Houston

Houston trip ideas

Houston Sightseeing Tour and Galveston Day Trip

Name: Houston Sightseeing Tour and Galveston Day Trip
Brand: Houston City Tours
SKU: 5920GALV
Price: 139.95 USD
Rating: 3.5 (89 reviews)

Houston, United States

Likely to Sell Out

From $139.95

Select Date and Travelers

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

Houston Tours

Seasonal & Special Occasions

Tickets & Passes

Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

Travel & Transportation Services

Unique Experiences

Attractions

Children's Museum of Houston Tours & Tickets Houston Museum District Tours & Tickets Downtown Aquarium Tours & Tickets Hermann Park Tours & Tickets George Ranch Historical Park Tours & Tickets Kemah Boardwalk Tours & Tickets Space Center Houston Tours & Tickets

Nearby

Texas Galveston San Antonio Dallas South Padre Island New Orleans Monterrey Sapa Orange Beach Branson Destin Louisiana Alabama Panama City Beach Missouri

6 hours
Offered in: English

Overview

See the key sights of central Houston and historic Galveston on a comprehensive coach tour. Begin your day of sightseeing with an overview tour of Houston by double-decker bus. In Galveston, enjoy free time to explore this scenic Gulf of Mexico town at your own pace. Admire the historic Victorian mansions, the Galveston Seawall, and the Strand historic district.

Learn about the architectural heritage districts in Galveston
Marvel at the ornate Victorian architecture of the Gresham’s Castle
Tour downtown Houston’s most famous landmarks by double-decker open-top bus
A small group means more attention from your tour guide

What's Included

Professional guide or pre recorded audios are offered, according to availability.
Air-conditioned vehicle

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

1302 Dallas St
1302 Dallas St, Houston, TX 77002, USA
Located at Convention center district behind the Four Seasons Hotel

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Kick off your day of sightseeing in Houston and Galveston by meeting your open-air, double-decker bus in downtown Houston.

Your sightseeing tour covers Houston's City Hall, Chase Tower, Minute Maid Park (home of the Houston Astros baseball team), Houston’s Museum District, and more.

Then transfer to a comfortable coach for the drive to Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico with miles of beaches.

During your time in Galveston enjoy hours on your own to explore the seaside restaurants, specialty shops, and historic sights at your own pace. Your knowledgeable guide has several ideas for you to plan your personalized day.

If you'd like, purchase lunch in the historic Galveston Strand district then stroll the shops and soak in the small town’s ambiance. Find fabulous views of the city on the 10-mile level, Galveston Seawall.

At the designated time, simply meet your guide to reboard your coach for the return trip to Houston and the Convention Center where the tour ends.

Houston City Tours

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Minute Maid Park (Pass By)

Buffalo Bayou Park (Pass By)

JPMorgan Chase Tower (Pass By)

Downtown Aquarium (Pass By)

The Seawall

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

1892 Bishop's Palace (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate

Children must be accompanied by an adult
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them board and disembark
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Elizabeth_Y

Carmen was super kind and knowledgeable! She had the entire van sing happy birthday to my daughter and kept calling her the birthday girl the entire trip! And thank you for taking us to Katie's; I'll never forget that chicken tender poboy! - your Atlanta girls!

Reviews

3.5

89 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 89 reviews

Bus ride to Galveston

Cheryl_H, Apr 2023

The tour bus was very small.it was overcrowded. The seating was uncomfortable. The air conditioning was not working at top capacity. The tour started late and ended very late. The tour guide was very in consistent. The tour guide made a extra stop dropping people off at a mall when we were already late getting home. Timing of the tour was late. The tour should list each description of each stop beforehand. I do not recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you for your message, your tour started on time with a complimentary Houston city tour and after a short restroom breaks the tour continued to Galveston and was great serving you . Everybody had a great time and we apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to serving you again.

Book it!

Elizabeth_Y, Apr 2023

Houston City and Galveston tour

Fiona_D, Mar 2023

Great day trip, tour guides friendly, professional. A good way to get to Houston and Galveston. Plenty of places to eat in Galveston.

Great day!

Brenda_P, Feb 2023

Great guides, very entertaining and fun! Very comfortable transportation. Did the city tour and Galveston on Mardi Gras which was a plus, excellent experience

Comprehensive tour

Suzanne_R, Jan 2023

The guide gave us a very comprehensive introduction to Galveston. I enjoyed travelling in a small group.

Lovely Island

WenyuanFan, Nov 2022

It's a very relaxed trip. Good see food, lovely stores. There are a lot of historical houses. Let me feel going back to 19 century.

