Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas

[NalafromtheLionKing]

We’re thinking of going there in summer 2024 (couple with pre-teen/mid teen boys). Has anyone been and, if so, where is the best area to stay and what were the best things you did? Thanks in advance 😊

It's going to be HOT! How long are you going for? There isn't much to see in Dallas (the JFK museum is interesting if you're all familiar with the conspiracy etc) Fort Worth is much more fun, cowboy land etc. We only did a couple days up there though, there's more to see further south (Austin, San Antonio, even Houston at a push for NASA).

Just under a week (then going to New York for a few days). We’re flying into DFW so I’m wondering if it would take too long to get further south?

Agree that the cowboy land stuff looks fun and Six Flags 😊

Austin is an about a 4 hour drive, San Antonio is only about 1.5 hrs from Austin if I'm remembering rightly. I'd be more inclined to drive straight down and spend the time in Austin/SA and then maybe do Fort Worth for a day when on the way back, but appreciate that might be too much driving for teens to tolerate (it's not a very fun drive either!) I'm sure they'll love Six Flags, you could see if there is a rodeo going on, get some good BBQ, go up the observation tower, I think there's a good zoo in Dallas too? Definitely the JFK museum. Itll be a good contrast to NY.

Thanks, will look into that. We’re not planning on hiring a car but there must be other ways of getting there.

Austin is fabulous. We didn't rate Six Flags, although if you're a roller coaster enthusiast you will love it. We loved Schlitterbahn water park, New Braunfells, so much to do, something for everyone, perfect for the heat.

We have also been to Fredericksberg, a small town in Hill Country, it was settled by Germans and has amazing bakeries. It's very picturesque.

Traffic in Austin is hell, but once outside the city we found the roads clear.

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Dallas!

Have a wonderful time.

Thanks, these are really good suggestions. Please keep them coming!

A car makes life much easier in Texas, everything is so spread out and often not pedestrian friendly, even just getting Dallas to FW, couldn't imagine not hiring a car tbh (especially considering how hot it's going to be in the summer, Houston has an underground city due to the heat, they can literally jump from their air conditioned cars to their office building car park and then go underground from their building for lunch etc!). But Uber should do the job if you budget for that.

Yes, will probably do Ubers. Is there anywhere good which is closer to Fort Worth than San Antonio/Austin or would it definitely be worth the travel time (I think a PP said 8 hour round trip to Austin).

We love a road trip (in the US especially) so the driving is part of the holiday for us (Google Buccee's service station...amazing!) but if you're not planning on hiring a car we may have very different approaches to holidays so obviously take my opinion within context. I can't advise much around Dallas because when we planned our trip we decided to only drive up for a couple of nights as there was less we wanted to do there, we spent the bulk of the time in the Austin/SA area. I personally think it's worth the drive but I suppose it depends on what you're after (we didn't go with kids I hasten to add) I would research what there is in the cities and determine what you're family is more likely to like. I have no doubt you will fill your time and get the Texas experience in Dallas, it's just a question of deciding if this is the only time you're going, would you prefer Austin/SA MORE? In which case, it'll be worth the drive, if not, don't do it. Oh always recommend seeing a sports game depending what is in season.

Sports game sounds good, thanks. We like to have lots of different activities and things to see and do which we can’t do at home and this will be our first trip to the US (not counting a brief trip to Boston when I was a child). We could do some museums but the boys generally prefer more action!

I guess we would most like the full Southern/Texas experience as our top priority so the cowboy stuff is important. I would have liked to go to a dude ranch but it doesn’t really look possible without a lot of driving.

Ah you'll have a great time, Texas and NY will be such a fun contrast. I love Texas so much. Look at a city bus tour as well, I always enjoy doing those to get an understanding of the history of the city. I know people have stayed on ranches and done the whole horse experience thing, that should be relatively do-able via Uber, the ranch might even help with transport. Cant help advise on that though sorry not done it myself! You might want to consider a couple nights in Dallas itself and then a couple of nights in Fort Worth, split stay might make the travelling easier.

https://www.fortworthstockyards.org/
I really enjoyed it here when I went years ago. There was an event on so it was busy but great atmosphere. The museum, shops, restaurants, cattle drive - all good fun.

I also always check out the outlets in the US if that's something you guys would be into. I think it was this one I went to in Dallas.
https://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/allen

It's easy enough to get around with uber if you really don't want to drive but will be expensive...going from A to B can easily be $50-70 and I did some longer ones that were $90-100+

Why Dallas - seems an odd choice for a first trip to the US.

And I think you'll find it VERY difficult, and expensive, without a car.

Thanks, am taking notes of all these options.

@PaminaMozart Good question. I guess we just wanted to go somewhere which would be a complete contrast to New York and totally different to anywhere we have been before. I always fancied going to the Deep South for their food and jazz and this seemed a better (and maybe safer) option with kids.

We could hire a car, I was just concerned that it may be difficult and/or dangerous driving in such places. Maybe I’m being too cautious.

Also we can’t change our flights (from London to DFW then American Airlines from DFW to JFK just under a week later) without losing our money.

