What my family did while visiting Galveston, Tx. We did a lot of things! Quite a few were free, and some cost money. What is interesting is that some of the free things were the most fun for our girls. There were two things my husband really wanted to do with the girls while we were in Galveston, go fishing and crabbing.

I looked into deep-sea fishing, but it was pretty expensive and my husband said he really didn’t want to do that. His desire for these two things is the main reason I chose Jamaica Beach for our vacation rental. It’s right on the canal where we were easily able to go fishing and crabbing. It was perfect and not far from Galveston

Fishing in Jamaica Beach

We started off by going into Galveston and buying a fishing license for my husband (the girls could fish without one), and some fishing equipment. We were able to fish right off of our upper deck and the boat dock. It was so relaxing.

My youngest had a trainer fish on her pole, and that’s all she wanted to do was practice with her trainer fish. She would not let us put a hook on and try to fish for real. So, we just let her keep using her trainer fish. My oldest tried different bait and lures. I even fished some.

One day we went to the bayside of the island and fished. We also saw people fishing just steps into the Gulf, and they were catching fish. We never tried this. In the end, we never caught anything, but it was a memorable experience for all of us.  This was nearly free entertainment.  We only paid for the equipment and my husband’s license.

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Visiting the State Park in Galveston

On our second day, we decided to go check out the State Park which was just down the road from our vacation rental.  We went into the guest office and got a day pass and a few maps. 

The park had a big sandy beach on the south side, and the park also stretched to the north side, they called the bay.  We started out at the beach area.  The water was pretty rough, so we didn’t go out very far.  It was pretty neat. My youngest wanted to go out farther, but I was too nervous.  The beach was clean and nice and sandy. 

We found seashells, seaweed, and jellyfish. There were quite a few other people visiting, but it was not crowded at all.  We walked along the water for quite a while.  It started getting cloudy out, then we felt the cool air and knew it was about to rain.  So we headed back to the car.  We barely made it to the car before the rain hit!  It was a good downpour, so I was glad we beat it.

We decided to go back to the house and eat.  When the rain stopped we decided to go to the bay side of the park. We went down a hiking trail and saw some really neat butterflies. 

Next, we went over to the bay and there were lots of people fishing (but it was not overly crowded).  We saw more jellyfish and little bitty hermit crabs. My youngest wanted in all of the puddles. 

After that, we went back over to the beachside again and played in the water.  My youngest loved it!  She had her swimmer on and wanted to go out deeper, but I was still too nervous for that.  She still had a lot of fun.  We also built a sandcastle.  She got a little upset when it collapsed.  There were some people fishing right off the beach, and catching fish!

Visiting the Beaches in Galveston

We visited the State Park Beach (see above) and another beach east of our house near Sea Isle.  We drove right up on the beach and parked the car.  The beach had a few people on it but wasn’t crowded.  The girls got into the water and loved getting pulled back up the beach by the waves.  They ended up doing that for a long time.  The water was not as rough on this day, so I was not as nervous about letting my youngest get in it.  Plus, as time went by I got a little more comfortable with the water.

My husband got his metal detector out and ended up finding some change and a fishing weight.  I ended up getting a sunburn because I really didn’t think we were spending much time on the beach and did not bring the sunblock with me.  I did apply when we got out of the car, but I should have reapplied after an hour.  We were there over 2 hours.  So, carry your sunblock with you at all times!  Especially near water.

Crabbing, Hermit Crabbing, and Seashelling in Galveston

Another virtually free activity.  My husband’s best memories were crabbing with a chicken leg on a string when he was a kid.  Our vacation rental had several crab traps, so we set them up off the boat dock.  We caught a few crabs this way, and a few got away this way.  It was a fun experience just trying something new!

At Port Bolivar (take the free ferry to visit) we found a public access area that had a couple of boat docks, so we decided to try some crabbing off the docks.  As we were making our way to the docks we came across a plethora of beautiful seashells along the shoreline!  We were so excited because we had struggled to find pretty and unbroken shells.  At closer inspection, almost every single shell had a hermit crab in it! 

We sifted through a bunch of the shells, trying to find empty ones to take home, but did not have much luck.  I could not make myself take the shells home, only to have the hermit crabs die.  My oldest wanted to take a couple of the hermit crabs home to keep.  I discouraged it, but my husband thought it was okay, so we let her.

My husband had some string, a couple of chicken legs, ice chest, and a net (that we borrowed from our vacation rental) and we met him at the dock to do some crabbing.  We took turns dropping the chicken legs in letting them set in the water for a couple of minutes, then pulling them up to see if we caught a crab.  If there was a crab on the line, we had to be fast with the net to catch it.  They would let go pretty quick once we pulled them from the water.  We let the small ones go, and kept 4 crabs.

Riding the Ferry to Port Bolivar from Galveston, then back again

Riding the ferry to Port Bolivar is free!  We waited in line an estimated 15 minutes to get on the ferry.  We got in line a little before 10:00 a.m.   The ride over is about 15 minutes.  You can get out of your car and look around.  You can also park your car and just ride the ferry over, this would save you some waiting in line.  I think the wait can vary, depending on what day and time you go.  This is definitely a free experience you want to try out!  

We got out of our car to look out over the water.  It was really cool.  We saw what looked like a shipwreck (on our way back we found out it was a concrete ship, that was a test ship for the US Navy.  I believe during WW II, we also saw dolphins, and lots of seagulls, and a few pelicans.  It was a really cool ride, seeing the dolphins was the best. 

