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Upcoming road trip - San Antonio,Galveston, NOLA

Upcoming road trip - San Antonio,Galveston, NOLA

Old Aug 29th, 2017, 03:38 AM
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Upcoming road trip - San Antonio,Galveston, NOLA

We have an extended trip planned starting September 6th.

We have a non-cancellable flight from the UK to Austin and I plan to drive to San Antonio to stay for 5 days. We then plan to drive to Galveston, stay for 2 nights, and then drive to New Orleans to stay for 3 nights before flying to Orlando, to spend 10 days in that area.

Given the current conditions, I suspect we may have to miss Galveston and take another route between San Antonio and New Orleans. We have a rental car and I don't mind driving long distances.

I would welcome sensible suggestions on our itinerary and re-routing advice please. All hotels booked have a 24-hour cancellation policy, so hotel changes are not a problem.

Thank you in anticipation.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 06:00 AM
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At this point, since Harvey is still churning in that area, it is impossible to offer solid advice. San Antonio is fine and NOLA is getting a brush so that should be OK. Getting between the two could be a problem. I would take Galveston off the list since it has been hit hard and south of Houston where the water from Houston has to go.

I would assume by the 6th the main roads - Interstates - would be open so driving through that area would be OK but services could be limited. I think I would drive directly from SA to NOLA and maybe add a day at both ends.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 06:08 AM
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PS -- You may need to make quick changes to hotels. The cruise ships that normally use Galveston are being diverted to other ports - especially NOLA so there could be additional pressure on hotels. SIL in San Antonio says over a million people have been come to SA since the storm. While I find that number hard to believe, a hundred thousand could overwhelm that area and hotels.

Good luck -- we are in uncharted territory at the moment.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 06:14 AM
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Fmpden, Thank you for your advice. I was looking at an alternative route to the north of the coastal route - up to Houston and then head east from there, to get from SA to NOLA, with one or two stops on the way. Is this feasible?
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 06:24 AM
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Contact your hotels in San Antonio and Galveston for advice. San Antonio to make sure the room isn't needed for evacuees and Galveston to see if you can even get there.
It is too early to plan a driving route to New Orleans. Louisiana has also been impacted by the storm. Also, Harvey is at sea and will make landfall again on the Texas/Louisiana coast creating flooding in new areas.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 06:43 AM
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I wouldn't have picked Galveston for a stop anyway. At this point, however, you must change. The town is completely farked and to the extent it improves soon, it won't improve enough in a week to be worth a visit.

The most direct rerouting by car is to drive I-10 to the most distant loop around Houston and then rejoin I-10 on the other side of the city. You MAY want to check out your rental agency's toll tag plans for this because that loop is the Sam Houston Tollway which won't bring you anywhere near downtown Houston but is, as its name implies, a toll road. You likely need to take the northern half of the loop, not the southern half. Even one week hence, you should expect traffic.

Don't take The Loop (I-610) if you can avoid it - it tends to be a parking lot even in dry times.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 06:54 AM
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Until the water starts to recede it will be impossible to plan any route near Houston or Beaumont. The roads/bridges may be too heavily damaged for traffic.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 07:05 AM
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I would skip all of them. How long will you be here? Would it be possible to re-organize and go to NOLA and San Antonio at the end of your trip, IF they are able to accept tourists?
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 08:55 AM
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Are you willing to fly from SA to NOLA (I don't know the details of your trip w.r.t. number of people, budget limitations, etc.)? Without Galveston to break it up, that's an 8 hr drive which will probably be longer with any remaining issues around Houston.

You could also cut out NOLA all together, fly direct from SA to Orlando, and spend the extra time in Austin! We have a great city.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 09:27 AM
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Thank you for all your comments. There are 2 of us and we our frequent visitors to the US from the UK. The flight to Austin can't be changed, and we can't reverse the itinerary as we have a specially-booked location near Orlando that has a long wait list (don't ask!).

Traveling from the UK is expensive for us Brits due to the poor Dollar to Pound rate, so although we don't have a fixed budget, we need to be sensible. The UK is a cheap destination for US visitors at the moment, so if you need any advice for here, please let me know.

I checked the hotels in SA and NOLA and they are both OK. Tried calling the hotel in Galveston, but no reply.

I'm taking into account the advice on alternative routes, and also look at the flight option between SA and NOLA.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 03:21 PM
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Delta is canceling all flights to Texas and all states in the Gulf until Sept.7.
I have a booked flight to New Orleans for Sept.22, so will have to see if Delta extends re-booking and refunds, or all will be well.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 05:09 PM
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kvuk, you had me all confused for a minute. I guess your expensive and cheap comments are all relative to past exchange rates, but the exchange rate is still in your favor. Trust me, I just came back from the UK and reading the credit card bill with the conversion was painful.
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Old Aug 29th, 2017, 09:49 PM
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I looked at the flights option and it looks as if there has been a flight price hike in the past few days, so that option is out.

At the risk of going too far off topic, yes, there are many things that are more expensive here in the UK - hotels, travel, and eating out. The one always quoted is fuel for the car, which is twice the price here.

My current plan is to take the I-10 east, loop around the top of Houston, and then rejoin the I-10. Any suggestions as to where to break the journey?
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 05:50 AM
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>

You could try to loop toward College Station and see the GHWB presidential library.

Ultimately, you're going to have to check on road conditions constantly. Today, driving to work, the electronic road sign on my route said I-10 east of Houston was closed and I live 250+ miles away from the flooded mosquito nest that is Texas's largest city.
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 07:35 AM
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http://static.drivetexas.org/#6/30.534/-101.744


This shows what the situation is now. Go to the site to find a possible route.
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 08:25 AM
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I looked at the flights option and it looks as if there has been a flight price hike in the past few days, so that option is out.

Really? I just looked on ITA for one-way fares between SAT and MSY for the 12th or 13th of September (my best guess for your dates - correct me if I'm wrong) and there are several Delta flights via Atlanta for $91. That's probably cheaper than driving counting gas and overnight lodgings, not to mention the rental rate.
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 08:54 AM
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...Tried calling the hotel in Galveston, but no reply......

Best bet -- underwater.
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 11:40 AM
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I have now postponed this trip until next spring, given all that is going on at the moment.
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 11:51 AM
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kvuk, I think that's an excellent idea.
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Old Aug 30th, 2017, 01:55 PM
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>

You've made worse choices.

Now about Galveston ...
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