Best beaches near Houston? (Galveston, Freeport: hotel, house, camping)

[Supermac34]

Most of the dirtiness of the beaches in this part of Texas (and the brown sand) are caused by the huge deposits of silt from the Mississippi river into the gulf. That is why the further out to sea you go, the clearer it gets, and the further South down the coast you go, (South Padre) the cleaner and nicer the beaches get.

[behtypa]

For a short day trip from Houston, Bolivar peninsula is the shortest and quietest.

In terms of a few days trip to a "real" beach with clean water and sand and fun ambience, there is nothing better and closer than South Padre.

4 hours driving and you are there.



The second closest place (but not as close) would be Destin, FL or Pensacola, FL. Destin has more amenities, waterpark, etc. it is 7 hours from Houston though.

[tstone]

Wow, only 4 hours to South Padre??? That's news to me.

[piyf]

Originally Posted by behtypa

For a short day trip from Houston, Bolivar peninsula is the shortest and quietest.

In terms of a few days trip to a "real" beach with clean water and sand and fun ambience, there is nothing better and closer than South Padre.

4 hours driving and you are there.



The second closest place (but not as close) would be Destin, FL or Pensacola, FL. Destin has more amenities, waterpark, etc. it is 7 hours from Houston though.

Closest would be by plane to Cancun or Playa del Carmen. I went to Glaveston all the time and the beaches are really not worth it. The water is nasty and the sand is dirty.

[irishlover]

Originally Posted by tstone

Wow, only 4 hours to South Padre??? That's news to me.

Yeah, he is definitely wrong about that. Google Maps pins it at over 8 hours from Houston. Even if you think GMaps is over doing it it's still a good 7 hours at least from here:

from: south padre island, tx to: Houston, TX - Google Maps

[Amusing]

As for my family, Destin Florida or Gulf Shores, Alabama is the only way to go.

[Thaskateguy]

Originally Posted by Supermac34

Most of the dirtiness of the beaches in this part of Texas (and the brown sand) are caused by the huge deposits of silt from the Mississippi river into the gulf. That is why the further out to sea you go, the clearer it gets, and the further South down the coast you go, (South Padre) the cleaner and nicer the beaches get.

this is so true. I worked one summer on a shrimp boat out of Kemah. and once one gets a few miles out, the water is clear and blue. but that does us little good, close to shore.

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by tstone

Wow, only 4 hours to South Padre??? That's news to me.

You right, me wrong. Sorry about that.

Google maps counts 8 hrs 40 min. I think I last made it in about 6-7 hours. around 70 mph in average.

This still a little less than, say, Destin, FL: 9 hrs 20 min.

And still worth it. Except for, maybe, restaurants. Which suck in South Padre, but there is Brownsville, TX 30 minutes away.

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by irishlover

Yeah, he is definitely wrong about that. Google Maps pins it at over 8 hours from Houston. Even if you think GMaps is over doing it it's still a good 7 hours at least from here:

from: south padre island, tx to: Houston, TX - Google Maps

Correct. Sorry about that.

Google maps counts 8 hrs 40 min. I think I last made it in about 6-7 hours. around 70 mph in average.

This still a little less than, say, Destin, FL: 9 hrs 20 min.

And still worth it. Except for, maybe, restaurants. Which suck in South Padre, but there is Brownsville, TX 30 minutes away.

[Texas User]

Which one has the cleanest water?