I was staying at a hotel across from Porretto Beach on the off season. Granted, was the mid-high 80s in late November. I never really get down to east side of Galveston. But so glad I did! My hotel was right across the street from the beach. It took just a couple minutes to walk from the Seawall to the actual ocean. When I say that we were the only ones there, I absolutely mean it. I think it was the best experience I've ever had coming to Galveston. No loud music, no loud families just calm and quiet. The only people that were around were fishing on the jetty. I was able to catch some rays, play in the sand, dip in the water, and walk the beach without a living soul to bother me. Ha! I am not sure what it's like in the summer, but if you have a chance to go to this end of the beach during the off-season, it is absolutely heaven!! Heads up - no restrooms....at least during the off season. Not sure about the rest. read more

This is one of my favorite beaches to visit while in Galveston. It's just about a minute or two walk from the seawall. It's a lovely and well-maintained private beach with available umbrella and chair rentails should you decide you need or want one. Always a lovely experience. read more

The beach here is lovely and quiet. The nice man distributing umbrellas and chairs is lovely and accommodating also The cons are No bathroom facilities The blonde woman at entrance. Save yourself, very rude and acts like she's doing you a favor paying to use this private beach. She's deciding factor we will not return. read more

Husband and I took an unexpected weekend trip to Galveston and we spent the Saturday at Porretto Beach. The attendants were super friendly. We were able to choose from a variety of chair/umbrella options. It was not crowded at all and very family friendly. We didn't have kids, but we had our cavalier with us. Really enjoyed this area! Unfortunately a storm made us leave early, but the three hours we were there was very relaxing! read more

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Fun beach to visit while in Galveston. We decided to avoid Stewart Beach and drive down the boulevard to see what other options for parking were available instead of paying the gate fee since we planned to only be at the beach for a couple of hours. We drove past the Porretto Beach gate and found free parking on the street next to the Wingate Hotel. If you cannot find free parking, there is street parking for a much better rate than the gate if you are only going for a couple of hours. Galveston Beaches are unique in that the water is murky, brown, and warm. Not everyone's cup of tea but it did keep my family cool in the hot, Texas sun. The beach itself was very clean and well kept and you could rent an umbrella and chairs if you wanted. The sand is the perfect consistency for building some amazing sand castles and structures so not swimming the whole time didn't bother my family. You can walk for miles on the beach as it goes on for quite some time. Fishing was being done off of the numerous granite piers installed on the beach. If you need a break from the all the sun and surf, various restaurants and bars, including Pleasure Pier, are only a short walk across the beach/street. read more

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We stayed at an AirBNB that recommended going to Porretto Beach, as it was walkable from the house. I searched online and found the website for rentals. Super easy process and very affordable compared to other beaches we've been to! There was a little mix-up in communication that could have ended badly, but everything turned out great! Staff was super easy to communicate with and were VERY friendly when we got to the beaches. Had no issues for our full beach day - we have three setups, one extra chair and one extra umbrella...perfect for our group of twelve! We'll definitely use them on our next trip to Galveston! I was super impressed with them turning what could have been a negative into a POSITIVE experience! read more

Porretto Beach staff are very rude and confrontational! Especially the blonde woman at the front. It says online that porreto beach parking is $15 and when we got there they told us $20. We paid $50 for umbrella and chairs that usually cost $40 at other beaches with more amenities. When the umbrella was put in the ground, it was tilted off to the side of the chairs because they drilled it so far in that the chairs wouldn't even fit under it. Also, when we arrived she told us there were bathrooms available. When we needed to use them and asked where they were, we were told to walk down the beach across the wood stuck in the ground separating stewart and porreto beach and use stewart beaches bathrooms! read more

Beautiful clean beach. If you bring your own canopy or shade structure that's as tall as their umbrellas , they ask that they be placed behind the flagpole, which aren't far back at all. Parking is plentiful and close by. Great place and water was terrific. read more

Porretto Beach - Beautiful clean beach. - Beaches Near Me - Galveston, Texas

Best beach in Galveston for decades. In & out parking for the same price as street parking, so you don't have to lug your gear up and down the stairs. Umbrella and chair rentals. Cleanest beach on the Texas Coast. It's family owned and the family takes pride in their property. Busy on the weekends. read more

