Texas people, need help planning a trip

[JoeyBoy718]

My wife and I are going on a road trip. Originally we planned on doing Route 66 but one-way rental cars are too expensive, so instead we'll be flying into Dallas and flying out from Dallas 15 days later. We were thinking of doing something like Dallas - Austin - San Antonio - Houston - some place in Louisiana, perhaps Baton Rouge - New Orleans - some place maybe in Mississippi, perhaps Jackson - maybe up to Memphis - maybe over to OK City - back down to Dallas. We definitely want to do a few places in TX and LA and considering MS, MO and OK on the way back to Dallas. Not sure exactly what cities to hit up or exactly what route to take. We want a mix of nature, big cities, culture, food. San Antonio seems to have a lot of things we'd find interesting like the Alamo, Natural Bridge Caverns and Riverwalk. New Orleans is a definite. She's really excited to go there. Anyone have any advice? I'm a New Yorker who lived a lot of time in Miami. She's a European. We haven't really been to the South before. We'd appreciate any recommendations.

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

Well start with skipping Baton Rouge unless you're a really good swimmer. The flooding there is bad and projected to get worse. New Orleans is fantastic if you're into food and music. Great night life and plenty to do during the day like Harrah's Casino, Aquarium of the Americas, Margaritaville, cemetery tours, etc... Don't miss eating breakfast at The Old Coffee Pot on St. Peter, and soaking up the booze late night with a bignet from Cafe Du Monde on Decatur right off the square. Ask attractive women if they would like some free beads from you.

Obviously with cities that you mentioned like Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston you'll find plenty to do. More off the beaten path I'd suggest seeing some live music at Luckenbach or Gruene Hall. Floating/tubing one of the Texas rivers like the Guadalupe, Comal, or the Frio (dragging a cooler of beer behind you). Big Bend is freaking amazing if you have time to make it that far south and your into hiking/camping. Lockhart TX is the BBQ Capital and you'll find Smitty's, Black's, and Kreuz Market within a few blocks of each other. Eat lots of Tex-Mex! New Mexicans and Californians know not what they speak of when they say their Mexican food is better than hours. Drink lots of Shiner Bock. Eat a chicken fried steak. Drive, we're 75 mph on our interstates and 80 in others so it's a fantastic place to road trip.

I've lived in Texas 43 years and been to New Orleans a dozen or so times. My wife and I like party places, good food, good music, and love the outdoors. Anything in that realm feel free to ask questions. If you're looking for gourmet dining, art galleries, or the best place to attend Sunday services I'm not really your guy.

 

[Longboysfan]

I'll second the swing into New Orleans.
Houston.... Not so much.
San Antonio - yes -

Dallas / Fort Worth.
Tour the Stadium.
Fort Worth Stockyards.
If you're into BBQ there are a lot of good places about the area to hit. Everyone has a favorite.
When are you flying in.

 

[Tabascocat]

Food For Thought

I know a one-way rental is extreme, around an $800 fee. Have you taken into account just how big Texas is? Driving that big of a loop from Dallas to SA to Houston to NO and back to Dallas is pretty close to the same distance on route 66-both ways! I don't know for sure but that is a lot of driving.

If you did stay with the Cali trip, you could always drive back the same route or take a different one, maybe through Yellowstone or something. That would also save you on those plane tickets. Two weeks is plenty of time to do that, just my two cents.......

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I'll second the swing into New Orleans.
Houston.... Not so much.
San Antonio - yes -

Dallas / Fort Worth.
Tour the Stadium.
Fort Worth Stockyards.
If you're into BBQ there are a lot of good places about the area to hit. Everyone has a favorite.
When are you flying in.

Flying into Dallas Saturday, August 27. Was planning on spending a day in Dallas, then heading down to Austin for 2 days, then down to San Antonio for 2 days, doing a "loop" trip my wife found in some traveling book for 2 days, then over to Corpus Christi for a day, up to Houston for a day, over to Avery Island area Louisiana for a day, over to Houma area for airboat rides and plantation tours, then over to New Orleans for the final 3 days. Overall it's a 14 night, 15 day trip. Definitely wanna check out a lot of Tex-Mex and BBQ while in Texas and a lot of Cajun/Creole food in Louisiana. Any recommendations? Also, do you need a reservation to tour the Cowboys stadium?

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Food For Thought

I know a one-way rental is extreme, around an $800 fee. Have you taken into account just how big Texas is? Driving that big of a loop from Dallas to SA to Houston to NO and back to Dallas is pretty close to the same distance on route 66-both ways! I don't know for sure but that is a lot of driving.

If you did stay with the Cali trip, you could always drive back the same route or take a different one, maybe through Yellowstone or something. That would also save you on those plane tickets. Two weeks is plenty of time to do that, just my two cents.......

We ended up getting a much cheaper deal on a one-way rental car from Dallas to New Orleans than we did for Chicago to LA. We found one for about $900 while it was almost $3,000 for the Route 66 trip. We mapped it out pretty good so far and we're only doing about 2 hours of driving a day on average and stopping somewhere for a day or two. Longest straight trip without a stop we have is from Houston to Avery Island, LA, which is about 4.5 hours. Other than that, everything's about an hour or two from the next location.

