Wow! I have not been to Galveston in YEARS, probably decades!!! But was looking for something fun…read moreto do with my mom for Mother's Day weekend and stumbled across this business. The staff were extremely nice and friendly! They were accommodating to walk in like us and gave us instructions on how and where to drive. DO NOT DRIVE ON THE MAIN STREET (BROADWAY) lol. You will need your DL and insurance policy number for the rental. The vintage whip was fun to drive while feeling the island breeze. It can definitely get bumpy; at times, I felt like I was driving a school bus lol. But this was absolutely a fun and pleasure! Highly recommend. I also think it's affordable, $60 for 1 hour, that was all we needed. We spent time at the Seawall too.

This was SO much fun!! My family grew up and lived on Galveston Island, so when we came to visit my…read moreparents thought it would be a great idea to rent one of the small buggies and drive it around to show us their old stomping grounds. The buggies were fun to drive in and a great, and very cute way to get around town! The rental process was easy and the couple running the shop were kind and showed us how to do everything. I highly recommend if you're visiting the area to do this with friends/family!

Nearly 19,000 square feet of a step back in time makes this a great break from the heat and beach…read more The historical explanations are sort and interesting. Highly recommended.

During a long weekend trip last week to Galveston, I was fortunate enough that a waitress at BLVD…read moreSeafood recommended I check this old house out. It was nicely laid out and you could walk up and buy a ticket with a self guided audio tour of the place that included historical tid bits about the family and what was happening in the area at the time they lived in it. They apparently have private tours of the upstairs/attic areas but those you have to book and pay for in advance. I enjoyed the audio tour and even bought a few items at the quite spacious gift store! At times I felt like I was the only one in the house because it was probably a non tourist heavy day. You can easily park on the street and walk in to buy a ticket the day of...well at least on the day I was there!

Tyler was fantastic, he managed to keep control of the group while keeping it funny and…read moreinformative! This was a fun way to spend a couple hours in the evening while learning some Galveston history and folklore.

I took this tour with Chris and he was very knowledgeable and provided a wealth of information…read moreabout historical Galveston. I enjoyed it

The strand was good and lots of information from the tickets seller for the dolphin tours. We…read morelearned that they just came back from New York. They will be open in a few weeks.

Did you know that Galveston, Texas used to be the "Ellis Island" of the South? Immigrants from all…read moreover the world would come through Galveston and either move into central Texas via the railroads (hence the large German and Czech populations of Texas Hill country and Oklahoma) or they'd take the Mississippi River North towards Illinois and Iowa or branch off into Tennessee. Galveston used to be a bustling, metropolitan and diverse city with languages from all over the world being spoken here. When the East Coast talked of limiting immigration, especially to Jews fleeing Russian pogroms, New York financier and philanthropist Jacob Schiff and Galveston's B'nai Israel's Rabbi Henry Cohen spearheaded the Galveston Plan to reroute Jewish immigrants from the East Coast to Texas. There was a substantial fear that the poverty, overcrowding and cultural differences in Jewish immigrant neighborhoods would increase anti-Semitic frustrations on the East Coast, which would then lead to immigration restrictions on Jews. While some Jews fleeing pogroms fled to Palestine, tens of thousands of them came to Galveston to settle in the South and Midwest. Not only was Galveston a place for freedom for immigrants fleeing persecution abroad, Galveston was an important stop on runaway slaves' path to Mexico or even Northern states that had outlawed slavery. I didn't know any of this before visiting this museum. The museum at this historic seaport was incredibly informative and so well done. Our ticket came with entry to the museum and access to the tall ship Elissa and we paid for an add-on of the Galveston harbor tour in a boat. It was an excellent tour, the ship was actively being trained on and restored while we were there and the museum was fantastic. Highly recommended! Visited November 2025

This was a wonderful and crazy interesting tour. Kimber, the author of the book "Red Light…read moreDistrict" (sold all over the island), was the guide and she was such a pleasure to listen to. She had so many fun facts that you simply wouldn't find easily by your own doing. We learned, we laughed, we had a blast! Highly recommend it.

If you live in TX and/or have been to Galveston, you know some of Galveston's history. But with…read morethis tour you learn about some of the city's history you haven't heard before and it is very interesting. Dave did a good job. It is an easy walkable tour with a few places to sit during the tour. Glad we added it to our things to do list.

While visiting family in Lumberton, we went to Galveston for a day on our way to Houston. We…read morevisited the Galveston Naval Museum. Upon arrival, we had to pay-to-park, which I thought was weird, especially since you've got to pay an entrance fee, as well! On the flip side, it wasn't very busy that day, so wasn't difficult to find parking! It was very interesting to explore the WWII USS Cavalla Submarine & the Destroyer escort USS Stewart. With few visitors on site while we were, we made it through both vessels quickly, even taking numerous photos! A couple of notable issues include the fact that the museum was undergoing renovation and the only restrooms were 'FRU-FRY' port-o-lets at the absolute end of the tour, adjacent to the gift store. The gift store was a small one-room (10x10) air-conditioned building, (picture a portable storage unit) that had very few mediocre Knick-knacks to choose from (stickers, toys, post cards (who collects post cards anymore???) The choices in the gift store insinuate that children would enjoy the museum. The current generation of individuals is most definitely NOT interested in military armamentarium.

