Galveston Island is the closest beach to us in north Texas. We like to travel down to the coast a couple of times a year. And we only stay at one place, Seascape Condominiums! It’s the best place to stay in Galveston!
The view from the balcony!
We’ve been staying at Seascape for over ten years now. Our first visit was when my oldest was almost two. Now he’s twelve! My boys LOVE this place. It holds so many special memories for us.
Galveston is our happy place!
What Makes Seascape So Great?
Beach Access – The location to the beach is the absolute best! If you’re familiar with Galveston, then you know that most of the hotels are located across the street from the beach. So on beach day, if you’re staying anywhere else, you have to lug all of your stuff across the busy Seawall to get access to the beach. Seascape Condominiums is actually one of the few places that sits right on the beach side! That means, you simply walk outside and over the boardwalk, and you’re on the beach!
The boardwalk from the grounds to the beach!
I love the convenience of being just a short walk back to our room or the restrooms by the pool. I cannot imagine having to go back and forth across the four lane road. There’s many reasons that we love Seascape Condos, but the location right on the beach is number one for me!
Seascape Condos sits right on the beach!
Space – Staying in a condo is always much more spacious than a hotel room! The units have several different floor options, but the one we return to year after year has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and full kitchen, plus two balconies! It’s very spacious for our family of four and we’ve even stayed there with friends and have easily slept up to eight with the bunk beds in the hallway and the sleeper sofa!
One of the two balconies in this unit!
Living room
Kitchen
Bunks in the hallway
Master bedroom
Master bathroom
Bathroom
Second bedroom
Bathroom
An added bonus is having a washer and dryer! I don’t particularly like doing laundry on vacation, but having a dryer is a game changer! We use the dryer for our beach towels, so each day they are nice and dry for us. We sometimes even throw our swimsuits in the dryer to remove sand and dry them for the day. There is nothing worse than putting on wet swimsuits in the morning!
Washer and dryer in the master closet
Pools – Our favorite place at Seascape Condos is the pool area! There is a large swimming pool and it’s even heated in the winter! There’s a kids pool and two hot tubs. One hot tub is open to anyone above the age of six. The other hot tub is more secluded and is only for adults age twenty-one and older. The landscape around the pool is beautifully maintained and there are plenty of lounge chairs and picnic tables! You’ll also find restrooms and vending machines near the pool area.
We love the pools!
I’ve taught both of my boys how to swim in this pool!
Safety – Finally, we always feel really safe when staying here! There is a guard that is stationed at the entrance of Seascape. These guards are on sight twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They monitor the vehicles coming in and out and only registered guests or condo owners are permitted. They also walk the grounds several times per day to ensure that everyone is safe and behaving appropriately.
You cannot get onto the grounds without a special gate code!
The pool area and beach area are only accessed with a special gate code that you receive upon check in. So, the beach in front of the hotel is essentially only used by guests from Seascape Condos. And guests are required to wear a bracelet while staying at Seascape to ensure that only registered guests/owners are on site and using the facilities and pools.
Address: 10811 Termini-San Luis Pass Rd, Galveston, TX 77554
Phone Number: (409) – 740 – 1245
If you’re looking for the best place to stay in Galveston, be sure to check out Seascape Condominiums! This is one of the few destinations that we keep returning to. The units are the perfect size for families of all sizes. The grounds are stunning and the location on the beach is ideal!
Nothing is better than a gorgeous Texas sunset at the beach!
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 in September
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.
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!
Seascape Condominiums
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.
Building sandcastles in the summer!
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!
My boys happy place!
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.
Galveston in April
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!
Galveston in December
Beach Must Haves:
Elta MD Sunscreen – My dermatologist recommended! (I have had skin cancer)
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
Dallas Skyline from the Reunion Tower GeO-Deck
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.
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!
Enjoying the pool!
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.
View from the Reunion Tower
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.
WhoaZone Grapevine, TX
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!
Dallas World Aquarium
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!
Dallas Arboretum
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!
Reunion Tower
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
Dinosaur World
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!
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!
Real dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River
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!
Dinosaur World
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!
Fossil Rim
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!
Big Rocks Park
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!
Big Rocks Park
Click herefor more information about visiting Glen Rose, Texas!
San Antonio, Texas
River Walk
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 7th 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!
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 Alamo
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!
River Walk decorated for the holidays!
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!
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!
Road Trip Queen 