There isn’t much on the other side, mostly homes, but we decided to drive for a bit, about 5 miles or so.  Then we just went down a road heading towards the south to the beach. We found a public access area near some beach houses.  There was a small, long fishing jetty (pile of rocks that went out to the water), and a couple of boat docks. 

The beaches were pretty dirty and rocky.  Not near as clean as the State Park or the Galveston beaches. We ended up finding hermit crabs and fished for crabs from this area (see above, Crabbing, Hermit Carbing, and Seashelling).

We ended up getting right on the ferry (no wait) on our way back to Galveston Island.  I was a little worried there would be a wait because it looked like it when we pulled up.  By then we were all starving and ready to find some food!  We headed to the Strand for a good meal when we got back to Galveston Island.

Visiting the Strand in Galveston

We visited the Strand after our ferry ride.  This is also free in a way.  You can just walk around and window shop and not spend any money.  Of course, we spent some money on food and souvenirs.  We ate a fabulous lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant and had ice cream at La King’s Confectionery.  We explored lots of souvenir shops and bought a few things to take home.  It rained on us while we there, really just a very fine rain.  It was kind of nice to have a little cooldown.

Moody Gardens in Galveston

Rainforest Pyramid

We saved it for Wednesday because my youngest and I could get in at a discount rate for Mommy and Me day for $25 each. That included everything at the park. My husband and oldest had to pay about $80 each to get in. They had a $2 discount. We bought the Value Pass because we wanted to do and see everything. We started at the Rainforest Pyramid. It was really pretty. We saw lots of birds and monkeys roaming free. There were these huge bats and lots of marine life too. We saw several different types of stingrays.

4D & 3D Movies at Moody Gardens

We went to a 4D movie after that. We could pick one 4D show with our ticket. The shows are only about 20 minutes long. Ours was about dinosaurs and Jurassic Park. It was really cool and felt so real! My four-year-old was freaked out and cried a little and yelled for Mommy. She was sitting on her daddy’s lap. We probably should have warned her that it might be scary, but it was not real. She may have been scared anyway.

We went to the Davinci Exhibit next. It was kind of cool, I don’t think Ragan found it very interesting. The Sponge Bob Square Pants experience was in the same building, but we still had some time to wait for it. So we went to a 3D movie. It was about dinosaurs too. We explained to our youngest that it wasn’t real, but she refused to put on her 3D glasses through the whole thing. After that, we had a nice lunch in the restaurant, but we were too late for the next showing of Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Sponge Bob Square Pants 4D Show and Colonel Paddle Wheel Boat at Moody Gardens

We went to a neat dinosaur exhibit they had outside. My youngest wasn’t thrilled with that either. I’m pretty sure she hates dinosaurs now! We finally got in to see the Sponge Bob Square Pants show. It was a 4D show, and very interactive. My youngest was willing to put on glasses for it. It was a submarine adventure and it was really cool. My youngest loved it. We all enjoyed it. Next,

we went out to the bay and got on Colonel Paddle Wheel. It’s a huge paddlewheel boat. It had a really nice interior dining area, and upper viewing decks. It took us across the bay and back. The ride was about 40 minutes and was very nice. We shared some popcorn and a strawberry smoothie.

Aquarium Pyramid at Moody Gardens

After that my oldest wanted to do the ropes course and we wanted to go to Palm Beach, Moody Garden’s small water park. But they were not doing either because there was lightning within 10 miles of the park. It was almost 5:00 by this time, maybe later. I can’t remember.

So, we went to the Aquarium Pyramid. It had recently been renovated and was a lot of fun. They had a section where you could touch the stingrays. We all tried to touch them, and there were lots of other people trying to. I reached way out to pet one, and it splashed at me! These ladies next to me screamed, and I jumped. It was pretty funny. Everyone laughed. The girls weren’t able to touch one. I don’t think the stingrays really liked being touched because they seemed to avoid everyone.

Palm Beach and Ropes Course at Moody Gardens

After that we split up, Ragan and I went to the water park and my husband and oldest went to the ropes course. It was 6:00 by then, and both places closed at 7:00.

We changed our clothes and set our stuff down on some beach chairs. It wasn’t too crowded and we got in the wave pool first. She really liked it, especially when the waves came up. I was surprised that the waves didn’t scare her.

We also got in the lazy river. I put a lifejacket on her. She just wanted to go down the river, and not ride a float. The lazy river let out into a little splash pad area and we played there for a little bit. We did that a long time, then went back to the wave pool. That’s when my husband and oldest got there. Right after they got there they started closing the water park. My oldest didn’t get to swim.

Moody Garden’s was a really good time.  It was worth the money with our discounts!  I think it’s kind of a tourist trap, but if the kids love it and everyone has fun who really cares?

City Pool in Jamaica Beach

My youngest and I spent some time at the Pool in Jamaica Beach.  We were the first to get there, we went right after they opened at 10:00 a.m.  My youngest had a lot of fun, they have a little wading pool and then a larger area with lots of room to swim.  She loved jumping into the water with her swimmer on.  We spent a couple of hours at the pool but could have easily spent more time there.

Conclusion

Read more about our trip to Galveston.  Where we ate, and where we stayed.

Have you visited Galveston? What did you love? Would you like to visit? Do you have a road trip or vacation planned for anywhere special?  We would love to hear from you.

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