Houston to Destin FL road trip: Drive time, distance & best stops

The best road trip stops on the Houston to Destin FL drive are Beaumont TX, Baton Rouge LA and Mobile AL. The distance from Houston to Destin FL by car is 574 miles, with an 8h41m driving time.

Planning a Houston to Destin FL road trip itinerary

The Houston to Destin FL drive takes you from the biggest city in Texas to a popular Gulf Coast beach town in Florida.

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.

Destin is a beach town on the Florida Panhandle, with white sand beaches and several golf courses. The Destin Harbor Boardwalk tends to be the centre of activity, and there is plenty of activity to be in the centre of.

Top Destin experiences include a sunset tiki cruise, a Crab Island sandbar adventure, a dolphin-watching speedboat cruise and parasailing.

You can also try jetski rentals, the Maximum Magic show, Hydrojet sunset tours and banana boat rides.

If looking for Destin accommodation, the Comfort Inn and Suites offers good value and the plush Henderson Beach Resort has private beach access.

Houston to Destin FL distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Houston to Destin FL is 574 miles. That makes for a driving time of eight hours and 41 minutes. The quickest route is mostly along the I-10.

The best stops to add to a Houston to Destin FL road trip itinerary are Beaumont TX, Baton Rouge and Mobile AL.

Houston to Destin FL road trip attractions: Beaumont TX

Beaumont TX is just west of the Louisiana border. The top attraction is the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, located on the site of a 1901 oil strike that changed West Texas forever. It’s a recreated town, with rebuilt historic buildings, and plenty of Texas oil history.

Also worth looking at is the McFaddin-Ward House Museum, a heritage home with original art and furnishings. It gives a good idea of how much money was sloshing around in the early 20^th century.

Best stops between Houston and Destin FL: Baton Rouge

The obvious attraction in Baton Rouge is the Louisiana Capitol Building, but the castle-like Old Capitol Building is more attractive. It’s also now a museum, with interactive exhibits on democracy and the colourful characters who have walked the corridors over the decades. The colourful stained glass dome is spectacular, too.

As a museum, the Capitol Park Museum is better, telling multiple strands of Louisiana’s story. Other Baton Rouge attractions include the Magnolia Mound Plantation, built in 1791, and the environmentally educational Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center.

Great places to stay in Baton Rouge include the affordable Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown and the historic Watermark.

Houston to Destin FL drive: Mobile AL

The Alabama Gulf Coast port city of Mobile has a perhaps unexpected party spirit. This is best explored in the bars, or at the Mobile Carnival Museum.

You can also head on board the USS Alabama battleship or visit the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. The latter includes a ship simulator, where you can have a go at steering a ship through the Gulf.

Mobile experience options include a downtown food tour and a wildlife kayaking tour.

Top Mobile accommodation picks include the personality-packed Fort Conde Inn and the riverside Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza.