Looking for an ocean paradise near Houston
 

I will be on business in Houston middle of July I wanted to spend few days at the beach @ July 16. Can anyone recommend something. I have no idea about the beach's in the Gulf your recommendations are highly appreciated.
Tia
Jan

Galveston is the closest beach area, but is not exactly the nicest. Texas beaches aren't that great. We travel to South Padre Island for a great sandy beach, but that is quite a drive from Houston.

Agree that the nicest beaches (white sand and blue water) are in the South Padre area (North Padre nearer Corpus isn't quite as nice IMO but still OK). Galveston's are acceptable, but not an "ocean paradise". Not sure if it fits your schedule but SWA flies to Harlingen from HOU (Hobby) and it takes less than an hour. About 30 min drive from airport to South Padre.

How about getting on a flight to Mexico or Costa Rica?

ThankYou so much for your replies so far. I have probably 2 nights to spare. Hoping for something driveable from Houston say about 2 hrs. I will forget the Paradise part. lol Probably most importantly would be quiet/clean and would love to have a warm sandy beach to swim at. I have never been to this area at all so I must admit I do not even know if we can swim in the Gulf in that area.

Please keep the advice coming I Love Fodors and you people!
TIA
Jan

Hi, travelynjan - if you're just looking for a weekend beach stay, the San Luis and the Galvez are both nice places to stay in Galveston. Galveston is only about an hour's drive from Houston depending on which part of the city you're in.

The water in Galveston carries a lot of sediment in it, so it won't be the pretty clear blue water like you see in other parts of the country. It's a neat area though with some interesting history - some Victorian homes you can tour, the Strand has good shopping and cute restaurants, Moody Gardens has a nice aquarium and rainforest pyramid, etc. If you're interested in something with a pretty beach, I agree with the other posters that you might want to fly down to South Padre. It's several hours drive south from Houston.

Hi, Jan - our posts crossed in cyberspace - yes, you can definitely swim in Galveston. There's a seawall that runs along the coast and most of the beaches are there; you'll see tons of people at the beach. Most of the hotels are not directly on the beach but across the street from it, so you'll still have an ocean view. The Galvez was built in the early 1900s so it has interesting architecture and a lot of history behind it. The San Luis that I mentioned is a newer hotel; you can get some pretty posh rooms there. We stayed in a king deluxe there, and it was pretty nice.

If you do go to Galveston, would also suggest you consider the Tremont Hotel in addition to the two mentioned by volcanogirl, both of which would be very nice. Tremont is in the Strand historical district and is a smaller, European-type hotel.

FYI, there is a lot of sea weed on the beach right now in Galveston. (I'm in GAlveston as we speak) Just wanted you to be aware.

Jan, that's like asking where to have an exquisite French meal in El Paso. You are definitely wise to drop the "paradise" requirement.