19 Best Things to Do in Galveston/Crystal Beach (Part 1)

My family and I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Bolivar Peninsula and taking the Ferry to Galveston on a weekend trip. Despite the rain during our time there, we had a fabulous time! Lets get into the things we did while visiting!

Bolivar Penisula/Crystal Beach

Tia Juanita’s Fish Camp

Tia Juanita’s is a very popular restaurant on Crystal Beach. When we visited and anytime we drove past, it was always busy! Our first night there we were looking for a healthier option and Tia Juanita’s came up during our searching. Before going to dinner here, I did not realize this restaurant was a Texas chain, with 14 locations spread throughout the state. 

We ordered the Spicy Guacamole Appetizer and the Grilled Chicken and Veggies. While the fish options looked good, we knew we would be eating a lot of different fish during our stay so we opted for the chicken this time around. 

The spicy Guacamole was good, however, if you are looking for something with a kick, this is not it. It could have been the batch we got, but my husband and I both felt like it barely had any spice to it. The grilled chicken and veggies platter was delicious and I would love to go back and get it again or try one of the fish platters. Our meal came with a mix of veggies, Mexican rice, and Mango Pineapple Pico. It all combined for some great flavor! If we are in an area with a Tia Juanita’s in the future, we are sure to go back. 

Check out their menu here: https://www.tjfishcamp.com/crystal-beach-menu

The Big Store

Before we went to Crystal Beach I had read quite a few articles that talked about the Big Store. I knew we would want to go there as we like to grab groceries while traveling in order to save money. When we drove to the store, if I had not been using my GPS, I would have missed it! The building itself is fairly plain on the outside. There is a sign, but it is not very noticeable. 

The store itself has a decent amount of items, but if you are looking for more speciality type foods such as Dairy free  or gluten free products, they may be harder to find. They have a wide selection of fruits and vegetables but a very limited selection of organic produce. The few organic items I did see were VERY expensive. We ended up going to Galveston the next day and stopped at Walmart for fresh produce and we got it at a much better price! 

If you are looking for food and drinks to bring to the beach or easy meals to cook out, The Big Store has all of your staples. We even bought Blue bell ice cream to keep at our RV to save money versus buying dessert out. It is worth a visit for grabbing some quick groceries while on the peninsula. 

Check them out here: https://thebigstorecrystalbeach.com/

The beach!

There are several beaches on the Bolivar Peninsula and each beach allows you to drive on them as long as you have a yearly parking pass. You can easily buy this pass from the stores in the area (such as the big store) or if you are renting a golf cart, they typically already come with a pass. Crystal Beach is the most well known beach in the area but we chose to go to Bolivar Beach due to its easy access from where we were staying. We went on a Sunday afternoon and had several spots to choose from to park and enjoy the ocean. There was a decent amount of cars and golf carts on the sand behind us who were looking for spots to park, but it was not bothersome at all. We had plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the day. We enjoyed spending the day in the water, playing in the sand, and even seeing the cruise ships sail away from Galveston in the distance.

Bolivar Point Lighthouse

While you are unfortunately unable to go inside the lighthouse or see it up close, the Bolivar Point Lighthouse is a fun and quick spot to see from a distance. It is located not far from the Ferry or Fort Travis. We stopped when we were on our way to Fort Travis for the Playground and grabbed a quick picture. 

Playground at Fort Travis Park

During the trip, our 18 month old daughter needed some time to run around and when researching playgrounds on the Bolivar Peninsula, there were not many options. We saw there was one at Fort Travis, so we decided to check it out. While the playground was geared for children a bit older than her, it still was fun and had a large green space around it to run around. Side note: there were a lot of insects flying around during our spring visit. I would recommend bringing bug spray in case you need it. 

We did not have time to explore the fort as we visited in the evening but we hope to go back and get to explore this on our next trip!

Taking the Galveston Port Bolivar Ferry

We had so much fun taking this ferry! The Galveston Port Bolivar Ferry is a free ferry that is run 24 hours a day from the Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston and back. They have varying amounts of ferry boats that they run at one time, so your wait time will depend on the total amount of ferry’s in operation and how many cars are getting on before you. Sometimes waits can exceed 1.5-2 hours during peak times. Even though we were there during a holiday weekend, we never had any issues getting on the next available ferry and we also had minimal wait times! 

If you decide to drive on, you still can experience all of the fun of getting out of your vehicle and enjoying the views and the cool crisp air that greets you as you travel. We took the Ferry several times so we enjoyed the views several different ways. The first time we traveled on the ferry, we all got out and took the stairs to the top deck. We really enjoyed doing this and getting to watch all the other boats, see the ferry coming the other direction, and see the sights as we neared Galveston. It is a fun way to travel! 

Other times, we either got out of our vehicle and stood by the railing on the main deck or one time we were sent to the lane that was on the outside of the boat and we were able to stay in our vehicle to enjoy the views. One of our favorite things to do was to watch for the dolphins. It was so fun to see them pop out of the water and it became a game on who could spot them first!

