1. Kemah Boardwalk
2. Space Center Houston
3. Pleasure Pier
4. Galveston Beach
5. Moody Gardens Aquarium
6. Houston Zoo
7. Museum of Natural History
8. City Pass

While we were staying in Houston, technically Bacliff, we stayed at Jackie’s Place RV Resort (you can read that review here). For this list of things to do in Houston, Texas, I’m going to focus on things that are close to the RV resort. There are several RV resorts near Jackie’s Place, so even if you don’t stay there, these will still be within a close distance to you. If you’ve never been to Houston, it’s a massive city. If you’re staying north or west of Houston, some of these may be a considerable distance away. 

Kemah Boardwalk

Kemah Boardwalk is the closest attraction near Jackie’s Place. It’s a 7-minute drive (3 miles) and it has a day’s worth of rides, games, and food for everyone. From downtown Houston it is a 40-minute drive (about 35 miles). 

Kemah Boardwalk is an amusement park built right on the shores of Galveston Bay. There are 13 rides, some for smaller riders and others for taller riders. With an All Day Ride Pass the 13 attractions are included. Here is a list of the rides: 

• Boardwalk Bullet Roller Coaster   
• Flare Coaster
• CP Huntington Train
• Double Decker Carousel
• Century Ferris Wheel
• Drop Zone (currently down for maintenance)
• Wonder Wheel
• Rockin’ Rocket
• Aviator
• Boardwalk Tower
• Hypnospin
• Jungle Bounce
• Pharaoh’s Fury

In addition to those rides are the Boardwalk Beast, a speed boat ride through the bay. The Iron Eagle Zip Line and the Stingray Reef. The Stingray Reef is an exhibit where you can touch and feed stingrays. These three attractions come at a separate fee and are not included in the All Day Ride Pass.

Along with the rides are classic midway games. Balloon darts, basketball, water gun race, etc. These are paid for separately. Beware, the prizes are massive. We ended up winning at the ring toss and our prize was a massive panda bear. As RVers we had to leave it with the family members we were visiting. 

After you’ve worked up an appetite there are multiple sit-down restaurants on the boardwalk. Bubba Gump Shrimp, Saltgrass Steakhouse, and the Aquarium are just a few of the options. 

The cost to get onto the boardwalk is completely free. You can go and just walk around if you’re looking for something free to do. Parking in the nearby lots was $12/day but there were free on street parking options if you’re willing to walk a little and drive around looking for one. 

The rides and games on the boardwalk are generally open 12pm- 7pm Monday- Thursday, 12pm- 9pm on Friday, 12pm- 10pm Saturday and 12pm- 8pm on Sunday. Per their website, the hours vary by season and are updated each month. You can visit their website here for more information. 

We’ve been to Kemah a few times now and have always had a blast. Being so close this time around was an added benefit. Choose a nice weather day and head to Kemah for a fun day along Galveston Bay. 

Space Center Houston/ NASA Johnson Space Center

“Houston, we have a problem.” You know those famous words, right? While in Houston, you get to visit the very place the astronauts were communicating with when they said those famous words. 

Space Center Houston is the visitors center for the NASA’s Johnson Space Center. There, you’ll find something for everyone to do and learn. Space Center Houston offers interactive exhibits where you’ll learn about past space missions and future space missions. 

One of the highlights is taking the shuttle rides from the visitors center to the Astronaut Training Facility. The ride from the visitors to the training facility is an attraction in itself. You’ll get history of the buildings and what happens in each building. You’ll even pass the building that houses mission control. We did not tour this building but there is a special ticket package that will allow you to, (see below). 

The training facility offers an inside look at how today’s astronauts prepare for their missions to the International Space Station (ISS). You’ll get to see (from above) a full-scale replica of the ISS. You’ll even get a look at a Soyuz capsule and the Boeing Starliner, both replicas of course.

The second of the two tram tours is the tour to Rocket Park. Rocket Park is home to the only space certified Saturn V rocket. This is the rocket that brought the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Seeing pictures of it does it no justice. The rocket is massive and a marvel to look at. Despite only being able to walk around it and read about the Apollo missions, this may have been favorite part of Space Center Houston. 

