Texas Road Trips | Dream by Luxury Escapes

However much or little you know about Texas, the Lone Star State is sure to take you by surprise. Its sheer size and diversity mean it’s epic when explored by road, putting you in the driving seat to appreciate its shifting landscapes, sprawling cities, and unexpected stops along the way (whether a farm store, retro diner or roadside art installation).

Scroll on for nine very different but equally captivating Texas road trip routes – there’s one for every travel style.

1. For nature lovers: Big Bend National Park adventure

Duration: Approx. 4-6 days
Starts: El Paso
Ends: Big Bend to Alpine

Dark skies blanketed in stars, cactus-dotted desert, ancient canyons for hiking and historic cities steeped in oil boom history: this West Texas odyssey gives countless gifts for lovers of nature and photography. Start in the city of El Paso with its unique blend of American and Mexican culture. Here, climbing, bouldering, horseback riding and hiking await for adrenaline seekers, with botanical gardens for those who prefer a gentle stroll. Fuel up for your adventure with a waffle-loaded brunch board at Salt + Honey or a breakfast burrito at Savage Goods.

Head east from El Paso to make your first stop at Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site. For millennia, these rocky hills have been a sacred spot for native people, and today you can walk in their footsteps and gaze at the imagery they left behind.

Marfa is, in many ways, its own world. It’s the Big Bend Region’s epicentre of the arts and culture scene. Famous for its mysterious lights and internationally recognized contemporary museums, Marfa attracts visitors from all across the globe. Be sure to check out Ballroom Marfa for a renowned collection of up-and-coming artists. Its regular live music events offer just the right contemporary groove for visitors and locals alike.

A couple hours south of Marfa, located between Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National Park, sits the former mining town of Terlingua. The town is home to what is affectionately known as Ghost Town Texas. In both Terlingua and nearby Study Butte, you can find various outfitters to guide you through all sorts of experiences, ranging from exploring the town’s ruins (including crumbling and decaying buildings) to horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and more. The Terlingua Trading Company is modeled after the old Trading Post back when the town was active. Today, it’s the place to find souvenirs, sit on the porch, and watch the sunset.

Finally, your trip will come to a magnificent conclusion when you arrive at Big Bend National Park. One of the country’s great preserved lands, Big Bend features both desert and mountain landscapes full of diverse wildlife. A trip to Big Bend National Park must include a short hike between the abrupt, towering walls of Santa Elena Canyon with a stop at the Castolon Historic District along the way for enriching context to the surrounding marvels. This extraordinary landscape is under one of the darkest skies in the USA, where constellation spotting is best enjoyed with an overnight stay in a stargazing dome.

Wrap your West Texas adventure in Alpine, where you can take in panoramic views from the peak of Hancock Hill over the town, valley and mountains. They are well worth the ascent.

2. For small town charm: Hill Country Loop

Duration: Approx. 3-5 days
Starts: Austin
Ends: Austin

With its rolling hills, trickling rivers, wildflowers and charming towns, Texas’ Hill Country makes for one of the most scenic road trips in the state. It’s also one of the largest wine-producing regions in the USA, with more than 100 wineries dotted throughout the area (the 290 Wine Shuttle connects 15 of them if you want to leave the car behind).

While the region is primarily known for its winemaking, if you’re a beer lover, you’ll be pleased to find Frederickburg’s German heritage means the city serves up a mean craft beer, too. Check out the 48-hectare Alstadt Brewery, or the Fredericksburg Brewing Company, which has six on tap. Named ‘the prettiest town in Texas’ by Architectural Digest, the Bavarian influence of Frederickburg is still felt strongly through its pretty half-timbered buildings and hearty cuisine.

Next, visit Luckenbach, another German occupied trading post on the loop. It feels like taking a step back in time thanks to its 1849-era General Store, bar and dancehall, all under the canopies of 500-year-old oak trees. Enjoy daily live music and a warm Texan welcome here.

3. For summer road trips: Gulf Coastline Drive

Duration: Approx. 4-7 days
Starts: Houston
Ends: South Padre Island

For the best of Texas in summer, embrace buzzing cities and coastal beauty – perhaps even in a vintage rental car for the full, wind-in-your-hair experience.

Your launch point, Houston, is one of the biggest cities in the US, and therefore bursting with things to see and do. Encounter space history at the NASA Space Center, sunbathe in sprawling urban parks like the 65-hectare Buffalo Bayou, and catch a traditional rodeo show.

Drive on to historic Galveston, an island city with a good old-fashioned Pleasure Pier amusement park. Lovers of nature and wildlife can make the most of 50 kilometres of beaches, spot birdlife in Galveston Island State Park and encounter penguins, jellyfish, otters, sloths and more in the trifecta of glass pyramids at Moody Gardens.

Stop next at the coastal Corpus Christi, where the best of the bustling city meets laidback beach life. Expect top-notch seafood, surfing and horseback riding on the sands juxtaposed with museums, art galleries and a thriving calendar of live music and festivals.

The perfect end to this sun-kissed drive is a visit to South Padre Island, a resort town on a long, narrow barrier island off the state’s south coast. Here you’ll find some of the best beaches in Texas, with powdery white sands lapped by the azure waters of the Gulf of Mexico, lined with palm-dotted holiday resorts.

4. For iconic cities: Dallas to Arlington to Grapevine to Fort Worth

Duration: Approx. 3-4 days
Starts: Dallas
Ends: Fort Worth

If your style is go big or go home, kick off your road trip adventure in dazzling Dallas. Everything here is larger than life, from world-class sport at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium to the largest zoo in Texas. Its dining scene boasts everything from good old smokehouse barbecue to fine dining at Michelin-starred restaurants like the Japanese Tatsu (not to mention, famous frozen margaritas).