 

[Longboysfan]

Flying into Dallas Saturday, August 27. Was planning on spending a day in Dallas, then heading down to Austin for 2 days, then down to San Antonio for 2 days, doing a "loop" trip my wife found in some traveling book for 2 days, then over to Corpus Christi for a day, up to Houston for a day, over to Avery Island area Louisiana for a day, over to Houma area for airboat rides and plantation tours, then over to New Orleans for the final 3 days. Overall it's a 14 night, 15 day trip. Definitely wanna check out a lot of Tex-Mex and BBQ while in Texas and a lot of Cajun/Creole food in Louisiana. Any recommendations? Also, do you need a reservation to tour the Cowboys stadium?

Not that I know of to do stadium tour.
http://attstadium.com/tours/tourInfo.cfm
Be careful on some dates are blacked out of tours.

 

[Rockport]

Flying into Dallas Saturday, August 27. Was planning on spending a day in Dallas, then heading down to Austin for 2 days, then down to San Antonio for 2 days, doing a "loop" trip my wife found in some traveling book for 2 days, then over to Corpus Christi for a day, up to Houston for a day, over to Avery Island area Louisiana for a day, over to Houma area for airboat rides and plantation tours, then over to New Orleans for the final 3 days. Overall it's a 14 night, 15 day trip. Definitely wanna check out a lot of Tex-Mex and BBQ while in Texas and a lot of Cajun/Creole food in Louisiana. Any recommendations? Also, do you need a reservation to tour the Cowboys stadium?

Just be prepared for the heat.

 

[CyberB0b]

Man, that sounds exhausting. I'd spend more time in Austin and San Antonio. As @JIMMYBUFFETT already pointed out, you need to checkout Lockhart for the BBQ.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Man, that sounds exhausting. I'd spend more time in Austin and San Antonio. As @JIMMYBUFFETT already pointed out, you need to checkout Lockhart for the BBQ.

Yeah, I'll be passing by Lockhart so I'll definitely check that out. I looked at some of the places on Yelp and they look amazing.

 

[MileyDancer]

I'll save you the trouble. Just skip Houston. That place is a giant crapfest. It's disgusting, humid, ugly (no zoning laws I believe), and the traffic is the worst in the state. Just don't go. You won't be missing anything.

Now, San Antonio and Austin are fun cities. Dallas is the best, though.

 

[MileyDancer]

If you're into BBQ there are a lot of good places about the area to hit. Everyone has a favorite.

Hard 8 BBQ in Coppell. Trust me.

 

[Tabascocat]

I'll save you the trouble. Just skip Houston. That place is a giant crapfest. It's disgusting, humid, ugly (no zoning laws I believe), and the traffic is the worst in the state. Just don't go. You won't be missing anything.

Now, San Antonio and Austin are fun cities. Dallas is the best, though.

Well, one out of four aint too bad I guess

Houston has de-facto zoning which is basically the same thing. It is no more disgusting than any other major city and the traffic is bad but not the worst in the state, think maybe SA/Austin is a bit worse. The humidity is awful though.

But, I agree that it might be best to skip it, not much to do outside of eating. There is NASA but that is 30 miles South. If he really wants a couple days in a crapfest, stay in Beaumont!

 

[JoeKing]

San Antonio is the place you want to be. I lived there for a few years and fell in love with that place. River Walk at night is amazing... boat tour, food, drink, sites and sounds will take your breath away. And the people are the friendliest in the country. I would also recommend going tubing on the Guadalupe River. I always made the short drive to San Marcus from San Antonio to do this.

 

[CyberB0b]

Hard 8 BBQ in Coppell. Trust me.

That place is garbage compared to the big 3 in Lockhart.

 

[MileyDancer]

That place is garbage compared to the big 3 in Lockhart.

"That's just like....your opinion man."
Jeff Lebowski

 

[Tabascocat]

Throw a rock anywhere in Texas, you will hit a good BBQ place

There are better places than others but most won't disappoint.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

That place is garbage compared to the big 3 in Lockhart.

I see there's a Black's in Austin too. I'll only pass through Lockhart once most likely, so I was thinking of doing Black's in Austin and Kreuz in Lockhart.

 

[CyberB0b]

I see there's a Black's in Austin too. I'll only pass through Lockhart once most likely, so I was thinking of doing Black's in Austin and Kreuz in Lockhart.

Kreuz is kind of overrated. I prefer Black's or Smitty's, but really can't go wrong.

 

[Shunpike]

San Antonio is the place you want to be. I lived there for a few years and fell in love with that place. River Walk at night is amazing... boat tour, food, drink, sites and sounds will take your breath away. And the people are the friendliest in the country. I would also recommend going tubing on the Guadalupe River. I always made the short drive to San Marcus from San Antonio to do this.

Please tell more about San Antonio. Will book a 3 night hotel starting December 26. What are some good hotels by the River to enjoy the bars and restaurants with the best strategic location? Thanks my friend.