jedivader

We are trying to jump to a few cities within Texas, never been there before. We were going to do South Padre, Austin/San Antonio, Lubbock/Amarillo, then to El Paso. We were going to take the drive between Austin and San Antonio and Lubbock and Austin. Look to be about a two hour drive. We might have to remove a destination. Which shold we remove? Which cities are more interesting?

Dan

San Antonio-Austin: quick drive
Lubbock-anywhere: not quick

Dan

Rereading your post, did you mean Lubbock to Amarillo or Austin? If Amarillo, it's not a bad drive.

I'd personally skip Lubbock/Amarillo and maybe even El Paso. The more interesting cities are Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Corpus, South Padre/Harlingen, etc.

jedivader

I meant Lubbock to Amarillo. I've heard CC and Houston aren't worth going to. How far is Las Cruces, NM if I drive from El Paso?

dcespedes

The drive from San Antonio to El Paso is looooong and non descript--we did it once on our way to Arizona and if memory serves me correctly it took us 7-8 hours to get to El Paso. We are originally from the east coast and had never driven out west before--we wanted to see the terrain--for us, once was enough. Whether or not you consider Corpus or Houston worth visiting is up to you--personally, I really enjoy Houston and Corpus Christi. Although I've never done it friends who have tell me the drive to South Padre is about 5-6 hours from San Antonio and the beaches there are supposed to be really nice.

Seamus

Driving is the way to go in the San Antonio-Austin area; there's lots to do and see in and around this Hill Country region. As for Lubbock-Amarillo, unless you have some personal connections,there's "not a lot of there there." El Paso offers little in the way of tourist attractions but is a great example of a bordertown. Ciudad Juarez, across the Rio Grande in Mexico, is actually much larger than El Paso, does offer the usual border town tourist options. Las Cruces is just under an hour away.
South Padre is a nice beach area (as opposed to North Padre) but it is way down south and a good several hours of a very boring drive from San Antonio; I'd fly if that were an option. Southwest usually has cheap fares.

jedivader

Thanks for the input. We are actually jumping from city to city via Southwest Airlines. Our original plan was Baltimore to South Padre, SP to Austin/SA, Austin to lubbock/Amarillo, Lubbock to El Paso, then home. Most likely would cut out El Paso or Lubbock/Amarillo.

My wife wants to go to SP and Austin the most. I want to see real Texas life, not the usual city stuff I could see in Washington DC. I want to see tumbleweeds, cowboys, cattle, spurs, etc.

jedivader

Also: My wife and I love Mexican/Tex-Mex food. Any recommendations for the best in Texas (moderate prices).

Are there anythings that you would recommend not wasting out time on during the trip?

JimM

It seems so odd for me to recommend Amarillo. After two years in France, I was sent to Amarillo for four years. Talk about culture shock!!!!! No one ever went AWOL from Amarillo AFB...they could see you for three days.

The Air Force Base has long been closed. So what's there now? It's a center of the cattle industry...huge stock yards. Twenty miles south is Canyon, TX, and Palo Dura Canyon, where you can see TEXAS, a colorful musical on an outdoor stage that portrays life on the high plains then and now...well worth the trip.

Lubbock is a college town and center of the cotton industry. The city and surroundings give you a whole new appreciation for the word, "flat." Not much there.

When in South Padre, take a trip up to King Ranch...a bit over an hour away. Great history of the cattle industry, and still over a million acres.

We've lived in the Dallas area for 25+ years but this isn't Texas IMHO. You won't miss much, compared to the rest of your itinerary.

Enjoy your trip...JimM

cmpdx

hmm. For 'real texas' you're as likely to find it just about anywhere. if you're going to south padre, you might consider going up north to Kingsville (about a 3 hour drive at the most, i'd say). you can tour the King Ranch, which is pretty impressive. From there, Corpus is about another hour or so and would be nice to visit. You could stay on north beach fairly inexpensively. I know you're not really down with Corpus, but from there you could fly to San Antonio/Austin or whatever if you really wanted to avoid driving. The drive from Corpus to SA/Aus is actually quite easy, though.
As for food. That depends on where you're going. You pretty much can't go wrong at most places. Chuy's in Austin (with locations in Houston & Dallas) is yummy, inexpensive, fun and has extremely generous portions. In San Antonio, a non-riverwalk tradition is Mi Tierra at the Mercado. It's open 24 hours a day, has mariachis, a pastry counter, and decent food. Maybe better for a late coffee (or mexican hot chocolate!) and pastry, though. There are tons of good places all over the state. Just ask a local (not the concierge)and you're likely to get at least a dozen great recommendations.

Have a great time and let us know what you thought!!

jedivader

So Jim, if I had to delete one stop?

You would say El Paso?

Amarillo/Lubbock will give me the plains and a traditional Texas feel.

Austin will give me new/younger Texas.

San Antonio will give me big city/historical.

South Padre will give me the beach.

We should skip Dallas and Corpus Christi.

Have I got it right.

What about Houston and Odessa/Midland?

JimM

Frankly, I wouldn't miss El Paso unless I really had to cut a city. It's an interesting border town with a touch of Native America, Mexico, and early USA within a relatively small space.

