If you’ve ever been to Galveston before, you know there is an immense amount of fun activities that you can do to pass your time there. It is almost impossible to get bored while you are visiting.
There are so many advertisements about all the things there are to do in town:
- Moody Gardens
- Pleasure Pier
- Kemah
- Beaches
- Local Restaurants
- Boat Rides
- Fishing Piers
- Schlitterbahn
- Water Sports
Interestingly enough, there is one activity that a lot of people love to do that is not on that list is jet skiing. It is very tough, almost impossible to find a company that offers ket ski rentals down in Galveston that is in a safe, secluded space where there are no swimmers. I am assuming that is the reason for it being very tough to find is due to the fact that the rental place must provide the renter a specific course to go on when riding the Jet ski that is safe for everyone.
Finding a Place
As I stated before finding a jet ski rental is extremely hard in the city of Galveston, so we posted a “recommendation” on the Galveston Talk Facebook page and a lot of the locals recommended a course near Pier 53.
So we headed on that way (right across the street from the Hilton the Galveston Island Convention Center. The guys manning the jet ski area told us they don’t have a website and not searchable on Google. But their boss worked for a rental company was called Sup Gulf Coast.
They are open from 10 am-6 pm, but their open and closing days are very randomized, so just note it might be hit or miss if you go.
They charge $60 per person plus $5 per extra rider for half an hour.
Things you must bring with you are:
- Valid ID (kids, you must have a parent sign off and show valid ID)
- Cash as they do not accept credit card
- If you need quick cash, we walked across the street to the Hilton as they were the closest ATM
My Experience
Before we got to ride the jet skis, the instructor went over the basic jet ski rules on how to ride as well as the button functions. The green button started the engine and the red button cut the engine off. Once your engine is on, there is a lever you pull toward you to accelerate it.
He also told me about the course I had to take. I was kind of upset that I couldn’t go wherever I want, but once he showed me the course, I didn’t mind it as it was really big and covered a lot of ground.
The last rule we went over was the emergency key. It was attached to me as well as the jet ski. If we were to fall off, the key would be attached to me and the engine would be cut off until I plugged the key back in. I thought it was an excellent safety feature added to the jet ski.
I didn’t realize how great the course was until I actually got out there. The course was roped off so no swimmers were allowed to get in our path. It was much bigger than I expected, and it was extremely far from the shore…almost to the point where the water started to look blue.
I know that I only rented the ski for 30 minutes, but in all honesty, it felt much longer. I really enjoyed riding fast and bouncing on the waves! I plan to go again next we are in town.
As with anything, you know I have to add the line “prices subject to change without notice” 🙂