I will be going to Houston for 2 days next April to visit the Johnson Space Center. I will be arriving by train from New Orleans, and am considering staying at a hotel near the airport (IAH) as I have a very early flight out. It seems there is a quite a distance, something like 40 miles. Is there any convenient form of public transportation? Or is it best to rent a car for the one day I'll be there? I've heard traffic is a horror. (Though I find that hard to believe it could be worse than So. Cal.) Any tips or suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks!

Michele:
I'm surprised you're asking about public transportation in Texas! No, you need to rent a car. There are VERY few American cities you can visit without a car; only about a handful.

Anthony,
That is exactly what I was thinking, but I was holding out a long-shot hope that I might have been wrong. Got spoiled going to Boston/Philly/DC w/o a rental car, and am looking forward to doing NOLA w/o one as well. Well, as you said, only a few cities can one get away with only public transportation.

Thank you!

Definitely rent a car. By the way, if it's not too late to change things, the other airport in Houston, Hobby, is much closer to the Johnson Space Center, if that can work for you.

Yes, you can do without a car in NOLA - we did that last Easter.

Yes, Houston is very spread out; they are actually building a light rail system in the downtown area; I think it's going to turn out to be a White Elephant.

I spend 2 weeks in Houston on business; we were staying at the Four Seasons downtown ( The best hotel in town), and had taken a cab to the theater distict (walkable, but it was a hot evening) for a concert. When the concert let out at 11pm, we looked for a cab back to the hotel. THERE WERE NONE! We finally went to the Lancaster Hotel to have then hail us a cab. Instead, their own car service had brought us back to our hotel!

Anthony's right- it is impossible to find a cab in Houston. I have lived in Houston all my life and the only place I have ever seen cabs are at the airport. And every tourist attraction is located in different parts of town. The Space Center is by NASA/ Clear Lake, the Galleria is off 610/ Westheimer, and Downtown isn't really close to either.

Houston is really too spread out for any mass transit to ever work imo.

Definitely rent a car at IAH! Car rental from IAH can be cheaper than a cab one way to the middle of town. I got a deal for this weekend through hotelguide.com for less than $20 per day for a mid-size.

Wow! Thanks for all the replies - they are appreciated! I suspected Houston was sprawling, but not to the degree described here. Thanks for the tips and for giving me a bit of an idea as to what to expect!