Just to say Texas isn't really 'the deep south' that's a different type of US culture really, Texas has its whole own culture really. It reminds me of Scotland in that it has such a unique identity and would have a good argument to become a country in its own right; many Texans would call themselves Texans before Americans. But it's brilliant, not saying that to put you off more to manage expectations, we loved Texas and would go again. I would take my teens there in a heartbeat.

In your shoes I'd definitely hire a car and turn this in a driving holiday. Read up about Texas and be adventurous. We did this back in the day with our kids, but in the Eastern states. It was great fun and we saw and c experienced things way off the usual tourist track.

Also post on the US forum of BritishExpats for some ideas.

Driving in the US is way easier than in Europe.

I would strongly advise reconsidering about hiring a car. America, and Texas in particular, is structured around the car in every way and not having one would be extremely inconvenient if you want to leave the downtown Dallas area.

That said, the JFK museum at Dealy Plaza is a must-do if you’re in town. Apart from that, Dallas is a corporate business city, and not really a tourist destination. Fort Worth (yee-haa!) is much more interesting. Austin is great, albeit not very Texan. It’s a liberal college town, seemingly quite out of place in a very politically ‘red’ state.

Driving is super easy in the US, and it does open up a lot of options / potentially cheaper than trying to uber everywhere, even if you stick fairly close to Dallas.

i grew up near-ish Dallas, but haven’t been back in a couple of decades, so probably a bit dated, but I have fond memories of Six Flags, as well as the Kimbell art museum - smaller museum but really lovely collection and they get some pretty amazing exhibitions. In general, Dallas was able to pull in pretty fab exhibitions when on tour (great facilities, deep pockets) so something to check out. There’s also the Galleria mall which has an ice rink in the middle - potentially a welcome respite in hot weather. I would also highly recommend a rodeo.

san Antonio and Austin are both lovely, and are culturally probably more diverse/ecclectic than Dallas. One idea might be to do a bit of a Texas only or Texas + Louisiana road trip? In my opinion, the best bits of America are outside of major cities

Hi, I lived in the DFW area for 5 years so have many recommendations.

Firstly you will need to hire a car. Ubers will quickly become costly and you really are limited to what you can do on foot, especially in the heat! We moved back here a few years ago, and I know Fort Worth has had massive redevelopment since then, but my list would be things like.

• Fort Worth stockyards. Definitely experience this and go to a rodeo which run every Fri and Saturday evenings
• JFK museum at Dallas. I think it’s interesting for all ages
• Tour of Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington
• Dallas Arboretum
• Six Flags was never a huge favourite of mine, especially in the heat. I’d be more inclined to check out some of the hotels with huge outdoor pool complexes that offer day passes. The Gaylord Texan is very good and you could happily spend a day there
• If looking to watch any sports, it’ll be baseball (Texas Rangers) or do look at Dallas Cowboys who begin their preseason in August. This really is an experience not to be missed if timing works out with games.
• Downtown Fort Worth is much nicer than Dallas and around Sundance Square with the fountains is really lovely.
• There are also incredible museums in both Dallas and Fort Worth, with Fort Worth modern being my personal favourite and offering discounted/free admission on certain days.
• The Bush Library in Dallas is brilliant and very interactive as a family attraction. It’s also located on the SMU college campus which gives you a great taste of the American collegiate experience
• Northpark shopping mall is fantastic for a break from the heat.
• Fort Worth zoo is very highly rated nationally, and much bigger and better than Dallas Zoo
• Coyote Drive in movie in FW is a great evening experience, again very American!

Austin/San Antonio is lovely, but I do feel there is also more than enough to do in DFW. You’ll also have to plan things around the many incredible eateries each day. Definitely make sure you experience Velvet Taco and Heim BBQ. But enjoy!

Wow, thank you! I never expected to get such amazing responses (and so quickly), am sure this will be a really good holiday. Definitely good to know on the car front too, will look straight into it.

@Polarbear5 many thanks, that is very helpful. Any chance you know whether Hotel Drover is worth the cost (so much more expensive than the other Fort Worth hotels)?

It was built after we left, but I follow on insta and it does look incredible. But would think unless you have the budget to do so, would go and look at it and have a wander around, rather than feel you had to stay there. As you say, it is insanely expensive compared to others.

Staying in any of the hotels in downtown FW is a good bet, and Dallas is under an hour by car, with baseball and Cowboys stadium located half way between, so it isn’t necessary to feel you have to split accommodation between both Dallas and FW.

I'm from Texas. Nothing is close to anything. We measure distance in days or hours it takes to get there, not in miles. Dallas traffic is insanely dangerous, I do not recommend driving yourself unless you're an adrenaline junkie. It takes about an hour to get from one area within the city to another. In my opinion there's nothing special about Dallas compared to other places in Texas. It's just a big hot ugly city with frequent tornadoes. The food anywhere in Texas is very good though, I would prioritize that over anything else. The Cotton Patch is one of my favorites, it's very authentic. The hole in the wall places are going to be amazing, bbq, cajun, soul, don't do the big name stuff. If you want to get out of the city and see an area that to me is more representative of Texas culture, and you are choosing to drive, Granbury is about an hour or so away. Just google it! I'd go there over Dallas any day.