Texas Trails Self-Drive Tour

Twelve nights across Texas, self-drive with the flights included, from Houston to Fort Worth.

Houston takes the first two nights, with Hermann Park and the Space Center, where mission control from the Apollo era is preserved as it was. San Antonio follows for two, founded by Spanish missionaries in 1691, with the River Walk below street level and the Alamo, where the 1836 siege turned into the founding story of Texan independence.

Austin comes next for three nights, by way of Gruene and Lockhart, which claims to be the barbecue capital of the state and has the queues to prove it. The Texas State Capitol there is taller than the one in Washington, which Texans mention early, and the bat colony under the Congress Avenue Bridge comes out at dusk in summer. Graham follows for two nights at a working dude ranch, with horse riding and trails, then Fort Worth for three, with the Stockyards, a daily cattle drive, the rodeo and Billy Bob’s for line dancing.

Flights from a choice of UK airports, fully insured car hire, all the accommodation and round-the-clock support while travelling are included, and the price is quoted per person. Fourteen days for this much of Texas is a comfortable pace, with two or three nights everywhere and no long transits. Southfork Ranch, the filming location for Dallas, is available as a day trip from Fort Worth. Spring and autumn are the seasons, since a Texan summer is hot work and the bats at Austin are only in residence from spring to autumn anyway.