Houston Historical Tours

Port of Houston Tour and Ship Channel Tours

Discover the Port of Houston on either of our five-hour tours. 

Tour A includes a boat ride on the Houston Ship Channel.  It begins at 9:00 AM and ends at 2:00 PM. 

Tour B covers a much broader area with visitations at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal, the Bayport Container Terminal, and stops along the Channel and Galveston Bay in multiple cities.  It begins at 10:00 AM and ends at 3:00 PM. 

On each tour, you will learn about the Port’s history and its contributions to the present economic life of Houston and the nation.

Each tour takes you:

• over the I-610 Houston Ship Channel bridge,
• over the San Jacinto River,
• on the Lynchburg Ferry crossing the Houston Ship Channel, and
• by the San Jacinto Battlefield, San Jacinto Monument, and the Battleship Texas.

Tour A – 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM – This tour includes a boat ride on the Houston Ship Channel.  The Port of Houston Authority provides the Sam Houston boat for port tours.  It departs at 10:30 AM.  The narrated tour on the water lasts for approximately 90 minutes.  This tour should be booked and paid for at least two weeks in advance to better assure the ability to make a reservation.  An exact count with everyone’s name must be provided at the time of reservation.  Everyone must bring and provide official photo identification on the day of the tour.  Backpacks and oversized purses are prohibited on the boat.  Purses are subject to inspection.  The tour will also show you the location of the first railroad in Houston.  The unloaded port freight was primarily transported by rails in the 1800s and first half of the 1900s.  We’ll take you to Harrisburg, the oldest part of Houston.  Lunch is at Brady’s Landing, on an island, where one can watch ships going into and out of the Port of Houston.  Brady’s Landing has a superb all you can eat buffet that will cost in the range of $18 to $21.  We will go through Channelview, La Porte, Deer Park, and Pasadena, also.  This tour is available 4 days a week:  on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Tour B – 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM – This tour is an alternative tour for Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays, for those last minute reservations, and or for those who do not have proper identification. This Port tour will cover more mileage of the Port and more cities.  We will take you on the Fred Hartman Bridge leading from La Porte to Baytown over the Ship Channel.  This yellow painted cable-stayed bridge is one of the most distinctive bridges in all of Texas.  We will also travel to the Barbours Cut Container Terminal, the Bayport Container Terminal and to Galveston Bay.  Beginning in 1956, most freight has been delivered in containers so that it can be taken by truck across America by land instead of by rail.  We will drive through Channelview, La Porte, Deer Park, Baytown, Morgan’s Point, Pasadena, Seabrook, Kemah, and El Lago.  Lunch is at Monument Inn, close to the San Jacinto Monument and the banks of the Houston Ship Channel.  You will have a great view of ships going in and out of the Houston Ship Channel.  Depending on what one orders, the price of lunch is generally between $15 and $25.