Disclosure: I received complimentary passes from the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau and a rental 2018 Mazda6 Signature in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
Every year my family plans a spring break trip to help us get through the last stretch of winter. This time we wanted somewhere on the Gulf Coast, and Galveston Island, Texas, kept popping up in our searches. The island has a special charm—family-friendly attractions, amazing food, and beautiful white-sand beaches. Put it all together and Galveston makes for a fun, relaxing family getaway.
I’ve rounded up some of our favorite family-friendly things to do on Galveston Island. You could easily spend 3–4 days exploring, so plan for plenty of time!
12 Family-Friendly and Fun Things to Do on Galveston Island
1. Moody Gardens
Moody Gardens has three pyramid attractions: Rainforest, Aquarium, and Discovery. We visited the Rainforest Pyramid to see the plants and animals—my kids loved the otters, birds, and the terrarium marine life. Catch the talks and special exhibits if you can; we watched a marine feeding and the stingrays were a highlight. The Aquarium pyramid features a 1.5-million-gallon tank that feels like you’re under the ocean. The Discovery Pyramid offers museum exhibits, including a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles display. The grounds also have a ropes course and zip lines, Palm Beach lazy river, paddlewheel boats, theaters, and more. You can buy single- or multi-day passes or tickets to individual attractions. Allow several hours per pyramid.
2. The Seawall
The Galveston Seawall stretches more than 10 miles of beaches for sunbathing, picnics, swimming, and strolling. Lined with shops, restaurants, and bars, it offers great views—BLVD Seafood was one of our favorites. You’ll pay for street parking, but it’s an easy walk to the beach. Even on a chilly late-March day, we loved walking the Seawall, exploring the sand, and checking out the piers.
3. Harbor Tours
One of our favorite activities was a harbor tour with the Texas Seaport Museum. We took the Seagull II, a 50-foot boat, and learned about the area’s history, ports, wildlife, and industry. Dolphins even swam close to the boat, which thrilled everyone. The trip lasts about an hour—bring a light jacket or sweatshirt.
4. 1877 Tall Ship Elissa & Texas Seaport Museum
The Texas Seaport Museum is a great place to learn about local immigration and maritime history. It’s home to the Elissa, an 1877 tall ship you can board and explore above and below deck. My kids spent ages pretending to be pirates while checking every nook and cranny. Even cooler: Elissa is still a working ship—we saw her sailing a few days after our visit.
5. Eat ALL the Food
Galveston has a wide variety of delicious cuisines, and we made the most of fresh Gulf seafood. BLVD Seafood is perfect for a family meal with views of the Gulf and Pleasure Pier. We shared campechana (shrimp, crab, avocado, tomato with chips), soft-shell tacos, and cedar-plank salmon—don’t skip the bread pudding for dessert. For brunch, Yaga’s on the Strand is a bright, laid-back cafe with an affordable drink menu (carafes of mimosas for $9), and lots of brunch options—French toast, frittatas, burgers, and more. I loved the spicy “butta” shrimp. I’ve also heard good things about their live music and evening events.
6. Moody Mansion
The Moody Mansion is stunning and one of the nation’s most famous historic homes. Touring the house gives you a peek into the Moody family’s history and their impact on Galveston. The brick home features beautiful woodwork, art, and classic architecture.
7. Pleasure Pier
Galveston’s Historic Pleasure Pier is a family-friendly spot with rides, games, food, and shops—right on the water. The pier is lively and fun, with music and tempting smells. It can get pricey, so a wristband for unlimited rides is often the best value.
8. Space Center Houston
About an hour’s drive from Galveston, Space Center Houston is worth the trip. It’s an immersive, hands-on experience with over 400 exhibits—spacesuits, moon rocks, theaters, VR experiences, science demos, and astronaut talks. You can walk through the shuttle replica Independence mounted on the historic NASA 905 shuttle carrier aircraft and tour the massive plane. Our kids were blown away and talked about it for days. Budget at least 4–5 hours—there’s a lot to see.
9. Take the Ferry
A free ferry runs between Galveston Island and Port Bolivar. The crossing takes about 20 minutes and is a great, low-cost way to see the area—dolphins often follow the boat. Lines to drive on can be long, so consider parking and riding as a passenger. Kids love the higher deck for watching ships and the shoreline.
10. Seawolf Park
On Pelican Island, Seawolf Park features historic naval vessels like the WWII submarine USS Cavalla and the destroyer escort USS Stewart. Walk around and explore the ships to learn about life at sea and naval history. The park also has one of the island’s best playgrounds—bring snacks and drinks and let the little ones run.
11. Drive the Coast
Grab road-trip snacks and drive the coast. A unique perk of Galveston is that you can drive on parts of the beach with a pass. We stuck mostly to the roads but took a short cruise along the sand—so much fun. For our trip we drove a 2018 Mazda6 Signature, which was a great family sedan. The interior felt plush and comfortable (heated steering wheel and seats were welcome on a cold, rainy day), the back seat had plenty of room for two large car seats, and the trunk easily fit our luggage. Aerial view parking assist was handy for tight street parking.
The Mazda6 Signature has helpful driver assists: Mazda Radar Cruise Control automatically adjusted our highway speed to keep a safe distance from the car ahead; you can set how much space you want. We used a larger gap in heavy Houston traffic and tightened it for open-road cruising. Lane Keep Assist can feel surprising at first, but it was accurate and reassuring—if you drift, it vibrates the wheel and makes a small steering correction to guide you back. These features made driving smoother and safer for our family.
12. Schlitterbahn
Schlitterbahn wasn’t open when we visited, but it’s a well-known water park in Galveston. Their site says guests will find thrilling water slides, wave rivers, water coasters, longer rides, free parking, and picnic-friendly grounds—great for families and large groups.
Have you been to Galveston Island?
To see more photos and videos from our trip, check my Instagram highlight reel.
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