Since moving to Texas...specifically Galveston, the first thing people say is, coming from Florida?…read moreyou must miss the beach. Honestly? I don't, because I don't compare the two. If you come here expecting Florida's clear water, you might miss what makes Galveston special. The water can appear brown at times, but that's due to natural sediment shifting with the tides, not because it's dirty. Once you understand that your whole perspective changes. What I've come to love is the experience. Walking along the Seawall, day or night, there's always something happening. Different energy, different crowds, different moods depending on the season. It never feels the same twice. Galveston's seawall beaches isn't about perfection, it's about presence. And when you meet it that way, it's actually really beautiful.

It may not be on anyone's top list of beaches to visit, but it's still a beautiful beach. A beach…read morethat has many stories to tell. It all starts with José Antonio de Evia who surveyed the land in 1783 for the Spanish governor, Bernardo de Galvez. There are also pirates in this story. Jean Lafitte and his crew of buccaneers made this island their hideaway in 1817 after discovering this beach. There was even a fortress built here in 1897. You can still see some of the remnants jutting out from the seawall. It was rebuilt after the Storm of 1900 and named Fort Crockett after Davy. Make sure you look up towards the San Luis Resort to see the Battery Hoskins bunker that is still there. The point is that it's more than just a beach made famous by a devastating storm. Sure, there are many memorials and historical markers along the seawall. There are also many fun activities such as the 61st Street Fishing Pier and the Pleasure Pier as well as art that has beautified the seawall. There's a stretch of beach between 6th and 61st street called the Seawall Interpretive Trail. About 70 concrete benches were transformed into mosaic art by Artist Boat. These pieces highlight Galveston's beaches. We didn't get to see all of it. It's a lot of beach to cover during a short stay before a cruise. We were simply mesmerized by everything around us as we were walking along the seawall across from our hotel. There were pods of pelicans flying over and seagulls on the rocks and breakaways. The view along the seawall at sunset was stunning. It was a great time to see it. It even brought back childhood memories for my husband who was born here. We enjoyed our stay on the beach even though it was a short one.

This is our second stay at Diamond Beach. We've stayed in 2 different units, and both have been…read moreextremely nice. Comfy furniture, large bathrooms, and roomy spaces. The balconies are gorgeous--the higher floor this time has a better view above the palm trees. Both times we've been here have been in January, so we haven't been able to use the outdoor pools or the lazy river. The indoor pool is large! There's a great game room, a movie theater, and a gym on the property. Everything is access-controlled, so you feel safe. Getting to the beach is about a 5-minute walk. This is a beautiful place! We booked through Ryson Vacation Rentals both times. Great communication, easy check-in and check-out process.

We stayed at the Diamond Beach Resort in Galveston for a long weekend. It is a fantastic resort…read morewith many amenities. Greg, the Director of Operations is the ultimate professional. He sincerely cares about his residents and renters and is willing to go above and beyond to accommodate everyone's needs. Specifically, we stayed in Diamond Beach unit 218. Great condo. Clean. Well equipped. Lovely. Pretty. Good location. Beautiful. It was a terrific unit at the end with an awesome balcony and great views. We booked through Sand n Sea. Great company. We booked with Jolene. She was terrific. We loved working with her. She was fantastic. Will book with her again AND will recommend her to friends and family! Very nice and professional! A very good company! Overall, we had a wonderful family getaway and will be back for sure!!

oJanuary 17, 2024 I…read moreplayed 3 hours of pickleball and got home to to the west end and had no water. it's typical of the club of the isle; if it's not a leak it's "the water dept needs to do an inspection" LOL! i waited an hour and a half and came back here to shower. im ever so grateful to the city of Galveston for allowing the residents to recreate AND shower here for FREE!! thank you so much ps: Ms. Shelia [mgr in charge for THREE decades] is such a sweetheart, and so is Terrell the rec coordinator... both are such assets.

Can't say anything about the recreation center itself as we came here for splash pad and playground…read morecombo. The splash pad not big but good enough to have kids run around happily, the playground is in need of some repair but generally quite enjoyable. If not for the splash pad would have probably give it only 3 out of 5 stars for outdoor play equipment

We went the day after Christmas, we started off by going upstairs to the arcade area which has its…read moreown bar area and you're able to play Xbox and Playstation on there tvs for free. The majority of arcade game you have to pay in quarters or dollars to play. During the axe throwing, Moose was great! He was very helpful with giving us tips on how to improve our throws, as well as providing us with different weighted axes and even letting us use a throwing knife. The downside, was the bar service. We ordered drinks upstairs (there was only 1 bartender) and the lady took 10-15 mins to give us 1 of the holiday cocktails, even when we were the only people upstairs. We were able to get drinks faster at the bar downstairs; however, we placed an order of potato wedges which never came out. Our biggest let down was the service with drinks and food as it was not busy during our visit.

November 29, 2025…read more Wanted to try axe throwing so here we go It's $20 an hour. There's (i think) 8 lanes and 2 different types of axes. Harder than you think but fun!

We visited this place as a family while on vacation in Houston, and it was hands down the worst…read morego-kart experience we've ever had. From the moment we walked in, we were put off. The so-called manager was sitting there, loudly chewing an apple with her mouth open--super unprofessional. The place felt lifeless, and it was clear that barely anyone comes here. Then came the kicker: $14 per race. For what? A disappointing experience in a rundown facility? The pricing makes zero sense, especially given the lack of atmosphere or any real effort to make it worth the money. Do yourself a favor and skip this place. You'd have a better time playing mini-golf--or honestly, doing anything else. Total waste of time and money!

The lady who works behind the desk truly needs Customer Service skills. She wore a frown on her…read moreface, attitude and we did not receive a thank you for spending money at this establishment. And other family members came here 2 days in a row. Now, on the other hand, the guys actually handling the go karts, they had great customer service skills. And the experience was really fun. Regarding the times around the track, we had about 3 -4 times around the track, I noticed someone else had 9 times around the track. That's a huge difference. Thank you.

We had a great time fishing from this pier while in Galveston. The staff inside were really nice…read moreand friendly. The people we met outside were, mostly, really great and did a great job at respecting everyone's space. We caught a lot of different stuff from this pier.

I owe this place an apology..I was mad they had the dock apart when I wanted to fish..now I know…read morethey do this to keep it through storms..I was there last night and I was a good pier...too many people for me but the experience was great and the people there were the same..I would recommend weekday fishing but I will definitely be back

I was staying at a hotel across from Porretto Beach on the off season. Granted, was the mid-high…read more80s 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.

This is one of my favorite beaches to visit while in Galveston. It's just about a minute or two…read morewalk 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.

We had an amazing time learning how to build sandcastles with Wendy!! Highly recommended this…read moreactivity if you will be in Galveston this summer!!!

From the owner: It's not just Sand, It's an Adventure read more

Fun and affordable! $15 per person now. I love the creativity of the place. I will recommend to go…read morewhen you visit

We went with the harder course out of the two options and it was excellent, everything was very…read morewell maintained and overall a super fun experience for our bigger group of people. After playing a round we went over to the batting cages which were subpar, the pitches were either coming far too high or too low, which sucked. But everything else was a lot of fun!!

Marlo was knowledgeable and helped me to be able to stand on the board. Nice area to paddleboard…read morenext to pleasure pier.

Another amazing day on the water! The four foodies strike again paddle boarding with our favorite…read morepaddle board provider!!! Thank you Marlo!!