Crystal BeachThe Bolivar Peninsula's main beach community — drive on the sand at Crystal Beach, take the free Galveston ferry, and feast on Stingaree fried shrimp

Crystal Beach sits at the middle of the 27-mile Bolivar Peninsula, the unincorporated Galveston County strip across Bolivar Roads from Galveston Island. The free TX-87 ferry runs every 20 minutes from Bolivar Point to downtown Galveston (an 18-minute crossing past the North Jetty); the Gulf side from Rollover Pass down to the ferry landing is one of the few stretches of Texas beach where you can still drive directly onto the sand; and the local rhythm — fried shrimp at Stingaree, kite-surfing at the Pocket Park, and birding on the Big Reef flats — has not changed much since the peninsula rebuilt after Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Our Crystal Beach inventory is dominated by stilted beachfront and second-row Gulf homes — the stretch from Rollover Pass down through Holiday Shores, Emerald Beach, Sea Isle, and Bolivar Beach Estates. Most rentals are 3- to 5-bedroom houses with cargo lifts, hot tubs, and screened decks; a few larger 6- to 8-bed compounds work for family reunions. Houston Hobby (HOU) is 75 minutes north (Houston Intercontinental IAH is 90 minutes); the drive in goes through Galveston and across the free ferry. Most weekends run a 2-night minimum; summer weeks are 6- or 7-night Monday-or-Friday turnover.