Even though I am a Texas native, I haven’t even scratched the surface of exploring all of the unique destinations that this state that I’ve called home my whole entire life has to offer. But, we do have some favorites that we’ve visited many, many times and will continue going back to! Texas can be a great state to visit, we’re super friendly here! I hope you find these places just as special as we do!

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Galveston Island, Texas

Galveston is one of those places that I hold very near and dear to my heart. I grew up going down to Galveston every summer as a child. I really cannot even count the number of times we’ve been there. We’ve visited the island in every season, and I can honestly say that each one has its own unique pros and cons.

• List of Galveston Favorites:
• Historic Pleasure Pier
• Moody Gardens
• The Strand
• Ferry to Bolivar Peninsula
• Tour Historic Mansions
• Galveston Island State Park
• Murdoch’s Bath House
• Rent 4-seater bikes and ride along the Sea Wall
• Schlitterbahn Galveston Waterpark
• Deep Sea Fishing Charters
• Boat Tours
• Mini Golf

If you’ve never visited Galveston, most of the hotels are built across the street from the beach along the Seawall. During the summers, it’s pretty crowded. You can stay at the hotels along the Seawall and walk across the street for beach access or park your car in designated spots all the way down the Seawall. We only stay at one place in Galveston, which is Seascape Condominiums. These condos are farther down the Seawall, but are actually built on the ocean side and we don’t have to cross the street to get to the beach. We also love having bedrooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen!

Summers in Galveston are all about sun, sand, and saltwater! While you will not find pristine blue water and white sand beaches here, you will find a good time! I’ve never found sand course enough to build sandcastles like the sand down in Galveston. And while we have taken our boys to some of the best beaches in the Caribbean, they will tell anyone that asks that Galveston is their favorite beach! I don’t think they love it because of the beauty, but because of the memories that this special place holds.

It’s very hot and humid in Galveston during the summer. Most of our time here in this season involves playing at the beach or swimming in the pool during the day. There are several restaurants along the Seawall and also on The Strand, but be prepared to wait for a while because of the summer crowds. The downtown area is really fun, we love going to the candy shop and watching saltwater taffy being made! And you can’t miss a trip to Pleasure Pier or Murdoch’s souvenir shop!

Fall and spring both offer cooler temps, not too favorable for ocean swimming. Although, my crazy kids will swim here any time of the year! But you will often still find people lounging on the beach or playing in the sand. The pool at Seascape is heated, so my boys love to swim there when it’s chilly outside! I love visiting at these times because its way less crowded and easier to enjoy your stay without fighting the crowds! I usually see the most dolphins out in the water during the fall/spring months, as well.

Winter can be a great time to visit, but it can also be very moody too. I’ve been to Galveston a couple times during December and February. One visit, it was very cold and foggy and we spent most of our time finding things indoors to do. Another time, it was very enjoyable and we spent a lot of our time outside! With that being said, I have enjoyed all of our visits, no matter what time of year we go!

• Beach Must Haves:
• Elta MD Sunscreen – My dermatologist recommended! (I have had skin cancer)
• Cooler bag – Holds 54 cans!
• Beach wagon – This purchase changed our life!
• Beach Canopy – This is a must have at the beach or camping!
• Bug Spray – You will need this in Galveston for mosquitos        
• Rash guard – Highly recommend for sun protection! (I sized up)
• First aid kit – We take this kit on all of our adventures!

Click here for more information about visiting Galveston!

Dallas, Texas

This past summer we did our first Dallas Staycation, and boy did we have a fun time! This city has a lot to offer, from malls, to hands-on museums, to city parks and zoos, to delicious restaurants. Dallas definitely has something for everyone! The Dallas area really consists of Dallas, Fort Worth, Grapevine, and several other smaller but really neat cities nearby!  All are pretty close to one another and all offer a lot of exciting activities.

• List of Dallas Favorites:
• The Dallas World Aquarium
• The Dallas Zoo
• The Dallas Arboretum
• The Perot Museum of Nature and Science
• The Sixth Floor Museum
• The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
• The Reunion Tower
• Klyde Warren Park
• Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park
• Dallas Cowboys
• Dallas Mavs
• Dallas Stars

On our staycation we chose to stay in Downtown Dallas and picked a hotel with a roof top pool. The Sheraton Dallas is an excellent choice, especially if you’re visiting in the summer!

We also took advantage of the Dallas City Pass and our experience and savings were incredible. I cannot recommend this pass enough. With the City Pass we visited the Perot Museum, The Dallas Holocaust Museum, The George W. Bush Presidential Library, and took in the sunset from the Reunion Tour GeO-Deck.

We also went to the Grapevine Mills Mall for the Stranger Things Experience and spent some time at the WhoaZone on Lake Grapevine! We ended the stay with some time at the Dallas World Aquarium! And of course, we didn’t do half of the things that Dallas has to offer.

In the summer, Klyde Warren Park is a fun place to cool down and beat the heat in the fountains. There are also several food trucks nearby. The museums also offer a nice reprieve from the sun. And the baseball park is now enclosed and air conditioned, so catch a baseball game and cheer on the Texas Rangers!

I would recommend going to the Dallas or Fort Worth Zoo and the Dallas Arboretum in either the spring or fall when the weather is more pleasant. The Arboretum is gorgeous year round, but we especially love the pumpkin village in October! And you can watch the Dallas Cowboys play or tour the stadium at any time!

Nearby Grapevine is known as the Christmas Capital of Texas! I highly recommend visiting this neat town during the holiday season! Watch the Dallas Mavs play a basketball game or cheer on the Dallas Stars hockey team while you’re close by!