Porretto Beach - Dawn - Beaches Near Me - Galveston, Texas

This beach is a complete scam! The family that owns it must be hitting hard times. All they care about is getting your money and after that they treat you like garbage! Terrible customer service and rude! read more

This beach was absolutely beautiful and family friendly. It was clean, and the family who runs/owns it were so sweet. Paying to park on the beach is completely worth it when you're hauling stuff for six kids! We will definitely be back next time we're in Galveston. read more

What a gorgeous well kept beach. It could have simply been the day that I went with my family but everything about this beach was absolutely perfect. read more

Porretto Beach - Beaches Near Me - Galveston, Texas

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Having lived on the island my whole life I appreciate Poretto Beach! Weekends in Galveston are always busy. Locals know to do their shopping and run their errands during the week to steer clear of the tourist that flood the island. We recently had my niece down and she has a toddler so she wanted easy beach access. I didn't want to fight the traffic and drive all the way west to a beach pocket park nor did I want to battle the traffic at Stewart beach so I suggested Porretto Beach since I pass it several times a week when I'm cruising the beach and they were very pleased. Yes, you pay an entrance fee and yes you pay for the umbrella and 3 chairs but here is what you get in return: parking just a few feet away from the waterline, no searching for the perfect spot because anywhere you park is the perfect spot, you can bring alcohol (just no glass containers) AND all food places deliver right to the beach. I mean talk about the best of all worlds! The sand is thick and hot so make sure to bring flip flops. So if you have kids and don't want to hassle with looking for a parking stop visit Poretto. We sent another family there as well and they said they will always go to Poretto from now on- it is that perfect. read more

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The best beach in Galveston, for many reasons. For one, there is a parking lot right next to the sand, for the same price as parking on the street. So, instead of trying to figure out how to carry all your stuff/wagon down stairs to the beach, you're right there. Secondly, the parking is in and out. So if you plan to stay for part of the day, then come back later after you get lunch, you don't have to pay twice. Most importantly, it's an extremely clean beach and we found the sand, both at the beach and in the water, to be completely free of rocks,etc. Very friendly staff! And you can rent umbrellas and chairs if you want, for a reasonable price. read more

Super friendly staff and plenty of space to spread out. Had a great time with beautiful views.

Great beach! We had a VRBO a block away or so. It was nice to get up and walk to the beach. Maybe due to COVID19 there were not a lot of people on the beach. We had plenty of room to boogie board, swim, and build sand castles. The water was great! The tropical storm that nearly missed helped the waves I think as we had a great time on the boogie boards! Park on the street using the pay by phone app and it's only like a buck an hour. I was surprised to read people complaining or having issues with parking. We found it very easy to park right near the stairs and for 3 hours of play paying 3 bucks isn't bad! read more

Fairly clean. Quite and peaceful. Plenty of spaces to lay out and rental umbrellas and chairs for rent

Very nice beach!! My husband and my two kids had a blast. We brought our chairs and umbrella cause they Have chair and umbrella rentals for 25$ until 4pm which is really good if you bring a big family. Parking is literally on the side on the beach for 1$ an hour and u pay through your phone or an app. Absolutely loved I would Def go back! read more

Porretto Beach - Beautiful day on Porretto beach - Beaches Near Me - Galveston, Texas

First time visiting Porretto Beach. No complaints. Clean surroundings and lots of places to choose from if I needed some food! read more

Porretto Beach - Team RWB 4th of July group walk/run! - Beaches Near Me - Galveston, Texas

I was being towed from this place by 8:04--they close at 8. I paid $125 for them to release (take off the chains, not actually tow it) my car. The police men that accompanied the tow trucks were very rude and one of them called me names and was vulgar. When I looked up the chief of police to complain about the cops, I realized that the Chief of Police's family OWNS THIS PRIVATE BEACH...so I figure why bother to complain...Do you guys find this interesting, that the chief of police's family owns this beach, they send the POLICE with a bunch of tow trucks, they tow you within minutes after they close and they have no signs that they will tow you?...Money maker!!! This parking deal cost me $8 for a couple of hours + $125 for the tow truck ( I wonder who owns the trucks). read more

We went with our young children and our dog. We arrived early and got a great spot, the beach started filling up around noon. The beach was clean and seemed organized. Chairs and Umbrella were pricey but you wont find anything cheaper on the island. You can bring a cooler, no glass is allowed on the beach for obvious reasons. We would visit this beach again. There are no restrooms on the beach which was probably the only con. read more

