Howdy y’all! No, who am I? That’s sounds a little too Texas for me, haha. I can say “y’all” since I have officially lived in Texas for 15 years and can call myself a true Texan now. However, as much as I loved wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat on this trip I’m not sure I’m “that” Texas.
I am so freaking excited to finally share my west Texas roadtrip guide with “y’all”! I have had this trip on my bucket list for the past three years… I’ve actually booked El Cosmico once before, but had to cancel last minute. With 2020 being the year that it has been, roadtrips have become my way of traveling this year. This roadtrip definitely tops the list!
I’m going to map this out as best as I possibly can with all the little towns we stopped in, travel time on the road, places to stay, and the big tourist highlight spots. The #1 highlight obviously being the Prada Marfa art installation. It’s basically the entire reason for this trip… And, it did NOT disappoint.
This entire west Texas trip was 6 days/5 nights and a total of over 1,500 miles! Yes, it was a LOT of driving but so worth it!
WEST TEXAS ROADTRIP ITINERARY
SUNDAY / 3 hrs
12pm: Drove from Dallas to Austin to stay at Austin Proper Hotel for the night and meet up with friends. If we hadn’t been meeting up with friends then I probably would reverse this entire trip and drive to Marfa first! It could be really fun to end your trip in Austin for a weekend! I’m always a sucker for spending time in Austin…
MONDAY / 7 hrs
9am: Loaded up the car and drove from Austin to Terlingua, TX! Unfortunately, there isn’t much to see on this drive so we really didn’t stop much… Although, you do drive through Fredericksburg so if you can then I would totally stay a night in Fredericksburg!
TUESDAY / 0 hrs
8am: Morning coffee to watch the sunrise! We would’ve used this day to go hiking in Big Bend, but there was a freak cold front that blew through Texas so we didn’t have the right clothes to hike.
12pm: Drove over to Lajitas, TX for lunch at the Lajitas Golf Course and Resort. I would HIGHLY recommend spending a few hours over here because it’s like it’s own small little town with some super cute stores. Then I’d stay for dinner at the hotel because they do live music!
3pm: We decided to come back to Willow House and make a fire and drink some wine since it was dang cold!
5pm: There is one main restaurant in Terlingua called Starlight Theatre that EVERYONE goes to and it’s ALWAYS about a 2 hour wait… So, my advice is go early!
TIP: Most restaurants close pretty early so plan accordingly.
I would still totally take the day to just go drive around the area because it’s so pretty! Honestly, there isn’t a LOT to do except hiking or other outdoor activities like horseback riding, golfing, or some water activities.
WEDNESDAY / 3.5 hours
8am: Morning coffee again to watch the sunrise which the sunrise and sunsets are beautiful. Also, a great time to go hike!
11am: Packed up the car and drove into Big Bend to see some of the park since we weren’t able to go hiking. We found a great lookout spot that’s about 35-40 minutes into the park called Sotol Vista Overlook.
12:30pm: Drove from Big Bend National Park up to Marathon, TX. We stopped at the Gage Hotel which is an old boutique hotel that reminded me of a Western movie.
1pm: Stopped in between Marathon and Alpine at the Tiny Target!!
3pm: Checked into our Airbnb in Marfa! We got to our final destination!! Our Airbnb was so cute we unpacked and enjoyed a little glass of wine before heading out.
5pm: Originally, I had always wanted to stay the night at El Cosmico in one of the teepee’s… But, they book up SO fast and it was freezing so we just booked a cheap tent so we could go over and hang out at least.
8pm: Dinner at Hotel Paisano! I’d definitely recommend eating here or Hotel Saint George one night. Mainly because there are some other cute restaurants I’d prefer just because I like finding the local spots.
THURSDAY / 1 hr
8am: Slept in a bit and then went to grab coffee at the cutest little coffee shop called The Sentinel. It’s actually a coffee shop, gift shop, restaurant and bar too. They had some really cute home decor things I had to resist buying…
12pm: Ordered lunch from Stellina because most restaurants were only doing “to-go” orders. OMG… the food was SO amazing! I got one of their sandwiches and now I’m craving it being back home.
1pm: Went to walk around town and do a little shopping! I got a real cowboy hat at this cute store called Communitie. There were actually a few cute stores on the main street. Another spot you have to stop into is The Marfa Store.
5pm: Eeeeekkkk time to drive out to the Prada Marfa store!!!!!!! I highly recommend going about an hour before sunset… It’s a 30 minute drive outside of Marfa literally in the middle of nowhere. We brought champagne and wine to drink while sitting on the back of the car watching the sunset go down. It was absolutely perfection and so worth this entire trip!
8pm: Stopped back by the Airbnb to change into comfortable clothes again, haha. Then went to this amazing restaurant for dinner called The Waterstop. This place has such a cool vibe… Totally somewhere I would go on a first date or a repeat restaurant on my list for sure! Amazing drinks!!
FRIDAY / 8 hrs
8am: Ooooohhhhhhh the long journey back home to Dallas… Look I knew it was going to be a long day and I was prepared. Honestly, it really wasn’t that bad of a drive. You definitely should stop in Monahan, TX to see the sand hills! It’s the desert…in Texas.
Now country road take me home… This west Texas roadtrip will be one of my most memorable trips. Driving through west Texas is seriously one of the prettiest drives I made in my life. It’s so serene and peaceful because most of the time you don’t have cell service!
I will 100% go back to Marfa and Big Bend in the future… Who knows, maybe for my bachelorette trip one day?!
*I’ll have full travel guides up for Marfa and Big Bend later this week!
Texas is a loser state I’m glad you lost the election I’m a Blackman and demacrat