Trip Ideas for Summer
Good Morning, friends.
How was your weekend? I hope it was lovely with ample moments of joy.
We’re inching closer to May and that means summer is right around the corner. Yes, I said it. It’s happening. As much as I do not care for summer because Houston is unbearably hot, I do appreciate that families get more time together between the school years ending and starting. I remember the excitement I felt for summertime to arrive. My family took a lot of road trips to the Ft. Walton (Destin), down to Orlando for Disney, and then upwards to Ohio for family reunions. Sometimes we’d go elsewhere during the summers and our family cruises tended to be around spring break timing.
My parents owned a flower shop though, so a lot of our summer days were spent helping them out there or in doing house projects for our house or Mammaw’s house like painting, mowing, cleaning etc. Yet, summer was still something to look forward to.
So, with all of that to be said I was thinking of creating a list of ideas for family trips for the summer. These ideas will be based on the premise that you live in Houston, though whether you drive or fly from here then you could certainly drive or fly from another city/state as well.
Let’s take a look. And don’t forget you can pin this to Pinterest to save for later or to share it. Sharing is caring. 😉
WITHIN TEXAS:
1) Galveston, TX: This is a given considering the proximity to Houston, but there’s actually quite a bit to do while down there. The beach, Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn Galveston, Rainforest Cafe, Pleasure Pier, the shops and restaurants at The Strand, museums, ample restaurants, hotels, or Airbnb’s.
2) New Braunfels and Gruene, TX: I’m a huge fan of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and you can take your own food and drinks (just no glass and no alcohol). Plus, there’s tubing the Comal River or Gruene River, shopping, antiquing, enjoying some country music at Gruene Hall, or dining at the Gristmill. There’s a lot of cute boutiques to shop at in Gruene, too. If you’re brave enough to contend with bugs and heat, there’s a lot of campgrounds along the river which do make for fun memories with the kiddos. You can easily visit Canyon Lake or Lake Wimberly.
3) San Marcos and Austin, TX: There’s tubing and natural caverns to check out such as Wonder World Cave & Adventure Park. There’s outlet shopping, glass bottom boat tours, and museums. You can check out the Texas State University campus in San Marcos or the University of Texas campus in Austin. Depending upon ages, there’s shopping, restaurants, and bars on 5th and 6th Street in Austin, some with live music. You can visit the state capitol building as well. And of course, let’s not forget Lake Austin and Lake Travis.
4) San Antonio, TX: Visit the Alamo and other historical museums and sites for free, take a tour of the River Walk and eat there as well, visit Natural Bridge Caverns or Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, visit LegoLand Discovery Center, visit SeaWorld, the San Antonio Botanical Garden or the San Antonio Zoo.
5) Waco, TX: I obviously needed to include this for Magnolia Table and the Silos, but there’s more to do in the area. You can visit the Baylor Campus, Cameron Park Zoo, Cameron Park, Cottonland Castle, the Dr. Pepper Museum, visit Texas vineyards, wineries, and breweries. There’s Hawaiian Falls Waterpark, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and other museums or monuments. Outside of Waco, there’s Texas Safaris and Blue Hills Ranch where you can swim with otters, feed kangaroos or giraffes, and see other safari animals.
6) Dallas, TX: Visit the Dallas World Aquarium, science or art museums, the Holocaust & Human Rights Museum, the Dallas Zoo, the Children’s Aquarium, The Nazarene Immersive Experience, the Texas Zoofari Park, or attend the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. There’s endless things to do in the area.
Other options: Padre Island, Corpus Christi, and Rockport.
Without going into detail on these because they’re a hint more for adults: Marfa, Fredericksburg, and Brenham/Roundtop are great Texas stops as well.
OUTSIDE OF TEXAS (but road trip distance):
1) Gulf Shores, AL: white sand beaches and beautiful water. It’s a nice destination on the other side of the Mississippi River or a stopping place for a night or two if you’re continuing east.
2) Destin and Ft. Walton, FL: This area is known for the bright blue waters as well. There’s many other small beach towns in this “30A” area that are popular for families and you can fly into Ft. Walton.
3) Orlando, FL: This is an obvious suggestion for the multiple theme parks such as Disney World and Universal Studios. There’s plenty to do and water parks to enjoy. It’s a longer drive, of course, but you can also easily fly there.
4) Cruises from Galveston, New Orleans, or Orlando. I know some people are adverse to the idea of cruises, but I grew up cruising every year with a lot of family onboard and we had a blast. We met other kids and teenagers to hang out with, too. You can choose from 3 to 7 day cruises and it really is a budget friendly “all inclusive” option for families. I say “all inclusive” because most do not include alcohol and any tours are an extra charge. My dad frequently planned for us to return to the ship to eat so we didn’t spend extra money while on the islands.
5) Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN: This is a year round hot spot for families to visit as there’s a lot of things to do while surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountains. Dollywood is out there as well and I hear it’s quite fun.
6) Hot Springs, AR: The Hot Springs area has a lot of outdoorsy things to do with the rivers, lakes, swimming holes, and hot springs, as well as national parks, water parks, zip lines, zoos and more.
Other options: Visit small towns in other states to tour farms, creameries, small shops, and antiquing.
I didn’t suggest road trips headed west out of Texas for a reason…it takes too long to get out of Texas! But, if you feel so inclined there’s many amazing places to see in New Mexico and upwards into Colorado.
This meme about the GPS voice interrupting the songs PAINS ME. I laughed so darn hard at it.
What type of summer trips did your parents take you on as a kid? Is there a particular vacation you enjoy taking your little ones on now that you’re an adult? Comment below!
XOXO