Our malls in the area offer great food, excellent high-end shopping, and other exciting experiences. The Galleria has an ice skating rink while The Grapevine Mills Mall has LEGOLAND and SeaLife Aquarium. The Stonebriar Mall in Frisco has KidsZania and The Shops at Willow Bend has a Crayola Experience! The North Park Mall has a duck and turtle pond and you cannot miss seeing The Trains at North Park during Christmastime!

There truly is so much to do here, in any season, for any and every one! And I never really touched on the amazingly delicious food, which you’ll just have to eat to believe. We’d love to welcome you to experience all that North Texas has to offer!  

Click here for more information about visiting Dallas, Texas!

Glen Rose, Texas

If you’re fascinated with dinosaurs, then you need to add Glen Rose, TX to your travel bucket list! What makes Glen Rose so incredible are all of the unique activities this little town has to offer!

• List of Glen Rose Favorites:
• Dinosaur Valley State Park
• Dinosaur World
• Fossil Rim
• Big Rocks Park
• Tubing on the Paluxy River

Glen Rose is known as the Dinosaur Capital of Texas and here you can actually search for real dinosaur footprints and tracks along the Paluxy River in Dinosaur Valley State Park! This activity is a family favorite of ours! We love throwing on our swimsuits and rain boots and exploring the river beds for tracks. Just be careful, it can be so slippery!

There’s also a fun family attraction called Dinosaur World that my boys love! This place has over a hundred life sized dinosaur replicas that show these dinosaurs in a natural setting. There are also different interactive exhibits and animatronics that we all enjoyed and I especially liked the assortment of fossils. My boys were all about the gift shop!

Fossil Rim is a fun wildlife center and drive through safari! We laughed so hard feeding the various animals that roamed past our vehicle. The giraffes are my most favorite, but we’ve never been lucky enough to have one come close enough to feed. One day it will happen though! Be prepared for lots of fun and lots of animal slobber!

Another exciting adventure in Glen Rose is Big Rocks Park! There’s not a lot of information about this place, I only found the address online and then happened to come across another blog or travel review about this place. We spent a full day here playing & climbing on the rocks and cooling off in the water. My boys really enjoyed the rope swings hanging from the trees! This park was pretty crowded when we visited, but fun was still had!

We’ve camped in Glen Rose, we’ve visited just for a day trip, and we’ve also stayed at one of the hotels in town. There are lodging options available for all needs. On one of our camping trips to Glen Rose, we rented tubes and floated down the river. The rental company dropped us off with our tubes and then picked us back up where the river ended. It was a nice and relaxing float and you can really see the true beauty of Glen Rose and the Paluxy River!

Click here for more information about visiting Glen Rose, Texas!

San Antonio, Texas

When I think of San Antonio I am always flooded with happy memories, dating back to my childhood! This is another place that I visited with my family and I had the most amazing time here on our 7^th grade history trip many, many years ago. San Antonio is full of history, the most delicious food, and has always been a fun destination to visit!

• List of San Antonio Favorites:
• The Alamo
• The River Walk
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Six Flags Fiesta Texas
• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
• Historic Market Square
• Natural Bridge Caverns  

If you follow our travels you might already know that I am a huge fan of our country’s history. So naturally, The Alamo ranks high on my list! The grounds around the Alamo are beautiful and the museum cannot be missed. Across the street from the Alamo you will also find some touristy places like a Ripley’s Believe it or Not, a haunted house, and a wax museum. These are fun if you’re looking for something extra to do!

The River Walk is one of my favorite attractions in Texas! It is absolutely gorgeous and I love nothing more than walking along the river taking in the all sights, stopping to eat Mexican food and sip a margarita, and shopping! There are several amazing restaurants and hotels right along the river. If you visit, you have to take a guided a boat ride on the river! We especially love visiting in December. They really do Christmas right and the millions of lights along the River Walk are magical!

I just recently visited the Historic Market Square and it truly felt like we were walking along the streets in Mexico. The colors, the sounds, the smells, ah I loved it all! But I didn’t take a single photo! The weather was so mild in December, we were able to sit outside on the patio and have Mexican food while listening to a singer perform. This was a fantastic stop on our way out of San Antonio and back home.

Natural Bridge Caverns is a great stop if you have kids or just really enjoy caves. We like to stop here on our way into San Antonio. It’s a nice way to get out of the car and stretch your legs. And there’s just something so fascinating about caves! I don’t have any recent digital photos here, but there are several on the website I linked above.

Click here for more information about visiting San Antonio, Texas!

There are so many other places to visit in Texas! I am including a list of other Texas destinations to add to your Texas travel bucket list! I have been to several of these places, but not recently and I only want to share places that I feel I can adequately give you details & share recent photos and recommendations about.

• More Texas Travel Destinations:
• Austin – Check out the TX state capital building, enjoy live music & great eats, hike or swim at one of the many parks/lakes!
• Fort Worth – Check out the Fort Worth Stockyards!
• Houston – Check out NASA!
• Waco – Check out the Silos, The Dr. Pepper Museum, & Waco Mammoth National Monument!
• Caddo Lake State Park – Explore this unique environment of marshes and cypress trees by hiking or kayaking!
• Big Bend National Park – Explore the mountains, desert, and river in this area!
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park – Check out El Capitan Peak!

Check back for more to come, I’ve realized that we need to take a few local trips in our home state! If you have a Texas destination or recommendation, I’d love for you to leave a comment!