one day car rental -- worth it? (Galveston)

[peter1975]

We, a group of four, are flying into Hobby Airport for a cruise in early October. We arrive the day before the cruise early in the afternoon. I've already booked a hotel near the airport (and plan to use the free airport shuttle to the hotel), and I've also made arrangements for a taxi/shuttle service to take us to the port on the day of the cruise.

 

My question is this: Would it be worth the money and effort to rent a car for the 1/2 day before our cruise departs so that we could drive around town, drive to Galveston Island, etc; or should we just stay put and relax at our hotel? I think our hotel offers a shuttle to local attractions, so we wouldn't be completely stuck, but would be very limited.

 

Advise and opinions from locals or regular Galveston cruisers would be most appreciated! :)

[ssb]

What hotel are you staying at ?

 

Probably not

Most hotels will have something around them

If one that does not, a cab will work.

If there is something you really want to do .

Edited July 17, 2014 by ssb

[train460]

Also have heard that there are NO rental car agencies on Galveston open on sundays that you would drop car off at.

Michael

[TruckerDave]

If a one day rental won't break your vacation budget I would do it. You can go over to Kemeah boardwalk and have a little fun for a while or head down to Galveston and have a nice dinner down there. Hobby is south of downtown so you wont have to mess with going through downtown at all. NASA is close by, but you prob won't have much time for that. Also depending on your transportation situation to the ship in the morning, you could head down there in the morning and drop everybody and the luggage off then return the car to the airport and grab a shuttle for just yourself to the island. Might end up saving enough cash to cover the cost of the car.

 

Hobby isn't exactly in one of the best areas of town, so walking around at night is not really advisable if you want to get something to eat or kill time.

[peter1975]

What hotel are you staying at ?

 

Probably not

Most hotels will have something around them

If one that does not, a cab will work.

If there is something you really want to do .

 

We are staying at Marriott Springhill Suites (Hobby Airport).

 

I'm thinking we may just wind up chilling out at the hotel. I just didn't want to be at the hotel all day and not take advantage of anything in the Galveston area that was must-see or must-do.

[peter1975]

Also have heard that there are NO rental car agencies on Galveston open on sundays that you would drop car off at.

Michael

 

I would pick up and drop off the car from the Hobby airport location. I could use the hotel's free shuttle to get to and from the airport/hotel in order to pick up and drop off the rental car. It's sounding like it wouldn't really be worth the hassle or money at this point.

[train460]

I would pick up and drop off the car from the Hobby airport location. I could use the hotel's free shuttle to get to and from the airport/hotel in order to pick up and drop off the rental car. It's sounding like it wouldn't really be worth the hassle or money at this point.

i don't know. If it was not that big of a hassle and you had all day saturday. I would probably do it. Kemah boardwalk could be an all day thing if you wanted it. Google it and see.

It would be about 30-45 minutes away.

TONS of restaraunts and movie theaters between.

My 02

michael

[bptex]

You should also consider traffic, I don't know where you are from but Houston can be pretty bad. Just make sure you have a bunch of alternate routes planned if you decide to drive around. For me it'd be worth it to head to the space center and then Kemah.

[TruckerDave]

You should also consider traffic, I don't know where you are from but Houston can be pretty bad. Just make sure you have a bunch of alternate routes planned if you decide to drive around. For me it'd be worth it to head to the space center and then Kemah.

 

Hobby, Kemah, NASA and Galveston are all south of downtown so there will not be any major traffic issues.