The Ultimate Texas Gulf Coast Bucket List for 2025

The Texas Gulf Experiences You Need to Try This Year

The Texas Gulf Coast is a whole different side of the Lone Star State everyone needs to experience, whether you’re a tourist or a local. Here are 11 things you need to do during your visit.

The Space Center Houston

Address:  1601 E NASA Parkway

This is the official visitor center for NASA Johnson Space Center, and it’s as awesome as it sounds.

Your admission includes the NASA Tram Tour, including stops at Rocket Park and the historic Mission Control.

At the Starship Gallery, you get to see actual flown spacecraft, moon rocks, and other significant artifacts from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. For an extra fee, you can also try out their space-themed VR and motion simulators.

Galveston Island’s Historic Pleasure Pier

Address: 2501 Seawall Blvd, Galveston, Texas

The Pleasure Pier stretches 1,130 feet over the Gulf of Mexico, so the views alone are worth it. There are 16 rides, including the Iron Shark roller coaster, which features a 100-foot vertical lift and four inversions.

You can either purchase an All-Day Ride Pass, which includes entrance to the pier and unlimited access to the rides, or a $10 Walk-On Pass to enjoy the pier’s dining and shopping options.

The Texas State Aquarium

Address: 2710 N Shoreline Blvd, Corpus Christi, TX

Over 400 species of marine life are here at the Texas State Aquarium, considered one of the best in the world.

There’s the Dolphin Bay, a 400,000-gallon habitat with bottlenose dolphins you can view from above or below in the H-E-B Underwater Viewing Room.

The Islands of Steel exhibit is a 125,000-gallon replica of an ocean habitat around an oil platform, home to sand tiger sharks, barracudas, and sea turtles.

You can touch stingrays at the Stingray Lagoon, or snorkel with a shark at The Caribbean Journey exhibit.

Admission fees are $20.95 for adults, with discounts available for children, seniors, and military personnel

South Padre Island

“Beach day” means going to South Padre Island, which sits off the southern coast of Texas. Access is free, and you can fish, swim, or check out the nearby Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

The water here is pretty nice, and activities like sandcastle building competitions and music festivals go on throughout the year.

The USS Lexington Museum

Address: Corpus Christi Bay, Texas

The USS Lexington Museum is an actual World War II-era Essex-class aircraft carrier. It’s also called “The Blue Ghost,” and served the United States Navy for 48 years in several major battles during World War II.

Your admission fee lets you multiple decks of the ship, including the flight deck with a World War II-era Hellcat, a Vietnam-era Crusader, and other aircraft. You an also try out a flight simulator.

Padre Island National Seashore

Padre Island National Seashore is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Isabel.

It’s free to launch hand-paddled watercraft such as kayaks anywhere within the park, including at the popular Bird Island Basin boat ramp.

The Moody Gardens in Galveston

Address: 1 Hope Boulevard, Galveston, Texas

Moody Gardens is a group of three glass pyramids, each one a different attraction.

The Aquarium Pyramid showcases marine life from the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, South Pacific, and Caribbean in a 1.5-million-gallon aquarium. Over at the Rainforest Pyramid, you can check out exotic plants, animals, and birds from the rainforests of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

The complex also includes a Ropes Course and Zip Line, plus the seasonal Palm Beach water park.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science

Address: 5555 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, Texas

The museum’s star attraction is the Morian Hall of Paleontology, featuring over 60 large skeleton mounts, including multiple Tyrannosaurus Rex and Diplodocus specimens, making it the largest paleontology hall in the United States.

You’ll find one of the first 8k planetariums in the United States right here, at the Burke Baker Planetarium.

Be sure to drop by the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, which has over 750 crystallized mineral specimens and rare gemstones.

Dolphin Watch Cruise in Port Aransas

Port Aransas is the “Dolphin Capital of Texas,” and you need to go on one of these cruises at least once.

Many tour operators offer narrated cruises, and others stop at nearby islands for shelling and bird watching.

The Fulton Mansion State Historic Site

Address: 317 S Fulton Beach Rd, Rockport, Texas

This is a beautifully preserved example of French Second Empire architecture from 1877.

The grounds feature beautiful gardens and picnic areas, and you can also take self-guided tours of the mansion, exploring the restored rooms filled with period furnishings and exhibits about the Fulton family.

The Art Museum of South Texas

Address: 1902 N. Shoreline Blvd, Corpus Christi, Texas

The building itself is a work of art by renowned architect Philip Johnson, with its white concrete and shell aggregate walls. Inside are contemporary artworks that put a spotlight on Texas and regional artists.