then pick one to enjoy with my kids. And instead of thinking of all the things I was missing, I started to enjoy the things we were doing together.

If you are a parent that is feeling overwhelmed by all the things you could be doing in Houston… please just use our weekly lists and daily posts as suggestions. Pick one thing to do with your family and intentionally ignore the rest!

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