Wish there is less that rating 1 , completely agree with the previous reviews , got towed at 8:04 and they said cash only and pointed me to a ATM and driver promised to wait it I give him my Keys. The guys handing over the tickets are only concerned about the cash and never mentioned the timings There were 4 tow trucks and about 6 cars were towed by 8:05 , i hardly see 4 tow trucks at one spot which says something is going on between the towing company and the cop authorizing the tow.Also worth mentioning are the restrooms which are close to 1 mile away from this beach and they advertise about clean restrooms available , this beach is a total scam, never park there. read more

I've read this section of beach is going to be turned into condos. So I'm glad got to hang out there before it's gone. We rented a home on VRBO walking distance from Porretto Beach which made this section perfect for us. For anyone who hasn't visited Galveston beaches here's a chance couple things to know. Parking along the seawall is $10. You then have to walk your items to a location where you can access a stairway down to the beach. So even though we were in walking distance, since we planned to stay the day, it was with it to pay to park. Did take a wagon and walk down one time. But when we planned to stay the whole day and wanted to use our pop up tent and chairs we drove over. read more

Be careful - you might get towed!!!! This place appears to have some kind of racket with the towing companies and the city police. The parking lot "closes" at 8pm. We are tourists from out of town who are not familiar with the ways of Galveston, nor have we have ever seen a private business close and immediately start towing cars out of its lot, so we had no way to foresee that our car would get towed. When we paid our money at the front, we trusted that we were going to be treated nicely. They did not have signs clearly posted to state the hours of business or that they would tow if we were still parked there afterward. There is a tiny sign at the entrance way overhead and out of your line of site as you drive in (in small print, covered with legaleez, no less - just looks like a general tow warning) - of course we didn't see it. They had a few signs posted around some of the spots further down, but nowhere near where we parked. How about a big sign at the walkway that clearly states "This beach closes at 8pm"...wouldn't that be helpful? Nope, nothing like that. Furthermore, the ladies at the entrance, who seemed to be burdened by having to get off their lawn chairs to take our money to park, barely said a word to us, much less anything about business hours. The parking stub they handed us even states that our parking was valid until midnight. So...We strolled down the beach at sunset, came back a little after 8:00, and were very surprised to find the parking lot filled with police and tow trucks, one of which had already hooked up our car and was rolling off with it. We stopped the driver just in time. He generously offered to unhook our car if we paid him $125 on the spot (because the law requires him to). Since they don't take cash and we didn't have that much on us, he helpfully told me that I could get it from the ATM in the mini mart across the street. As the driver was threatening to drive off and we had 3 small children with us, there was no other choice. I ran across the street, past a seedy-looking tattoo shop with a large, scary-looking tattooed man smoking in the parking lot, glaring at me, into the mini market, where I found the ATM in the back next to what appeared to be - slot machines, or game machines, or something. There were people bent over them, playing, and I noticed that they had stopped and were eying me very closely as I took a large number of bills out of the ATM. I stuffed the cash in my purse and fled, out of the mini market, past the tattoo parlor and the scary man, and back to the beach, where I was able to pay the driver and get our car back without getting mugged. Luckily, the police are standing by making sure the tow truck drivers stay safe while they send unsuspecting tourists by themselves into scary places to gather large sums of cash. Way to protect the public, Galveston police.What a way to treat tourists. Bottom line: park on the street. It's not that much more expensive to park, you can stay as long as you like and you won't get towed. read more

I think this beach is awesome! They are fighting a 20 year battle to protect the tax payers from the state of Texas and Galveston park board mis use of federal funding for the beaches the state says are all eroding when its the park board taking the sand off the beaches. this beach allows me and my family more rights then the beaches the state says they give us. We can have a beer, watch our kids swim not be forced to use government funded business operations. porretto has to pay taxes and clean after the public where the other beaches are given tax dollars to operate. the beach parking as all beaches in Galveston close at 8 but people sneak in to porretto beach at dark and place other families walking the beach at harm. they are forced to tow after closing because of liability so if you park with no ticket or enter through the exit you will get towed because you are breaking the law. all of the beaches have these rules they just have the money to control social media. read more