A close second is walking on board the Boeing 747 with the full-scale replica of the space shuttle on top of it.  You get to learn a lot about what it took to modify the plane to able to carry the shuttle. You also learn why it was necessary to have a 747 carry the shuttle. As a person who grew up in the space shuttle era, I found it very interesting as did my son who’s 9. 

The general admission price ranges from $29.95- $39.95/ adult, $27.95- $37.95/ senior 65+, and $24.95- $34.95/ child 4-11. The price varies from day to day, hence the range. General admission will allow you into Space Center Houston and the tram rides to Rocket Park and the Astronaut Training Facility. 

The general admission package with the Mission Control Tour ranges from $44.95- $54.95/ adult, $39.95- $49.95/ child, and $42.95- $52.95/senior.

They also offer VIP tours and Breakfast with an Astronaut. If you’re interested in those, you can check out their website here. 

This is one of those attractions that even if you’re north or west of Houston, you’ll still want to make the trip for. It’s a fun and unique experience for everyone. You’ll be sure to learn a lot and you’ll gain a special affection for space exploration. 

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier

Pleasure Pier in Galveston is very similar to Kemah Boardwalk. In fact, it’s owned by the same company (Landry). Landry is also the owner of the Houston Rockets. The pier offers rides and midway games just like Kemah with a few differences. 

The main difference is Pleasure Pier is an actual pier. It’s a straight shot of pier with the rides and games on each side of you as walk to the end and the ocean water of the Gulf of Mexico below you. For someone who didn’t grow up with piers like this in Massachusetts, it was a cool experience.

There are 16 rides at Pleasure Pier and all of them are sure to make you remember that you’re over the ocean while you’re on them. The biggest ride of them all is Texas Flyer. A swing ride that brings riders up 230 feet over the ocean and spins them around. A little too much for me but it looked like a good time for anyone brave enough. 

Unlike Kemah Boardwalk, Pleasure Pier is not free to walk on. The walk on price is $12 for anyone 48” and up, $11 under 48” and $10 for seniors. If you’re looking to ride, the All Day Ride Pass is $29.99 for 48” and up and $23.99 for under 48”. The ride pass is your admittance to the pier, so you don’t have to buy an extra walk on pass. 

Since Pleasure Pier and Kemah Boardwalk are owned by the Landry company, they offer a weekend pass that is good for the 3 days. With this pass you can go to Kemah, Pleasure Pier, and the downtown aquarium for $49.99/ person. This is a great offer for those who are looking to do all those things. Just as reference, the downtown aquarium admission price is $25/ person. This pass also gets you on all the rides at the pier and boardwalk as well as the exhibits at the Downtown Aquarium. 

Galveston Beach

The beach on Galveston Island is calm, most of the time, and the water doesn’t get deep quickly. This makes it good for families. Kids can splash in the shallows and parents don’t have to worry about rip currents taking them out to sea. Remember, conditions change and there are times especially after storms where the current is very strong. Be sure to look out for the flag warnings along the beach.

The water itself was very warm when we visited in November. It is “murky” water so it’s not for everyone. However, the sand is soft and great for playing in. So you could visit the beach without going into the water.

Along the beach are plenty of restaurants and bars to enjoy. Some offer outdoor seating looking at the beach. When we went we had lunch at Fishtails across from Pleasure Pier. The food was great and the staff were excellent as well.

After lunch we watched the sunset on the beach and then enjoyed the pier at night. It was a great afternoon on Galveston Island.

Moody Gardens Aquarium

While you’re visiting Galveston, a half day or even a full day at Moody Gardens should be on your itinerary. Moody Gardens has an aquarium, discovery museum, and rainforest. When we were there, we only had time for the aquarium.

No offense to the Downtown Aquarium, but we found the Moody Gardens’ aquarium to be much better. First of all, it was much bigger, providing a lot of exhibits and a lot of different kinds of animals. They had a large open air penguin exhibit, a few large tanks, and our favorite, a walkway where the tanks surround you.  

