Houston to Tucson road trip: Best stops, distance & driving time
The best road trip stops on the Houston to Tucson drive are San Antonio, Balmorhea State Park and El Paso. The distance from Houston to Tucson by car is 1,066 miles, with a 15h53m driving time.
Planning a Houston to Tucson road trip itinerary
The Houston to Tucson drive connects the biggest city in Texas to southern Arizona.
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.
Tucson is often used as a base for exploring the Sonoran Desert. But it’s a proper city with an arty streak, a Spanish-tinged history and excellent Mexican food.
Top Tucson experiences include exploring the city’s many murals, taking a self-guided audio tour through Saguaro National Park and canyoneering at Mt Lemmon.
There are also several good bike tours you can do in and around Tucson. Choose from a history-focused ride through the city, e-biking in Saguaro National Park and taco-tasting on two wheels.
For resort-style accommodation in Tucson, take a look at the impressive Casino Del Sol Resort. To stay downtown, within walking distance of several restaurants, try the Leo Kent Hotel.
Houston to Tucson distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Houston to Tucson is 1,066 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 15 hours and 53 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-10.
The best stops to add to a Houston to Tucson road trip itinerary are San Antonio, Balmorhea State Park and El Paso.
For more suggestions, see the guides to individual sections of the journey:
Best stops between Houston and Tucson: San Antonio
San Antonio’s most famous site is the Alamo, a fortified Spanish mission that played host to a critical battle in the Texas Revolution. It’s far from the only historic building in the city, though – the San Fernando Cathedral and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are both visually impressive. It’s worth taking a guided tour of the missions for better understanding.
Further attractions include San Antonio Zoo, the Sea Life aquarium, the magic show at the Magicians Agency Theater and the Hopscotch Immersive Art Experience.
Other San Antonio experiences worth considering are the haunted ghost bus tour, downtown food tours, hop-on hop-off buses and Segway tours.
Book ahead for San Antonio accommodation deals. But try the Hotel Emma for five star opulence and the Canopy by Hilton for youthful energy on the Riverwalk.
Houston to Tucson drive: Balmorhea State Park
Balmorhea State Park in Toyahvale TX is home to the world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool. More than 15 million gallons of water flow through this 1.3 million acre pool on a daily basis, fed by the San Solomon Springs. It’s naturally heated, too, with the water temperature at a steady 72 to 76 degrees all year. It’s also possible to go Scuba diving here.
Houston to Tucson road trip attractions: El Paso
El Paso has plenty of stories behind it, some of which are covered on the Ghosts, Haunted Cowboys and Outlaws tour. You can also explore the surrounding landscape on a UTV adventure tour, or going biking, hiking and rock-climbing in Franklin Mountains State Park.
As for other El Paso attractions, the National Border Patrol Museum looks at the work of those who monitor the US’ borders, with a little bit too much emphasis on weaponry. The El Paso Museum of Archaeology, meanwhile, looks at the prehistory of the South West.
To track down the best El Paso hotel deals, head here.
More Houston road trips
Abilene to Houston | Houston to Albuquerque | Houston to Amarillo | Arlington TX to Houston | Houston to Atlanta | Houston to Austin | 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 Tulsa | Waco TX to Houston | Houston to Washington DC | Houston to Wichita | Wichita Falls to Houston.
More Tucson road trips
Albuquerque to Tucson | Bisbee to Tucson | Casa Grande to Tucson | Chandler to Tucson | Tucson to Colorado Springs | Dallas to Tucson | Deming NM to Tucson | Tucson to Denver | El Paso to Tucson | Tucson to Flagstaff | Tucson to Grand Canyon (South Rim) | Las Cruces to Tucson | Tucson to Mesa AZ | Phoenix to Tucson | Tucson to Prescott | Santa Fe to Tucson | Tucson to Scottsdale | Tucson to Sedona | Tempe to Tucson | Tucson to Tombstone | Yuma to Tucson.