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Pom_Chch Mar 1st 2017 6:26 am

Tourist advice, Houston
 
Hello Houstonites! I would appreciate some touristy advice as we are stopping off in Houston for 2 nights in May en route back to NZ. We will be hiring a car to get to the space centre (apparently no buses go there at the weekend?!) Does anyone have any advice on where to stay outside of Houston itself? Not bothered with staying in downtown but don't want to stay in a dive. We're looking at hotels near the space centre for ease of access - is this area OK? Also, we have a late flight out on Sunday and would like an activity to do once we check out. We'll still have a car so don't mind a little bit if driving. We like the outdoors - walking, biking etc but a wet weather option would good to have as well.

TIA :)

scrubbedexpat097 Mar 1st 2017 11:51 am

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 

Originally Posted by Pom_Chch (Post 12193629)
Hello Houstonites! I would appreciate some touristy advice as we are stopping off in Houston for 2 nights in May en route back to NZ. We will be hiring a car to get to the space centre (apparently no buses go there at the weekend?!) Does anyone have any advice on where to stay outside of Houston itself? Not bothered with staying in downtown but don't want to stay in a dive. We're looking at hotels near the space centre for ease of access - is this area OK? Also, we have a late flight out on Sunday and would like an activity to do once we check out. We'll still have a car so don't mind a little bit if driving. We like the outdoors - walking, biking etc but a wet weather option would good to have as well.

TIA :)

You will certainly need to rent a car. Getting around Houston on the light rail system doesn't really work yet, it's a work in progress!. If you are heading out to the Space Center then you might want to also stay closer to that area, Kemah or Galveston. Galveston will give you more choice of hotels and other entertainment.

Just remember, Texas weather can be very unpredictable especially in the spring time. It will probably be fairly hot but also very humid. Very humid!

Have fun....Get back to me closer to the time and I' ll let you know what's going on.

jkeller Mar 1st 2017 12:50 pm

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 
There is San Jancinto monument, the battlefield site where the Texas army defeated the Mexican army, you can visit. The battleship Texas is right next to it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Monument

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35)

The area around NASA is a good area to stay. I'm guessing you're on that 15 hour(!)Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. You might have a look at Google maps, NASA is about 50 miles south of IAH airport. Safe travels.......

Owen778 Mar 1st 2017 1:51 pm

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 
Welcome to the US forum! (I suspect you haven't been here before)

Houston public transport? It consists of a commuter bus network that runs to downtown on weekday mornings and from downtown on weekday evenings, plus a limited bus local service that tends to serve the poorer areas, plus the light rail service, which is good but doesn't extend very far. You will need to rent a car, yes.

Downtown itself will be pretty quiet at the weekend. The busier areas are Midtown, River Oaks and the Galleria, immediately west of Downtown.

Houston is not really a city for people for love the outdoors, I'm afraid. It's flat and designed for the motor car. There are some big urban parks, you could walk in, but May could easily be too hot to be pleasant being outside, even if not as hot as the height of summer. If you do want to do that, Hermann Park, next to the museum district, can be nice.

On that note, some of the museums are good, but Houston being a young city means that they still aren't at the level you might expect for a city of Houston's size.

I think if I had 2 days passing through Houston, I'd probably go to the Space Center, visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science, including the Cockrell Butterfly Center, relax in Hermann Park with a picnic or at the cafe (if it's not too hot) and visit some good cafes and restaurants in or around Downtown/Midtown/Montrose/River Oaks.

ChocolateBabz Mar 1st 2017 3:18 pm

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 

Originally Posted by Pom_Chch (Post 12193629)
Hello Houstonites! I would appreciate some touristy advice as we are stopping off in Houston for 2 nights in May en route back to NZ. We will be hiring a car to get to the space centre (apparently no buses go there at the weekend?!) Does anyone have any advice on where to stay outside of Houston itself? Not bothered with staying in downtown but don't want to stay in a dive. We're looking at hotels near the space centre for ease of access - is this area OK? Also, we have a late flight out on Sunday and would like an activity to do once we check out. We'll still have a car so don't mind a little bit if driving. We like the outdoors - walking, biking etc but a wet weather option would good to have as well.

TIA :)

As you have discovered public transport is pretty much useless a car is a must. If the space center is one of your 'must dos' then I would also suggest staying in Kemah or Galveston. If you like the outdoors Galveston will be fun for walking along the front or getting a pedal cart and doing some bar hopping?, the pleasure pier etc. Kemah is also nice to wander around at night, plenty of restaurants and often live music/entertainment. Houston Zoo is downtown.

If the weather turns on you or before your flight, you could do the museum as Owen suggested or if it's not your thing, shopping, topgolf, cinema, dave & busters, escape room.

One thing to keep in mind is that traffic (even at the weekend) coming from the South can be very busy so leave yourself plenty of time to get to the airport. I'd take the Beltway rather than I-45 but it is a toll road and part of it (on the NE) is eazy tag only so your hire car would have to have one installed.

Pom_Chch Mar 1st 2017 7:32 pm

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. Seems like there will be plenty to keep us out of trouble!

TopSec Mar 2nd 2017 2:04 am

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 
Another idea if you have a car and like the outdoors/walking is to go to Brazos Bend State Park for a few hours, nice walk and lots of gators to see. It's about an hours drive out from town if you were staying around Galleria area, maybe less? :)

scrubbedexpat097 Mar 2nd 2017 2:29 am

Re: Tourist advice, Houston
 

Originally Posted by TopSec (Post 12194583)
Another idea if you have a car and like the outdoors/walking is to go to Brazos Bend State Park for a few hours, nice walk and lots of gators to see. It's about an hours drive out from town if you were staying around Galleria area, maybe less? :)

It's one of my favorite places to go. Lost count of the times we have spent walking around Elm Lake.


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