Head to Grapevine, which blends small town charm with big city attractions. Its historic Main Street is dotted with boutiques, art galleries and wine-tasting rooms, and its vintage railroad is quite a sight as its 1920s-era coaches pass by.

Wrap up in Fort Worth, a one-time trading post that is a perfect representation of the Texas cowboy experience. At the historic Stockyards, see the twice-daily cattle drive, and head to Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky tonk, for country music, cold beer and bull riding.

5. For those who like to get off the beaten track: Panhandle Plains Trail

Duration: Approx. 3-4 days
Starts: Amarillo
Ends: Lubbock

Want to experience some of Texas’ lesser-known cities? Begin with Amarillo, an old-meets-new desert city where working ranches exist alongside modern industry. Here, you can ride horses through Palo Duro Canyon, visit the Cadillac Ranch (an art installation of graffiti-covered Cadillacs, part buried in the desert sand) and take on the two-kilogram steak challenge at The Big Texan Steak Ranch. Sat on the legendary Route 66, the city will celebrate 100 years of the iconic highway with a festival in June 2026. Exactly as you’d imagine from the movies, this historic highway is dotted with diners, gas stations and roadside attractions.

More than 100 years of history awaits at Lubbock, the birthplace of one of the founding fathers of rock’n’roll, Buddy Holly (there’s even a museum dedicated to him). Browse the farmers’ markets, spot street art, catch a drive-in movie and embark on the self-guided High Plains Wine Trail for vine-to-glass tastings.

6. For a taste of remote Texas: San Antonio to West Texas

Duration: Approx. 5-7 days
Starts: San Antonio
Ends: Alpine

On this route, those who frequent the roads less travelled are rewarded with remote beauty, quirky roadside art and long-forgotten relics of old Americana. Beginning in San Antonio, stroll the famous riverside and visit the 300-year-old Alamo, a Spanish-built mission outpost that was the site of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo.

Continue on to Del Rio. Set on the banks of a 26,000-hectare lake, this arty frontier town is home to quirky galleries and ancient rock art. It’s also where you’ll find the oldest continually operating winery in the state, the 140-year-old Val Verde. An eclectic stay in guaranteed in Marathon, where accommodation could be a building made of recycled cans, bottles and papercrete, a 100-year-old homestead or a ranch.

With its unconventional community of farming families and artists, Marfa, in the Chihuahuan Desert, is a small city with a big personality and world-class galleries to peruse. On the route to Alpine, keep an eye out for sculptures and installations deposited along the road and railside. On arrival, the arty eccentricity continues, where colourful murals can be found downtown against a backdrop of mountains and desert valleys.

7. For those who enjoy a slower pace: East Texas forests & lakes

Duration: Approx. 3-5 days
Starts: Tyler
Ends: Livingstone

This unhurried route is perfect for those who like to stop and smell the roses, which you’ll certainly find in Tyler, the ‘rose capital of America’. In the 1940s, the city and its vicinity once produced more than 50% of the country’s roses, and today thousands of bushes can be admired in the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden. There’s even a museum and festival dedicated to the blooms. Heading out of the city, be sure to stop at Lake Tyler, which is popular for boating and fishing.

On to Nacogdoches, the Garden Capital of Texas and the oldest settlement in the state, whose historic downtown looks most spectacular against a backdrop of fall foliage. Pass tall pine wood forests enroute to Livingston, whose Main Street offers more old-world charm, with handmade chocolates, antiques and cosy cafes found along the historic strip.

8. For those short on time: Austin to San Antonio scenic backroads

Duration: Approx. 2-3 days
Starts: Austin
Ends: San Antonio

For a short itinerary, this route gives a lot of bang for its buck, delivering picturesque river towns, legendary live music and a dash of Latin American history. Begin in Austin, which is world-famous for its music scene, particularly its country and blues offering (local dive bar, The Continental Club, is legendary). Then, drive on to Texas Hill Country and San Marcos, a beautifully green city with 344 hectares of parkland, boundless trails for hiking and biking, and a river formed from hundreds of water springs around the area. Its tepid waters sit at a year-round 22 degrees Celsius and are perfect for stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking and glass-bottom boat tours.

A city of two rivers, leafy New Braunfels welcomes you next, together with the historic neighbouring Gruene. Once populated by German cotton farmers, it is well worth a stop to check out Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas built in 1878, the original general store, which dates back to 1925, both of which ooze rustic Texan charm.

Wrap up your drive in pretty riverside San Antonio, whose colonial heritage sees architectural influences from Spain and Germany – the most spectacular example of which is the 18th century, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Alamo Church, home of the first mission in San Antonio.

9. For foodies: Texas BBQ trail

Duration: Approx. 1-2 days
Starts: Austin
Ends: Taylor

This route will feed both soul and stomach with some of the best barbecue in the USA. Austin is famous not only for its live music, but its food truck scene – the city is home to thousands of them, serving up everything from pecan-wood-smoked chicken to beef cheek tacos and barbacoa.

Travel on to Lockhart, which, according to official Texas Legislature, is the ‘Barbecue Capital of Texas’. Top spots to visit include Kreuz Market, which serves its meats straight-up on brown butcher’s paper, the family dynasty Smitty’s Market, which boasts a secret beans recipe, and Black Barbecue, which is one of the oldest barbecue restaurants in Texas, and has featured in the New York Times and even fed presidents.

End up in Taylor, Texas’ spiritual home of smokehouse, where world-famous barbecue is served up by a famed trio: Louie Mueller BBQ, Buckalew’s BBQ and Davis BBQ. After you’ve had your fill of slow-cooked brisket, spareribs and beef sausage, explore Taylor’s historic downtown district, which is lined with antique stores and artisanal boutiques.

Hero image: Palo Duro Canyon. Credit: Travel Texas.