We also traveled one time during a storm. I was unsure if they would still operate in this weather but they did! We had a great experience with the ferry and all the employees we interacted with were very friendly. I highly recommend this as a fun and free activity and a great way to see another area on your trip.

Check out the wait times here: 

https://traffic.houstontranstar.org/ferrytimes/ferrywaittimes_travel.aspx

Island Cafe

Breakfast on the Bolivar Peninsula had limited options and therefore the places that are open tend to get busy. Knowing this, we went ahead and got in line for Island Cafe, even though there was a pretty long line for their Drive Thru. They only have drive thru service so we were unable to walk up or go inside to order. 

We ordered a Frappe, Sausage Biscuit, breakfast toaster sandwich, and a hash brown. We all enjoyed our food but the only drawback was the wait. They take all orders and serve them at the window, increasing the wait time considerably. If you choose to go here, try to get here before the breakfast rush or make sure you have a long time to wait. We waited between 45-60 minutes for our breakfast! 

Check out their Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/brewedatislandcafe/

Bay Vue’s Second Going Thrift Store

Do you like to go thrift shopping? I love to find the local thrift store anytime we are traveling. While not huge, Second Going Thrift store is worth a visit. I also love getting the opportunity to support local while traveling. The store supports a food truck that delivers food to those in need in the community. They are open Thursday-Saturday 9am-3pm. 

Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/240367613076428/

Stingaree Restaurant and Marina

Stingaree is the place to be! We did not realize how busy it would be when we arrived! The parking lot was almost completely full and we had an hour wait for our table. Thankfully the surrounding area is beautiful overlooking the water. We enjoyed walking around while we waited for our table. 

The main dining room is upstairs, but you check in on the lower level with a hostess. You will receive a text when your table is ready so make sure you are paying attention to your phone. Once seated, we also had a beautiful view of the water and the sunset. We ordered the Mahi Mahi, Redfish Louie, and the Hush Puppies. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meal and have this place on our list to go back to next time we visit Crystal Beach

Check out their menu here: https://stingaree.com/#menu

Dannay’s Doughnut’s

Any restaurant on the Bolivar Penisula seemed to be fairly busy as there were limited options. The good news is that everywhere we went had good food, including Dannay’s Doughnuts. We recommend going inside as it moves much quicker than the drive through. In the drive thru, they take your order and serve you at the Drive Thru window, whereas inside they had 3-4 people at different registers helping guests. If you wish to sit and enjoy your doughnuts, they do have a couple tables indoors and outdoors. We ordered a couple cake doughnuts and sausage rolls. They were both delicious! 

Margaritaville  – Fin’s Bar & Grill

Margaritaville is absolutely gorgeous with the white buildings and well maintained resort. As soon as we drove onto the property it felt completely relaxing. We have never been to a Margaritaville resort before but we were impressed with our experience. While we did not stay at the resort, we visited their restaurant for dinner and checked out some of their amenities while there. 

When we arrived, we located the restaurant and realized the parking was not directly located next to it. They have a huge lot for visitors to park in by the entrance, whereas the restaurant is a little farther into the property. They do have attendants driving golf carts from the parking lot to the restaurant, offering rides to guests who would like them. While this offering is free, they do accept tips. We did not take a golf cart ride and decided to walk and enjoy the nice weather and environment. 

Fin’s Bar and Grill is located on the second floor of the building. They have a gorgeous patio where you can wait for your table to be ready. They also have a playground located across the street from the restaurant. This was a great place for us to hang out while we waited for our name to be called. 

Fin’s Bar and Grill was busy when we went and we ended up waiting an hour to be seated. There were many large parties and also a concert going on behind the restaurant while we were there. If you do not want to wait long, I suggest getting there a bit earlier than the traditional dinner time and not going on the weekend to shorten your wait time. 

We ordered the chicken fingers, Cajun pasta, and Jalapeño hush puppies. All of it was well made and very good. It took a while for our meal to come out and they brought us a side of fries for our wait. We appreciated that as we were all very hungry. 

Check out their menu here:

https://www.margaritavilleresorts.com/camp-margaritaville-rv-resort-crystal-beach-tx/fins-bar-grill

There are so many great things to do and see in Galveston, I couldn’t share them all here. See the remaining 8 things of what we did in Galveston in part 2: https://suitcasesandsalt.com/19-best-things-to-do-in-galveston-crystal-beach-part-2/

Galveston is such a great place to take a cruise from, here are 18 reasons you should go on a cruise: https://pepperandpassports.com/18-reasons-you-should-go-on-a-cruise/

Deciding on where to go on a cruise? Here is a first hand experience of a visit to Half moon cay: https://pepperandpassports.com/what-i-learned-visiting-carnival-cruise-lines-private-island-half-moon-cay/

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