Amarillo/Lubbock introduces you to the high plains. But if you take the drive to King Ranch from South Padre, you'll get a good picture of the cattle industry...on the granddaddy of all us ranches. The ranch is 125 miles from South Padre, up Rte 77 which is generally wide open.

While Austin is great for the music scene, it's also an historic treasure. Don't miss the State House and Bob Bullock's Texas museum. If you have the time, drive out to the Hill Country...to Fredricksburg. You pass thru some of the states prettiest real estate. There's well over 100 wineries around there where you can stop and wet the whistle.

South Padre will give you the Florida beaches. The fine sand packs just like it does at Daytona...fun to drive on...but otherwise a very ordinary beach town. We've been once. Too many other excellent Caribbean beaches in close proximity...not to mention Corpus Christi. Passable beaches, great food, fantastic fishing, and a good picture of the Texas oil industry.

Houston is like Los Angeles on the Gulf...urban sprawl with heat and excessive humidity. South of the city offers some fun spots...San Jacinoto where Texas won its independence... Kemah offers a great boardwalk, restaurants, etc. If you're into space travel, visit NASA...well worth it.

Midland/Odessa is an oil center. Odessa is where all the oil field workers live. Midland is where oil co. management lives. If you like looking at oil rigs, you'll get plenty of them on some very flat land. It was once the bottom of an inland sea.

A great thing about Texas is the chance to hop into the car and head in any direction to experience the unique history and geography of this great state. Any way you turn, you find a new set of salty characters who shed their blood, sweat and tears to make Texas what it is today...like it or not.

jedivader

Based on time and flights (prefer to get N/S) we might be changing schedule a bit. It might now be Austin, South Padre, and Houston.

What do you all think of Houston?

ChristieP

Personally, if you want to see cowboys and cattle, you need to go to Fort Worth! There is a twice-daily cattle drive in the Stockyards that is really neat to see. Also, if you see the King Ranch near Corpus, there's really no reason to go to Lubbock and Amarillo to see more ranches. (It's not like that part of the state is scenic!!)

Fort Worth has lots of great museums and Dallas has several good museums and all of the professional sports, too. And then there are the tons of wonderful restaurants and the best shopping in the state. I definitely would NOT skip the metroplex!

There is NOTHING worth seeing in Midland/Odessa! I have friends that live there, and they agree. (Heck, they come visit me in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to get out of there!)

I agree that flying between cities on SWA is the way to go. If you book online and are a member of their Rapid Rewards, you'll end up with a free ticket by the end of your trip, too!

pegelicious

Probably all just depends on the amount of time you have. If just a week, stick with beach (either Corpus/Port Aransas or South Padre) and the I-35 corridor running b/w San Antonio and Austin. Fly from S. Padre but easy drive north if Corpus. The hill country in between is worth a couple of days, anchored by two very different cities. Skip Houston. Lubbock and Amarillo is a very cool idea though if you've got time. That will give you a feel for the vastness and desolation of a large part of the state. If you're the type that is intrigued by local color, watch "Lone Star". It's probably 10 years old now but it's a very well-told story that captures a lot of what non-urban south texas is like. My roots are Houston, San Antonio and Beaumont so I guess take that for what it's worth!

diane61

Are you into old rock and roll? Lubbock is a great place to learn about Buddy Holly. Lubbock also has a couple of wineries that offer tours.

Down to the Hill Country, don't miss Fredericksburg, a beautiful German community with nice antique shops and great German food.

I would personally skip El Paso. It is far from everything!

diane61

Also, don't be surprised if people in
West Texas wave to you. It is ok to
WAVE BACK. Texans are very friendly people, especially in the Panhandle and West Texas. Have a great time, ya'll.

ChristieP

Diane, that is SO true! I lived out there for 6 years, and even managed to drag my West Texas husband back to Dallas. We think that people are just friendlier out there since it is truly God's Country!

spunki

jedivader, sounds like your SW flight path might need to include Houston -- I'd say visit Houston, at least the Space Center (it's NASA's Mission Control). What made you say earlier that Houston isn't worth going to? True, it is like many other big cities but there are some unique things to do/ see.

dwoodliff

I haven't read every word on this thread. Hope I don't duplicate, but:

Driving from Austin to San Antonio is an easy 1-hour drive. If you have time, there are some neat places to stop along the way in New Braunfels.

El Paso to Las Cruces, NM is a short drive. I'm not sure of the distance, but I drove it 4 years ago -- seemed very close. El Paso is far from anything else in Texas, however. Fly there.

Skip Dallas. Driving there is horrible! Not that much to see. (Watch me get flamed.) We only go there for special events. Also, DFW is not in Dallas. If you fly into DFW, you will waste a lot of time driving to get to downtown Dallas. (A little closer to the airport, there is Ranger baseball and Six Flags in Arlington, and horse-racing at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.)

I wouldn't do Houston, either. The city is huge. It takes 45 minutes plus just to drive across town. There are more authentic Texas experiences to be had in the smaller cities.

Donna