Crystal Beach

Crystal Beach

Crystal Beach
3.5
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
About
Three Cabanas sleeps 5-7 people. Full kitchen, All pots, pans, dishes, linens, TV and WIFI Located on Private lake with 32 Palm Trees in rear yard. Good Crabbing
Duration: More than 3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles181 reviews
Excellent
68
Very good
49
Average
19
Poor
14
Terrible
31

Lynda I
Elizabethtown, PA72 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
We are learning as we travel from campground to campground. . .you get what you pay for. Our camper has a wet room so we rely on the bathroom facilities of the campground. PBRV park has restrooms (2). These are on a raised trailer that does not look or feel sturdy. Each bathroom is a 3 piece unit. They are relatively clean; cleaned with a Clorox spray and not wiped down. One bathroom was closed down for repairs, it was fixed in a 24 hour period. TP supply is not kept up, some days it was BYO! In another trailer there are 4 washers and dryers all in working order. The washers need to be wiped down. $2 a wash and $2 to dry.
The free WIFI was completely ineffective.
The campsites are along a large pond with an island in the pond. There are warning signs of alligators and snakes. We observed 2 alligators. They were predominantly on the island or along the bank. We took walks around the pond a few times.
The area has very little to do. It didn't help that the weather was continually hazy and windy. We did ride our bikes down to the beach and rode on the beach for a different experience for us.
It was well worth the ferry ride and trip to explore Galveston. We wished we had stayed in Galveston.
Written March 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cristal A
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Friends
I’ve been to this beach numerous times and always encounter some type of racist vibe. I genuinely loved going here, but as of lately, even trying to rent a house to stay here with a group of friends is challenging because of the hosts. ( yes, paying for each person who will be sleeping there) Wish things were different! Going to have to look for a different beach to go to.
Written April 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

texdentist
North Richland Hills, TX833 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021
We have been to Crystal Beach several times lately helping some friends settle into a new house near the beach. I see a lot of negative reviews about overt displays of conservatism, Trump flags, etc. Unfortunately, they are true, but mainly on the very busy weekends (Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day). Also avoid Top Down weekend, which is a rowdy weekend of thousands of Jeep owners partying. Google it to find the dates. They also are much more numerous from Crystal Beach city eastward than going west. Also, the beaches are wider and much less populated west of Crystal Beach. Most of the time, I would consider Crystal Beach to be a great place to visit. There are some seriously good restaurants -- Jose's Cantina for either Mexican Food or Seafood and Stingaree's for mostly seafood were way better than expected. Both also have great bars and live music many weekends. The Tiki Beach Bar had one of the best hamburgers I have had in a while, and a very diverse menu. The water is muddy, as is most of the Gulf Coast, but the beaches that I have seen are generally very clean. If you like the sound of breaking waves, Crystal Beach is for you. I'm sure complaints of trashy beaches are from the busy, party ends of the beach after a weekend of crowds. I have not seen them myself. I will be going back and very much looking forward to the great food.
Written September 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

snlprice
Cumby, TX17 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Family
Spent the week in Bolivar Peninsula and drove down the beach to Crystal beach, so beautiful and so many shells. Can’t wait to go back and camp on the beach. Quiet, peaceful and so relaxing. Bring bug spray for mosquitoes in the evenings. Also we went during the week, did notice a lot of people come Thursday and Friday and it gets more loud.
Written October 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bacons on the Road
62 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
This is a nice beach. You do need to purchase a $10 parking pass to drive/park on the beach. We were only there three hours and had our vehicle checked three times, so they do take it seriously. Sand was packed down, which made driving extremely easy. We have four wheel drive, but it was not necessary. What really struck me was how CLEAN this beach was. We recently visited South Padre Island and the drive-on beach had an insane amount of trash, which was so sad. Even though we only visited for an afternoon, the $10 fee was totally worth it for us.
Written March 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

madeline1982
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
My family and I have been going to Crystal for the past 15 years. There's not as many crowds as there is in more touristy areas, and that draws us here. We love it! Everyone is friendly, waving as they pass by on a leisurely drive in a golf cart or UTV. Sure people have loud music, but we play our music too. You just drown theirs out with your own. Sure some people fly trump flags. So what? They are showing thier support for whom they like. If you fly a Biden flag, that's your choice. No one will say a word to you about it. Sure some fly Confederate flags, so what, it's the heritage in texas. Believe it or not, most Texans fly that flag due to heritage, not hatred.are we supposed to forget history and what our ancestors were fighting for? They were fighting against a tyrannical government. Dont forget that piece of history. In my 15 years going, I've never witnessed any hatred, disrespect or racism against anyone of color. Everyone waves and goes about thier business no matter color your skin is. I don't hesitate to take my family (young kids included).
Written January 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michelle P
Austin, TX7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
I had been going to Bolivar/Crystal beach since I was a child, but this was the first time in 20 years. Never again. This place is nothing but full of racists touting flags with obscenities up and down the beach. At least they identified themselves so we could avoid them. I would definitely not bring young children here unless you want them to learn some choice new words before they head back to school. There was also quite a bit of trash on the beach and cars/golf carts zipping up down so it's like playing frogger to get down to the beach. Oh and constant fireworks from dark till whenever the last drunk finally falls asleep or runs out. So disappointing when all we were looking for was some relaxing time by the ocean.
Written August 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Debbie D.
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Family
Confederate flags fly high everywhere. The locals are pleasant enough, but I wouldn't trust the area at night. The vibe the flags create is "we will smile to your face and take your money, but black and brown people aren't welcome." It's not what I'm about and don't want my family to think that's okay.

You might enjoy Crystal beach/Port Bolivar if you don't care about that or you don't mind if your family is subjected to that messaging.
Otherwise, find another beach to visit.

The only redeeming quality is you can drive right on the beach, but it's kind of dirty.
Written May 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

beachgoer
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020
My family rented a house near Crystal Beach and at first, we were very excited about having the beach so close until we actually drove down to it. Like all the beaches around Galveston, both the sand and water are brown, but that seems to be the only brown thing welcome around here. The beach is covered with people riding up and down in trucks and dune buggies waving confederate flags and trump flags. We were harassed by these confederates while we were minding our own business standing in the water. People screamed "a**hole" at our group for just standing in the water by a passing ATV. Another group of people in a truck started yelling at an immunocompromised member of our family who was wearing a mask that coronavirus wasn't real and that they should take their mask off. The confederate flags made us uncomfortable and unwelcome, to begin with, but the continued harassment has made this one of the WORST beaches we have ever been to.
Written June 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sharonda D
Miami, FL5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Family
I don’t think the people here want anyone that is not white to visit. The locals are very mean and disgusting for no reason. I was embarrassed for them. The beach is filthy with trash everywhere and it’s really not a pleasant beach experience. If you want a relaxing vacation in the beach, this isn’t it!
Written September 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

…
Showing results 1-10 of 180
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Crystal Beach - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

All things to do in Port Bolivar
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars