We're heading Houston mid June for the "Senior Olympics" and a few of us decided to enjoy another 5-6 days of vacation, rent a car and travel, before getting back to Houston for our flight home...

Need some ideas.... We're OK with accommodations outside of Houston, actually we prefer getting out of the city... I guess heading to the coast makes most sense?...

Thanks...

Depends on your interests. With 5-6 days, I might head inland for a few days touring the Hill Country--San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Austin.

Close to Houston, you can go visit NASA and Kemah, lots of places to eat along the water. Galveston has some beautiful old historic homes you can tour. The San Luis is a nice place to stay, and you could also go to Moody Gardens. They just did a multi-million dollar renovation of the rain forest pyramid, and they also have a nice aquarium. The Galleria area has great shopping. Outside of town, I'd say San Antonio is your best bet. Stay on the River Walk, eat at the restaurants along the river, tour the Alamo, go to Sea World, see the beautiful King William district. Gruene is fun for one night; it's a charming little town right on the river - lots of shopping, Texas oldest dance hall with live music, eat at the Grist Mill along the river, go tubing if you're up for it. We like the Gruene Apple as a place to stay. Austin is nice if you want to catch some live music and enjoy some time on the lake, lots of pretty nature in that area.

I think it not only depends on your interests but also where you are coming from. If you live along the coast any where else in the country I am not sure that Galveston would be your best option. I would head to the hill country as others have suggested.

If you like museums, Houston has a whole menu of great ones from large ones like the Museum of Fine Arts to small funky ones like the Art Car Museum. I think NASA is a must see if you are in Houston.

We just recently went to Houston for a wedding and took another 5 days and saw more of the state. I would recommend San Antonio (stay on the Riverwalk). I don't recommend Galveston.

Thanks everybody, especially volcanogirl... We're from Chicago... I was sure the ideas will all be pointing to the coast, east or west of Houston, so suggesting going inland is surprising... Texas being one of the few states I've never been to, I remember I was always told the ONE really beautiful city in Texas is, wait is it Austin or San Antonio?...

So, if we decide to spend all our days inland, should we base ourselves around Austin for our daily trips?

Or spend 3 nights there, and 2-3 nights on the coast?

Also, going back to the coast idea, what about Corpus Christi?

Thanks again...

bump

While it isn't huge, the Houston Zoo is really nice.

The Texas coast is just not as pretty as the coastal areas in other states.

Unless you really have your heart set on some time on the coast, I agree that you should go to Austin and/or San Antonio, and/or spend some time seeing things in Houston you were not able to see. You could even go to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for things like the Amon Carter Museum.

Another Hill Country town that might be of interest is Johnson City, LBJ's hometown. You could combine a visit to the LBJ Ranch with a stop at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin (and swing by the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station as well).

Here's a few links that you can explore to see what interests you.

http://www.galveston.com/default.asp

http://galvestonhistory.org/1892_Bishops_Palace.asp

http://thestrand.com/index.php

http://www.gruenetexas.com/#

http://www.visitsanantonio.com/index.aspx

http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/

Personally I like Galveston a lot more than Corpus just because it has the amazing beautiful old historic homes like Bishop's Palace that you can tour, and Moody Gardens is pretty amazing. The Strand is also nice. The water in Galveston can be brown and muddy looking due to sediment, but we love all the history and architecture. If you decide to go, The Spot is a fun place to grab a burger; Mosquito Cafe has nice food, and the Saltwater Grill is good for something more upscale.

http://www.kemah.net/Attractions.html

http://kemahboardwalk.com/dining.asp

http://www.spacecenter.org/NasaTour.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Galleria

I would say San Antonio is a don't miss because of the uniqueness of the River Walk.

Thanks all (esp. volcanogirl).... I think we have enough material to plan our days...

I'm not a big fan of the Texas coast and agree with the people who suggested to go further inland. If you want to do something "very Texas" you could check out one of the dude ranches in Bandera (about an hour from San Antonio I think). I stayed at the Dixie Dude Ranch and really enjoyed it. Also, while I enjoy San Antonio, I actually prefer Austin. Since they're fairly close together, you might want to check it out. The Capitol building and the whole downtown area are really nice.