Great tour

Francis_B, Nov 2022

This tour was very helpful because I learned so much more about Houston by riding into the red bus. Moreover, we had a plenty of time for visiting Galveston that was a fabulous city.

Houston/Galveston tour

Donna_D, Sep 2022

We took the Downtown Houston /Galveston combo day tour. The driver and guide were awesome - very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions. My only suggestion would be to offer a Galveston only day trip (only combo packages offered, this one and a NASA/Galveston day tour). Would have loved to spend more time in Galveston!

Good but could be much better

Mohamed_K, Sep 2022

Galveston visit and Houston 80 minutes tour. The Houston tour was good and informative. Galveston visit was ok but the program needs to include at least one or two entering to places or activities. It can’t just be transportation to and from the city and stopping for a few minutes in front of the beach and bishops palace for photos. This is the reason I have 3 out of 5. People are very friendly and professional, but program needs to improve to be worth the price. For example, a visit to the three pyramids, inside palace, dolphin tour, etc.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thank you so much for your suggestion is very valuable for us, when time permitted we like to add more attractions to the Galveston visit with out affecting your free time to explore and have lunch. Thanks again for the opportunity to serve you!

Unsatisfactory

David_C, Sep 2022

The Galveston tour was not worth it ,it was boring very little sightseeing and not worth the time and money

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thank you so much for your suggestion is very valuable for us, after your guided tour in Houston we included the round trip transportation to Galveston and we included a panoramic Galveston island tour with your free time to explore and have lunch. Thanks again for the opportunity to serve you!

A day well spent!

lanisha, Jul 2022

The day started with a tour of downtown Houston on an open top bus. It was informative. Only problem was the weather. It was too hot. The drive to Galveston was smooth. Our guide recommended Katie’s seafood and it was amazing! Fresh catch of the day, we’ll prepared. The dolphin ride was great fun.

The bishops house was...

Olga_c, Jul 2022

The bishops house was incredibly. Nicely doné. Amazing architecture.. A think there were a lot of work to build up the house.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you! Galveston tour is beautiful and was great serving you

Unprofessional

Antonio_R, Jun 2022

They sent me all the info & then sent me what seemed to be a cancellation email. But they sent me reviews still as if I went on the trip. No info to contact & clarify. To my knowledge no refund sent yet.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Dear guest , You did not purchased a tour directly with us ,and you requested a tour through a third party , when was not available and you where informed in person about the minimum of passengers required to operate and you agreed . The courtesy messages were send after and we never received payment from you. You paid a third party ,so we recommend you, to contact them. thank you.

Excellent Tour Guide.

Pol_C, Jun 2022

I and my family enjoyed the trip, from Houston sightseeing to Galveston, our driver and guide is excellent.

Great Value for the Money

Michael_M, May 2022

Ben and Chris make an excellent team. But special kudos to Ben. He’s very personable and funny. Knows so much about the area and it’s history. We exchanged much info and stories. Just an excellent experience for us!

Unfortunately they...

tdiane43, Apr 2022

Unfortunately they canceled my tour. I’m hoping to get a refund of my money. I have taken this tour in the past and it was really nice and I liked it as much that I wanted to do it again. But this experience of them canceling was not a good thing.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Dear guest, thank you for your message, tour services to Galveston are subject to availability and requires a minimum of participants to operate. For this reason we offered you more tour options and your refund was processed. We look forward to serving you!

Good trip, some issues with masks

Scott_K, Jan 2022

Overall experience was good, but very cold in open air bus for the tour of Houston. Galveston part was also good, but driver was not wearing a mask and mask wearing was not enforced in small, enclosed, van. The dolphin watch was also cancelled (good call, too cold) but we were not told of that until we were at Galveston and there was no mention of reimbursement for that part of the tour.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Thank you for your message, masks are optional in Texas and all our drivers and tour guides are fully vaccinated ;The complimentary Dolphin watch tour is a optional activity subject to availability and weather conditions. Safety is our priority.

Unprofessional.

Elena_S, Aug 2021

Very poor and unprofessional. Driver paid attention only to Mexican people. I didn’t learn anything. It was boring.

Day trip to Gavelston

Ms_P, Aug 2021

The tour was good. My only complaint would be to allow people maybe 10 minutes to take pictures at the sea wall.

A fun day trip to Galveston.

Mark_H, Jul 2021

Great narration. Timely pickups and interesting 45 min dolphin watch that was fun. The captain was entertaining.