Shuttle from HOU to Galveston?

[MaiTaiMary]

We cruised from Galveston earlier this year. We flew in the day before and took the hotel shuttle from the airport to the hotel. About a 5 minute drive. Then the next morning, took the hotel shuttle back to the airport, and the Carnival transfers to the cruise terminal.

 

We are traveling from Galveston again next year, but would like to travel to Galveston the day we arrive, instead of the cruise morning. How would you recommend doing this WITHOUT RENTING A CAR.

 

I realize it's about 45 minutes away, but do any of the Galveston hotels offer a shuttle service from Houston Hobby to the hotel? Then I figured on the morning of the cruise, we would just take a taxi?

 

Then how to get back to the airport when we return?

 

 

Thanks!:D

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Just google Houston to Galveston shuttle. They are priced about $20 one way for a shared ride. Many travel Thursday thru Monday. They also offer returns from the port.

[cruiser fanatic]

I know a lot of people that use Galveston express. It will take you to any hotel in Galveston or the cruise terminal. It is 20$ per person one way from Hobby Airport.

[ransrider]

Are there any extra port fees charged or just $20 pp one way plus tip?

[Birder1]

Try Act Transportation; Tamara Barnes is the owner. Her email is PD2BEE at gmail dot com.

[shipaheadannie]

We have just used galvestonexpress from IAH to Galveston 2 days before cruise and return 3 days later.

Wouldn't hesitate to use this company again.

Professional and perfect service.

[crzndeb]

Just recently had horrible experience from Galveston Express returning from a cruise. Though they had the address of the hotel we were staying at, they refused to take us there, saying it was out of their area. We found this out at IAH after being on the shuttle already for 2 hrs. Told we needed to find another way to hotel either from IAH or they could take us back to Hobby.

 

I canceled my hotel and luckily found a room at Hampton Inn by Hobby, but friends had to take a cab from Hobby to original hotel.

 

Maybe coming in will work better, but I will never use them again. I suggest reading Yelp or Tripadvisor reviews first.

Edited November 17, 2015 by crzndeb

[Starry Eyes]

Just recently had horrible experience from Galveston Express returning from a cruise. Though they had the address of the hotel we were staying at, they refused to take us there, saying it was out of their area. We found this out at IAH after being on the shuttle already for 2 hrs. Told we needed to find another way to hotel either from IAH or they could take us back to Hobby.

 

I canceled my hotel and luckily found a room at Hampton Inn by Hobby, but friends had to take a cab from Hobby to original hotel.

 

Maybe coming in will work better, but I will never use them again. I suggest reading Yelp or Tripadvisor reviews first.

Pity you and your friends did not book a private car service; you'd likely have had a better experience.

Where was that hotel located? Galveston Express shared shuttles go from Galveston to IAH and Hobby, as you now know....so if your hotel was close to one of those, you likely could have taken hotel shuttle from airport to hotel. Since you did not do that, perhaps your hotel was far from the airports, thus out of their shared shuttle service area. Your advice to do some research before booking is solid...all of us need to remember to do that...yourself included.

[crzndeb]

Pity you and your friends did not book a private car service; you'd likely have had a better experience.

Where was that hotel located? Galveston Express shared shuttles go from Galveston to IAH and Hobby, as you now know....so if your hotel was close to one of those, you likely could have taken hotel shuttle from airport to hotel. Since you did not do that, perhaps your hotel was far from the airports, thus out of their shared shuttle service area. Your advice to do some research before booking is solid...all of us need to remember to do that...yourself included.

 

I usually do very careful research, but unfortunately my friends took care of this booking. I wrongly assumed that the address was known to Galveston Express, and that's why they took the booking. After the fact, I did check where the hotel was, and it was between Hobby and IAH, 5 miles off I-45. Since I didn't make the booking, I really wasn't aware of their drop off policy.

 

I normally cruise solo and make all my own reservations for everything. The one time I didn't, it came back to bite me. Lesson learned.

Edited November 19, 2015 by crzndeb

[Starry Eyes]

I usually do very careful research, but unfortunately my friends took care of this booking. I wrongly assumed that the address was known to Galveston Express, and that's why they took the booking. After the fact, I did check where the hotel was, and it was between Hobby and IAH, 5 miles off I-45. Since I didn't make the booking, I really wasn't aware of their drop off policy.

 

I normally cruise solo and make all my own reservations for everything. The one time I didn't, it came back to bite me. Lesson learned.

 

I can see how one could mistakenly trust a friend who makes a silly error...so can we perhaps quietly blame your friend for erroneously booking outside the service zone rather than slamming Galveston Express? I am booked for the first time on Galveston Express soon. Reading negative reviews worries me, but only if the shuttle is to blame...not so much when a friend books outside the stated service zone.

[crzndeb]

I can see how one could mistakenly trust a friend who makes a silly error...so can we perhaps quietly blame your friend for erroneously booking outside the service zone rather than slamming Galveston Express? I am booked for the first time on Galveston Express soon. Reading negative reviews worries me, but only if the shuttle is to blame...not so much when a friend books outside the stated service zone.

 

I don't believe it was a silly error on my friend's part. The address was given to the owner, (it was printed on the manifest, and he accepted payment for the booking. We were the last people on the shuttle at 6:30 at night after being picked up at 2:45. We did not blame the driver, we blamed the owner for telling us we would be taken to the hotel address.

 

It would have been easy enough to take us, since it wouldn't have affected anybody else's plans. But it's a moot point now.

 

Our driver almost got into a fist fight with another passenger at the cruise terminal, who said he was still waiting for his 1:00 pickup at 2:45.

 

Hopefully everything will work out for you.

[Starry Eyes]

I don't believe it was a silly error on my friend's part. The address was given to the owner, (it was printed on the manifest, and he accepted payment for the booking. We were the last people on the shuttle at 6:30 at night after being picked up at 2:45. We did not blame the driver, we blamed the owner for telling us we would be taken to the hotel address.

 

It would have been easy enough to take us, since it wouldn't have affected anybody else's plans. But it's a moot point now.

 

Our driver almost got into a fist fight with another passenger at the cruise terminal, who said he was still waiting for his 1:00 pickup at 2:45.

 

Hopefully everything will work out for you.

I hope it works out,too. Fortunately, ours is a straight forward booking from cruise port to Hobby. Fingers crossed that everything is reasonably timely with no risk of fist fights.

 

As I recall, when booking transfer online for shared shuttle, one must chose among drop off options IAH, IAH hotel, HObby or Hobby hotel. I do not recall an option for non-airport hotels. So how did your friends make a reservation for a non-airport hotel? Did they call or email requesting (and being granted) a special drop off? Or did they insert the name of a non-airport hotel in the slot for an airport hotel (maybe not checking where hotel was compared to airports)? Or did your friend find some other booking method? To me that makes a big difference.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Starry Eyes

[kishijoten]

Airport Transportation & All Occasion Limo is another provider that runs between Houston and Galveston. Clear Lake Shuttle is another.

Edited December 2, 2015 by kishijoten