Texas- what is there to do?

[slalomsuki]

Two DC's finish major exams next year and we will have sometime in June/early July to go on holiday. One of them has said he wants to go to Texas and drive round in a RV. We did California in a RV last year so that doesn't phase us but what I am not sure of is what there is to do in Texas that would entertain older teenagers and what would be recommended to see including beaches etc. We don't mind driving and covering the distances and could take up to 3 weeks

Any suggestions would be gratefully received

Think most of Texas will be too hot/humid in July?

Texas is massive. I like Austin but part of the appeal is the bars with live music which probably isn't any good for teenagers. It's an easy drive from there to San Antonio which is worth visiting for the Alamo and has a few touristy things teenagers might like (think Ripley's etc).

I didn't like Houston but the Space Centre there is great if you're at all interested in that.

Big Bend National Park is lovely but the rest of West Texas is really boring.

Matagorda beach, about halfway between Corpus Cristi and Galveston is nice.

i liked Austin. Hated Houston, there is little to do/ see in Houston. I’m sure there are other interesting bits in Texas though, it’s massive.

Honestly I would consider Oregon. we took our teens and they loved it. Lots of white water rafting, water sports, first nation culture etc. swimming in the lake with a snow topped mountain above us, painted hills etc. Really highly recommend it. we stayed in 3 different locations and had one of our best holidays there. and the big bonus is it is nowhere near as hot or touristy as other parts of the USA

I'd second Oregon/Washington states. Great mountains and coast. Portland is very nice and loads to eat and do!

Terrible idea, OP. Texas is vast, hot and dry. The Pacific Northwest or New England are beautiful and fun.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. We don't mind the heat and humidity and can cope with nothing obvious to do In that when we did the RV in the past we camped remotely and did some hi,wing, open water swimming and general local exploring. However this was between sightseeing and some civilisation. We were made enough to stay in Death Vally in July with no problem for example.

Will try to find some other ideas but the only other suggestion I could come up with was Louisiana or Mississippi states

Texas is awesome, we loved it, so much so we plan to go back ASAP. We did Houston, Austin, San Antonio and up to Dallas. As a pp says Houston was pretty dull apart from the space center, although a drive down to Galveston was worth it. Austin is excellent, you could spend a week around there and the surrounding countryside in the cute small towns like Wimberley and Fredericksberg, San Antonio is the most historical city, very different to the others. Dallas is much more modern. We didn't have time for Big Bend, so if you add Big Bend and more of the southern coastal areas you'd easily fill 3 weeks. Can't remember what month you said you were going, we went in October, perfect temperatures, hot but manageable.

And just to add, we very much did a "city" tour but there are loads of beautiful country parks to explore, I would stick to the East, as someone said the West is pretty vast and dry!

Oh and Fort Worth in Dallas is great, cowboy country.

And for RVs you will love Bucees service stations- amazing!

Have a look at Oregon. we had an awesome time there swimming in crystal clear lakes with snow topped mountains behind us. lots of white water rafting and water sports plus some fantastic walks and lots of first nation history. we didn't even make it to the coast there was so much to do inland. It was hot but not stifling and there were bits that were the middle of nowhere with unusual places to stay as well including a tree house place.

The area around Austin and San Antonio has quite a lot of ‘stuff’ to while away time doing such as tubing down rivers, visiting vineyards, lots of old german settlements etc., as well as the activities in San Antonio & Austin themselves.

Houston, meh. Enjoyed NASA though.

Dallas/Fort Worth are cool. Catch a ball game, visit the cowboys stadium, see the cattle drives, go to south fork and don’t forget the book repository so on and on ..,

We spent 3 weeks in Texas last year and did feel it was maybe a week too long but it was just the 2 of us - with teens, it could be a nice, relaxing and different holiday!