The aquarium tickets range from $53- $56/ adult and $43- $46/ child over 3. Children 3 and under are free to all Moody Gardens’ attractions. The aquarium tickets are also admittance to the rainforest attraction. You can also purchase a value pass to admittance to all Moody Gardens’ attraction. That one-day pass ranges from $60- $80/adult and $50- $60/ child. If you do the one-day pass, I suggest using the whole day as there is much to do and see. 

Houston Zoo

Houston Zoo is in downtown Houston. It is 45 minutes from Jackie’s Place RV Resort. The zoo is very big. It has over 6,000 animals like elephants, big cats, birds, and so much more. The zoo can definitely a whole day experience if you want it to be. 

We unfortunately did not spend the whole day there. We went during the month of June, and it was HOT! So hot that our sneakers started to melt. I highly recommend going during the spring, fall, or winter. When we got back to our car, the dashboard thermometer read 111°!

The admission prices range depending on what time you want to go in (they are timed entrances). For the sake of this post, I’ll give you the prices for an all-day visit. The prices are $34.95/ adult and $27.95/ child. 

Houston Zoo does not have its own parking lot. Nearby Hermann Park has lots that you can use to access the zoo. The lots are free but some have a time restriction. Make sure you find a lot that you can park in all day. Because the lots are used for the park and the zoo, it can get busy on weekends and nice weather days. 

If you’re looking to “kill two birds with one stone,” the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Children’s Museum are close by as well. So, you could park once and visit both the zoo and the museum. I recommend giving them both their own days, especially the zoo. That’s my opinion though, we love animals. 

Houston Museum of Natural Science

I personally love Natural History, or in this case Natural Science museums. Whenever we visit a new city, I try to make sure we get to visit one if they have one. Houston has one of the better ones that we have visited. 

They have the normal exhibits like dinosaurs, early man, African wildlife, etc. They also have a unique exhibit, the Farish Hall of Texas Wildlife. Obviously this unique as it teaches about the wildlife within the state. I found this most interesting especially as a first-time visitor to the state of Texas. As you know, I grew up in Massachusetts, so the ecosystems and habitats are much different than what I knew. They also have a Texas Coastal Ecology exhibit. Again, obviously unique to Texas.

Dioramas seem to always be associated with Natural Museums of History/ Science. Houston is no exception. Theirs, however, cover a lot of the natural science and history of Texas’ ecology. This is something you won’t get anywhere else in the country. I find that in of itself reason to visit. 

The museum offers a planetarium as well. I’m a sucker these. It doesn’t matter if I’ve seen the show at another museum, I’ll still go see it when I’m at a new museum. Especially when the admission is included in the general admission cost. 

The price of admission to the museum is $25/adult, $16/child 3-11, $16/senior over 62 and $16/military. Children 2 and under are free for everything. You can also buy tickets for just the Butterfly Center, Planetarium, and Giant Screen Theatre. 

The Houston Museum of Natural Science has its own parking garage. It is $10 to park for the day. This is another option if you want to park in the garage, visit the museum, and then go to the zoo or children’s museum.

City Pass

The admission prices for all these attractions can add up fast. When we did all these things in one vacation, we purchased a City Pass. For one fee, City Pass admits you Space Center Houston and a choice of 4 other attractions: Houston Museum of Natural Science, Downtown Aquarium, Houston Zoo, Kemah Boardwalk (all day ride pass), Children’s Museum Houston, and Museum of Fine Arts Houston. 

The cost of City Pass is $76/ adult and $63/child aged 3-11. This is a really good deal considering you’ll make it worth your while visiting just 2-3 of the attractions it mentions. It is good for 9 days starting the day you visit your first attraction. This is perfect for those that are visiting for just a week or two. 

To purchase or get more information about a Houston City Pass, you can click here. 

Conclusion

Houston is filled with things to do. Much more than I’ve mentioned here. These are the things my family and I did while we were there, and we had a great time exploring the city and the surrounding area. 

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed this or found it helpful, please like it below and feel free to comment.

Until next time, God bless and stay safe!

Watch our Houston series on YouTube.