Houston to Austin drive: Distance, time & best road trip stops
The distance from Houston to Austin by car is 165 miles, with a 2h42m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Houston to Austin drive are the Stephen F Austin State Park, the Santa Claus Museum and Bastrop State Park.
Planning a Houston to Austin road trip itinerary
The Houston to Austin drive connects two of the biggest cities in Texas.
The top Houston attraction is unquestionably the NASA Space Center, which takes you behind the scenes of the Johnson Space Center. This includes the Mission Briefing Center, and a vast array of high tech exhibitions.
Other attractions include the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Children’s Museum,
For more Houston experiences, try hip hop party bike tours, foodie walks in the Montrose neighbourhood and quirky tours of Houston’s tunnel system.
Top Houston accommodation options include the superb value Club Quarters Houston Downtown and the upscale but boutique Magnolia.
Austin is renowned for its live music scene, although it has plenty of more conventional attractions too. These include Austin Zoo, the Museum of Ice Cream and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Top Austin experiences include ebike tours taking in the city highlights, haunted pub crawl walks and segway tours.
You can also try highly-rated downtown food tours, half day wine shuttles in the Hill Country, brewery-hopping beer tours and sightseeing on a boat cruise.
Houston to Austin distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Houston to Austin is 165 miles. That makes for a driving time of around two hours and 42 minutes. The quickest route is via the I-10 and TX-71.
The best stops to add to a Houston to Austin road trip itinerary are the Stephen F Austin State Park, the Santa Claus Museum and Bastrop State Park.
Houston to Austin drive: Stephen F Austin State Park
The Stephen F Austin State Park on the Brazos River is a popular hangout for campers, but it can also be enjoyed by travelers just passing through. There are five miles of hiking trails that veer from hardwood trees to swampland. The Nature Trail is the best bet if picking just one walk,
Nearby, you can visit the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, which tells the tale of early settlers in Texas.
Best stops between Houston and Austin: Santa Claus Museum
The Santa Claus Museum in Columbus TX is a wonderfully weird celebration of Father Christmas, hosting 5,000 different incarnations of Santa. There are dolls, figurines, music boxes, paintings, ornaments and needleworks, sourced from around the world.
The museum has been open since 1990, and it’s not just for Christmas – it’s open year-round.
Houston to Austin road trip attractions: Bastrop State Park
Bastrop State Park has long been a popular getaway from Austin, and neither fire nor flood have changed that. As state parks go, it’s a great all-rounder. There are seven miles of hiking trails, fishing opportunities in Lake Mina, and a swimming pool.
You can also stay overnight, either camping or booking a cabin.
More Houston road trips
Abilene to Houston | Houston to Albuquerque | Houston to Amarillo | Arlington TX to Houston | Houston to Atlanta | Houston to Baltimore | Houston to Baton Rouge | Houston to Beaumont TX | Houston to Biloxi | Houston to Birmingham AL | Houston to Buffalo | Bryan TX to Houston | Carrollton TX to Houston | Houston to Charlotte | Houston to Chattanooga | Cincinnati to Houston | College Station to Houston | Houston to Colorado Springs.
Dallas to Houston | Denton TX to Houston | Houston to Denver | Houston to Destin FL | Houston to Detroit | Houston to El Paso | Frisco TX to Houston | Houston to Fort Lauderdale | Houston to Fort Worth | Houston to Fredericksburg | Garland TX to Houston | Houston to Gatlinburg | Houston to Hot Springs | Indianapolis to Houston | Irving TX to Houston | Houston to Jackson MS | Houston to Jacksonville | Houston to Knoxville.
Houston to Lafayette | Houston to Lake Charles | Lewisville TX to Houston | Little Rock to Houston | Longview TX to Houston | Houston to Lubbock | Magnolia TX to Houston | Marshall TX to Houston | Houston to Memphis | Houston to Milwaukee | Houston to Mobile AL | Nacogdoches to Houston | Nashville to Houston | Houston to New Braunfels | Houston to New Orleans | Houston to New York City | Houston to Oklahoma City | Houston to Omaha NE | Houston to Orlando.
Houston to Panama City | Houston to Pensacola | Houston to Philadelphia | Houston to Phoenix | Houston to Pittsburgh | Plano TX to Houston | Houston to Salt Lake City | San Angelo TX to Houston | Houston to San Antonio | Houston to San Marcos | Houston to Santa Fe | Shreveport to Houston | Houston to St Louis | Houston to Tampa | Temple TX to Houston | Texarkana to Houston | Houston to Tucson | Houston to Tulsa | Waco TX to Houston | Houston to Washington DC | Houston to Wichita | Wichita Falls to Houston.
More Austin road trips
Abilene to Austin | Austin to Albuquerque | Amarillo to Austin | Arlington to Austin | Austin to Baton Rouge | Dallas to Austin | Denton TX to Austin | Austin to Destin FL | Austin to El Paso | Fort Worth to Austin | Austin to Fredericksburg | Frisco TX to Austin | Austin to Galveston | Indianapolis to Austin | Irving TX to Austin | Austin to Jacksonville | Katy to Austin | Little Rock to Austin | Lubbock to Austin | Memphis to Austin | Austin to Midland TX.
Nashville to Austin | Austin to New Braunfels | Austin to Odessa TX | Oklahoma City to Austin | Austin to Orlando | Plano TX to Austin | San Angelo to Austin | Austin to San Antonio | Austin to San Marcos | Austin to Santa Fe | Austin to Tampa | Tyler TX to Austin | Wichita Falls to Austin.