toledo

My wife and I are in our late 60s. We are from the UK . We have been going to the USA each year for the past twelve years or so. We have visited California, Navada, Arizona, and Utah and have taking in many of the cities and towns and Canyons and other must see attractions of these areas during three visits. We have travelled around New England in the Fall and visited Niagara Falls.
We have also been to Florida five times. The last three times in Florida we have stayed in Naples where I would quite happily go every year and expected to return this year. My wife however has other plans and wants to go on another driving holiday.
Having done quite a lot of reading, including Fodors Forums, we are considering visiting Texas. We have always enjoyed the old western towns like Scottsdale and Williams and Flagstaff, enjoy Wild West art and country and western music.
I have thought of flying into Fort Worth, staying a few days then travelling South to Austin, then on the San Antonio . To complete the circle I was considering travelling west to Fredericksburg and the Hill Country, travelling North back to Fort Worth. We have two weeks.
We do not intend to stay in expensive hotels or do fine dining . We are more Holiday Inn and Cheesecake Factory types.
I would welcome members thoughts on this visit.

rizzo0904

We are doing a similar bit shorter trip in April. I was able to find great rates at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott in San Antonio. Its walking distance to the Alamo and Riverwalk. It may fit your budget.

toledo

Thanks for your quick reply, I'm obliged.

jayne1973

Your plan sounds great.

Weather will be best in spring or fall. In spring, you have a chance for some nice wildflowers along the highway, and with luck you will hit high season for bluebonnets.

When down San Antonio way, check out the small charming city of Gruene (pronounced "Green"). There are some cute shops, a large rustic restaurant on the river, and the old Gruene Hall, which claims to be the oldest dance hall in Texas. You can hear some good western style live music there on the weekend, but go early because it is very popular. www.gruenetexas.com

In both spring and fall, you will come across various festivals. Fredericksburg has a big Oktoberfest, which is October 2-4 this year.

You can find delicous, inexpensive food, especially barbeque and Tex-Mex, all over Texas.

The Yelp app is a great way to find good places to stop for a bite. For lodging, Tripadvisor is my first source, but Yelp also includes lodging.

toledo

This is great, keep 'em coming.

doug_stallings

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan, but without knowing when you're traveling it's hard to make any other comments other than "have at it". In San Antonio, you will likely have to pay for parking if you stay in a central area, but that's not so bad.

toledo

Sorry, it will probably be the last two weeks in May 2015

BigRuss

Dunno how you'd fly into Fort Worth. The only airport there is for private planes. Flying into Dallas-Fort Worth is a different story.

There are Cheesecake Factory restos throughout the state.

You need to say when you're coming. If it's July or August or early September, rethink the timing. Note that Austin City Limits Festival (the local Reading/Leeds equivalent) is the first two weekends in October, so the city will be jammed with an additional 40-55,000 people traveling into it just to see the bands (they get about 65k per day, or more, at the festival), and the default level of traffic in Austin is: despairing.

rizzo0904

Big Russ...I think its safe to assume DFW. And they said end of May.

BigRuss

Oy. Missed that.

End May is well and good. Too late for the bluebonnets, unfortunately.

Nelson

Sounds excellent. I recently posted a trip report here, where we covered some of the territory you are considering:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-road-trip.cfm

Your planned route in a 2-week period is very reasonable. This website will be very helpful in your research:
http://www.texasescapes.com/

Have a great trip.

happytourist

Very well planned trip. Several things I would recommend if you're interested in the Old West:
1. While in the HIll Country, go to the LBJ Ranch to see a typical early 20th century ranch.
http://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/lbjranching.htm
2. Don't miss the art museums in Ft. Worth: The Kimbell, the Amon Carter for American art and the Sid Richardson for Remingtons and Russells.
http://www.sidrichardsonmuseum.org/n...um/highlights/.
3. Find a club in Austin that plays great Western Swing--locals will have favorites or you can ask here. http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Wills+&+His+Texas+Playboys

You might look at this for more ideas:
http://www.thespiritoftheoldwest.com...xas.htm#Austin

BigRuss

You need to check what's at the Kimbell. Its permanent collection is weak, but even it's worst special exhibitions are usually good. That said, you need to see if they match your taste. Just going to it as an art museum is not worth your while (the DMA's permanent collection is better, the Kimbell usually gets better specials).

>

The Carter has some too.

txgirlinbda

Highway 281 to the west of I-35 can be a nice little break from interstate driving. Waco is a good halfway point stop between Ft Worth and Austin. There's an historic suspension bridge over the Brazos river. And if you're hungry while you're there, George's (just off the 17th-18th St exits of I-35) is the iconic burger and blue plate lunch locals favorite. Good basic home cooked food.
The barbecue trail from Lockhart to Taylor is worth checking out too. Enjoy the trip!

csing

May is a fine time to visit. Really nice weather and you'll have no problems getting around. When in San Antonio you've just got to go up the Tower of the Americas (there's a bar at the top too!), and the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. If you're into wine, the Texas Wine Trail is a great thing to do - start north of San Antonio and take a tour through more than 30 wineries from San Antonio to Fredericksburg or Lampasas and New Braunfels. Nice atmosphere and too few people experience Texan wines.

Michael

You might want to visit the missions other, or in addition to, the Alamo. There's a string of them just south of San Antonio.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...718580201/show

volcanogirl

We like Gruene too; be sure to check out the Grist Mill - sometimes they have live music. Good food and homemade wine coolers. Lots of cute little shops there, and you can go tubing on the river if you're so inclined. May is a great time to visit.

In San Antonio, we love Boudro's right on the River Walk. Good prickly pear margaritas and tableside guacamole. Guenther House is nice for breakfast. Be sure to do the little boat tour that runs around the river. We did a Segway tour that was fun; the King William district is pretty. The Alamo is always fun to see; it's smaller than I expected it to be, but interesting history there.

In Austin, we like the botanical garden, enjoying the view from Mt. Bonnell, and getting drinks and enjoying the sunset view at The Oasis out by the lake.

tomfuller

Things to see in Fredricksburg: The boyhood home (hotel) of Admiral Chester Nimitz. Next to the large old hotel is the Museum of the Pacific War. They have on display a small Japanese submarine that was captured in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. There are a couple of good German restaurants in town.