This is a small naval museum on a quiet little island with a fishing pier and park. Touring the…read moresubmarine and battleship was very cool, historic, and in need of restoration. I'm guessing that's why admission runs on the higher side. Still, we had a good, educational hour exploring everything. Just note there's an extra charge for parking.

Fun and entertaining, knowledgable guide; HIGHLY recommend.read more

From the owner: Galveston Tour Co…read more Business hours: 9am to 5pm, seven days a week Average ticket price range: $20 to $30 Tours: Galveston Mansions and Murder Tour: Learn about the city's rich history and culture on this fascinating tour of some of Galveston's most notable mansions. Galveston Sweets and Treats Tour: Indulge your sweet tooth on this tour of some of Galveston's best bakeries and candy shops. Galveston's Secrets of the Strand Tour: Discover hidden gems that most visitors never see on this off-the-beaten-path tour of Galveston's historic Strand district. Tour type: Walking tours Our tours are led by experienced guides who are passionate about sharing their knowledge of Galveston. We offer a variety of tour times and options to fit your schedule and interests. Book your tour today and start exploring Galveston with Galveston Tour Co.!

March 18, 2022 Galveston Island Texas…read more Went to an event that was sponsored by the Villa but was put on by "Rockstar Beer Festivals" We sat at a sold out show for about an hour 15 minutes. We listened to the narrator tell us ghost stories about the owners of Ashton Villa and other well knowns while we sipped cocktails (not one craft beer though which there is plenty of local breweries here) They "tried" to make it like the ghosts were present in the home, but, that was funny not haunted. We stayed in the big banquet room the entire time; we never toured the home (I've seen this home before but, I'm sure others had not, my friend included) C'mon, now if you're during a haunted ghost story event in a beautiful 3 story "historical" home that's a survivor of the 1900 storm that wiped out this island...you gotta move around and see the place. Disappointed. The drinks were very tasty. The crew was nice. The narrator was a good story teller AND he hammered a 6 inch nail into his nose, besides the awesome location, these were the best parts. For $46...and a BIG emphasis on tipping, it wasn't worth it. 5 STARS for the location. 3 for the event.

I grew up coming here and as an adult went to a few weddings. Today I went to celebrate Juneteenth…read morebecause it began in Galveston and this is where General Gordon Granger read off the proclamation for the emancipation of the slaves. As Ashton Villa was the site of the reading, it holds a special place in history. I am proud of this beautiful home in my wonderful hometown.

If you're looking to do a harbor tour and dolphin watch this is the one you want to do. The tour…read morestarts with a brief talk about the Elissa then moves into the harbor channel where dolphins are abundant. We happened to catch them in the middle of a mating ritual! They took us around the cruise terminals, pointed out several things about Pelican Island and the oil rig museum. Right around to Sea Wolf Park and to the concrete ship. The crew were knowledgeable and entertaining. We've been to Galveston several times and can't believe we didn't do this before.

We went to Elissa as part of the Dickens on the Strand festival and it was our favorite part of the…read morefestival! Of course it's open other times too. It was clean, amazingly fun to see all the spaces. If you have a baby you'll want to baby wear them. Strollers can't go below deck because it's stairs. We took kids 2+ years old and it was possible and functional for them. Some of the stairs are tight or small spaces but you don't have to take the smallest stair you can take one main stair down and then back up. The crew were so kind and helpful! The atmosphere was light and jolly. We have a delightful time. There is a bathroom in their gift shop and benches by the gift shop for anyone who needs to sit. There is also parking just there near it, paid is what we used, not sure about unpaid. Worth every penny!

Was a really cool experience! The guide (forgot name) was really good! Spoke very clear with a lot…read moreof confidence! Which sounds like it should be that way but we also did a ghost tour at the stockyards. And The tour guide there seemed unsure about a lot lol! I snapped some pictures where I caught something. I showed them to the guide he said those are definitely orbs. Also... during the tour something tugged on my shoulder as if someone was trying to get my attention. I thought it was my g/f but she wasn't anywhere near me. Nobody was. It wasn't a slight tug. It was hard enough to where I immediately noticed. And I was near the middle of the street with nothing around me nor was I caught on anything.

We really enjoyed our cemetery ghost tour. It was fun and informative. We learned a lot about dead…read morehistorical figures in the Galveston area. We were given 15 mins to walk around and take pictures and some of the people in our group had some interesting ghostly figures in their pictures. Our guide was really sweet, informative, and she did a great job. My kids and their friends really enjoyed. I can't wait to do another one. I highly recommend.