This coming February, I will be going to GUA with a stop in IAH. I have to leave IAH, go to a hotel, and come back the next morning for the flight to GUA. There will be a lot of down time. Does anybody know about fun things to do in Houston?

Welcome to FT!

It would be helpful if you can let us know:
What time of the day do you expect to get to IAH the day before and how many hours you have to spend?
What are "fun" things that you had in mind?
Where is your hotel located in Houston?

AReas like the Museum district, Galleria, Downtown, etc are a good 30 miles or more from IAH. You will need a car (its possible to take buses......but cars work better for Houston distances).

The Woodlands has plenty of restaurants, etc....again you will need a car.

Youll most likely want a car if you want to do anything other than eat at a chain restaurant and stay in an airport hotel... It takes about 35 minutes to get to the Galleria (outside rush hours). The Galleria has a Westin, an Aloft, a Marriott, a Hilton, a Doubletree, lots of options, its the main high end mall in Houston, 3 levels, awesome restaurants, ice skating rinks... totally walkable from any of the Galleria hotels and can keep you more than entertained for one day...

There is always Galveston if you arent traveling during rush hours, its a bit of a drive, but being from TX, distance is relative... haha.

Let us know what kinds of things you like, and what times you arrive-depart and we can give better advice.

While I don't know your arrival & departure times, I hesitate to recommend the complex and time consuming auto rental and venturing far afield from IAH.

We've developeda regular routine for a similar evolution...(driving down from Waco, 180 mi., to catch a morning flight, planning to arrive about 7PM...

Check into Springhill Suites, almost brand new, only a coupe of miles from the IAH terminals, and with the best (free) shuttle servide I've ever seen. The Springhill (a marriott "brand" with a low reward redemption level) actually has a bar, well-patronized in the evening by business travelers, often oil/gas/petrochem related, a decent breakfast "buffet' of slightly better than subsistence quality "motel" offerings, a lots of marginal cable TV channels, free Internet, IIRC, and offers a bonus, "free parking" for extended periods (of no use to you, but a reward for us).

Pick up a sandwich at one of the nearby "Fast Food' outlets, even Subway. It ain't much, but beats driving across Houston, which sprawls across the Coastal Plain. Relax, because tomorrow will tire you mors than you think.

I'll arrive in Houston around 6 pm, and I'll leave around 9 am the next day. I have already booked a hotel room, so I am just looking for something relaxing like a nearby ice skating rink, library, or cafe with a good view.

I gather from the subject line that you're staying near the airport. It's quite a ways from downtown. And tough to do by public transit. There are some good resaurants downtown, and the Flying Saucer bar (part of a chain) has a huge selection of beers, but probably not worth the expensive cab ride. Why not ask the hotel if there's an ice skating rink in the area? Again, could be a pricey cab ride. If you're staying downtown, then a restaurant and/or bar could be good. Probably too late to hit a museum or library. We stayed downtown for 6 nights while my wife attended a conference. Hit a couple of museums, and I took a tour through Minute Maid Park (baseball), but, again, those are daytime activities. And you'll need to be at the airport early the next day for your international flight.

Houston's pretty flat, and it'll be dark, so can't imagine a cafe with great views, even on top of a hotel. Especially near the airport. But others would know better.

That does not give you a lot of time. IAH is in the middle of a vast wasteland, so unless you decide to cab/rent/public transport it, your choices are limeted.

There is the express bus to downtown, but there is a premium for that. IIRC there's a mall not too far away that you can get to by public transportation.

I'd stay at the hotel and get some rest - watch a movie, surt the internet.

EmailKid

one option is to head northwards to the woodlands... it isn't houston proper, but there are a lot of great restaurants and can be a nice place to unwind from a flight. I recommend the restaurant called Americas... fabulous latin american fare.

Metro just dropped the fare for the express bus to $4.50 each way and will now stop at several hotels downtown. They're hoping for better ridership since the $15 fare wasn't attracting any riders. I think change starts 1/1, but am not sure.

The area for many miles around the airport is something of a wateland if you are looking for "something relaxing like a nearby ice skating rink, library, or cafe with a good view".... Even the chain restaurants in the airport vicinity are uninteresting... generally they have words like "pot" or "Kettle" in their name.

I second this suggestion. If your hotel is on JFK Blvd (the main road to IAH), you'll find only fast food options and the hotel restaurants. If you are not, you are best staying at the hotel and eating there. If it were me, I would just have a relaxing evening in the hotel.

I know someone mentioned the mall near IAH - this mall (Greenspoint) is rather desolate and I would suggest avoiding it - it is definitely not worth your time.

That would have been me.

Agreed

I was thinking of Deerbrook Mall on US 59, aka Eastex Freeway. Used to be a bus went there, but Google map is not showing me Public Transportation for some reason, so don't know if it still does. It's about 7 miles from IAH.

I made the mistake of going to Greenspoint one time when I took a bump and had eight hours to kill Buses went to both back then, I took the first one that came along.

EmailKid

Ah, I did not even consider Deerbrook in Humble - that definitely is a fine choice. I went into Greenspoint once and did not stay long.

There's a reason they call it "Gunspoint"

Looking at the terminal map, it doesn't look like IAH is connected airside. Is this correct? So if I were to spend 7 hours at IAH, is there no way I can sample the different restaurants or stores in the different terminals?

Will TSA let me into a terminal if my BP shows my gate is elsewhere?