I have not blogged about our last summer vacation in Galveston, Texas in August 2017.  Initially, I planned to take the family to Red River, NM, but my husband decided he wanted to go to the beach.  He wanted to take the girls crabbing and fishing because he did it as a kid and it was a great memory for him.  He went to Galveston, Texas, so I thought that would be good for us too. 

I started planning.  I almost always start on Pinterest.  Searching for “best places to stay in Galveston”, “things to do in Galveston with kids”, those types of things.  There are some great hotels in Galveston, but I was really interested in staying in a house or a condo.  

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When it comes to vacations, I’m a big planner!  Sometimes I know a year or more in advance where we are going for summer vacation.  I guess I have a bucket list in my head.  The places I want to take my family, that I know when can manage on a budget.  It’s January now, and I have several ideas for our vacation.  Sadly, I’m not sure if we will have much of a vacation this year.  I have 2 large bills to pay off first (just over $3,000).  That doesn’t stop me from planning and budgeting.

Finding a Place to Stay near Galveston, TX

There are several places to search for houses on the web in Galveston, Texas.  My two favorites are Air B&B and HomeAway.  We had previously rented through Air B&B on our trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado.  There are honest reviews there, and as far as I know, they can not be altered by the owner. 

Houses on the beach are expensive!  If we were going with another family, we could probably afford it, because most of the beach houses were large. 

I finally narrowed it down to a house in the town of Jamaica Beach, about 10 minutes from Galveston, Texas through HomeAway. The price was good for our budget and seemed like a great place for us to stay.  Away from the hustle and bustle of Galveston.  The house sat on the canal and had a huge raised deck over the water you could fish off of, relax on and cook on a grill.  There was also a boat dock on the lower part of the house with great spots to fish off.

Finding What You Want on Air B&B or VRBO

1. If you book on Air B&B with this link you will get $40 in travel credit if this will be your first time to book with them.   Both sites operate almost the same.
2. You can search just by city and state if you don’t know what days you want.  The main problem with this is the prices can vary quite a bit depending on the season.  So, I would make your best guess on a date span.
3. You can set up filters such as home type, number of rooms, number of guests, number of bathrooms, and price range.  You can filter amenities, facilities, house rules, and neighborhoods.  The options are a little different on each site.
4. When you are looking at the houses/condos you like make sure to look at the reviews and the entire prices.  Some places have cleaning fees, refundable deposits, pet deposits, service fees, and taxes.
5. Some renters require the entire payment upfront, and others will split it into 2 payments.
6. Make sure to read the house rules and every detail you can about your rental.  Look at all the photos.  There is a lot of information to review, so make sure you have some time to go over everything.

Why We Chose a House over a Hotel while in Galveston, TX

1. I think the number one reason is space.  It’s so nice when you have downtime or just want a day to stay around and relax to have a house over a crowded hotel room.
2. Price.  The price was not much different from a nice hotel.  After taxes and fees, we averaged less than $200 night for our house.
3. You can prepare a lot of your meals in the house.  You can’t do this in most hotels.  This will save you more money and is more budget-friendly than eating out.
4. Privacy and Quiet.  You never know how quiet your room might be when you stay in a hotel.  Even some of the nicer ones can be noisy.  Rather it’s street noise or loud neighbors.  In a house, you are less likely to have this issue.
5. Amenities.  This can vary depending on the house/condo you choose.  Our house had a huge upper deck with outdoor patio furniture and a grill.  the lower deck had a boat dock.  Inside we had a dishwasher, stove, microwave, coffee maker, and other kitchen necessities.  We had 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen and dining room.  Huge windows that looked out onto the upper deck and the canal.

Where We Stayed in Galveston, TX

I really did not know what to expect when we got to Galveston, Texas.  I had no idea how crowded it would be, and how easy or hard it would be to navigate through town.  We arrived Sunday later afternoon.  Luckily, we did not run into much traffic.  We easily navigated through Galveston and made our way to the house in Jamaica Beach. 

The girls were pretty excited to see the Gulf of Mexico and the palm trees, so was I. 

We made it to the house easily and proceeded to unpack our stuff.  The house was awesome.  The upper deck was super nice and the inside was nice and clean.  The master bedroom had a king bed and the 2nd bedroom had 2 twin beds, perfect for the girls.   We loved it! 

After we unpacked and relaxed for a little bit, we headed to Galveston to find something to eat.  You can read more about where we ate on this post.  You can read about what we did here.  

Get a $40 credit if you book with Air B&B using my referral link.

Don’t forget to pack snacks before you head out on your road trip

I always pack snacks for long road trips, sometimes even for short trips.  Quick stops can eat up your vacation money pretty quickly.  My car is very small, so we have to pack light, but I always manage to pack a small ice chest with water bottles (you can freeze some and not put ice in your ice chest!), sodas, and juice.  You could even pack sandwiches for lunch. 

I always bring snacks too.  Fruit, candy, chips, and crackers are usually the top things to bring.  If you are staying in a house, bring along a few pantry items and paper goods.  Maybe take a few ketchup packets you’ve been saving.

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