🤠 Let’s Texas! 5 Reasons to Road Trip the Lone Star State by Campervan/RV in 2027

Smoky brisket, boot-scootin’ dance halls, rodeos the size of small cities, and a nonstop flight from Sydney to get you there. Texas has had a big year, and 2027 is shaping up as the time to go.

If “cowboy core” has crept into your playlist or your wardrobe, you’re not alone. Western-inspired music, fashion and nights out are having a real moment in Australia and New Zealand. Texas is where all of it started, and the best way to see it is from behind the wheel of a motorhome. You can roll from the Gulf Coast to the Hill Country, stop in whichever small town takes your fancy, and spend your nights in state parks under huge Texan skies.

We’ve worked through the latest news from Travel Texas, the state’s official tourism body, and picked out the five things that make Texas worth a spot at the top of your 2027 bucket list. Then we’ve mapped them into a motorhome loop from Houston.

📋 Texas at a glance

Fly in: Sydney to Houston (IAH) nonstop with United. It’s seasonal, so check dates

Best time to go: January to April for rodeo season, spring wildflowers and mild temperatures

Suggested trip: 13-day loop from Houston, about 1,100 km of driving

Vehicle: a Class C motorhome. It’s the US cousin of the 4–6 berth motorhomes you know from home

Overnight: Texas State Parks and private RV parks. Book ahead in rodeo and wildflower season

 

✈️ Reason 1: Your road trip starts the moment you leave Sydney Getting to Texas just got a lot more comfortable. United Airlines is flying its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the brand-new “Elevated” interior on the seasonal nonstop from Sydney (SYD) to Houston (IAH). According to Travel Texas, it’s scheduled to run until 27 March 2027, which lines up neatly with the peak of rodeo season.

Every cabin has been refreshed, with redesigned seats and bigger, sharper entertainment screens Economy and Economy Plus get Bluetooth audio, so you can bring your own headphones If you’re treating yourself, the new Polaris Studio suites add extra space, wireless charging, a 27-inch screen and exclusive dining and wine pairings Airlines can swap aircraft at short notice, so check your seat map in the fortnight before you fly. Read more about the upgrade on KarryOn or check schedules at united.com.

😴 Our golden rule: book a hotel for your first night

After 15-plus hours in the air, the last thing you want is to steer a 7-metre motorhome through Houston freeway traffic on the wrong side of the road. Sleep it off in a hotel near the airport and pick up your vehicle the next morning, fresh and ready. Most US rental depots won’t release a vehicle on arrival day anyway.

Once you’ve collected your motorhome, start the trip at Space Center Houston, the official visitor centre of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It sits on the way to the Gulf Coast, so you can visit and keep driving. Check RV parking options on their website before you go.

🤠 Reason 2: Cowboy core is booming, so go where it all began Texas honky-tonks and historic dance halls have been doing country music since long before it was cool on TikTok. If you love a boogie, line up at least one night of live music and a turn at the Texas two-step. The locals are usually happy to show you how.

🐎 Bandera: the Cowboy Capital of the World About an hour’s drive north-west of San Antonio, Bandera wears its title proudly. Expect working ranches, dude ranch horse rides, Western wear stores and dance halls on Main Street with live music most nights of the week. It’s small, friendly and easy to navigate in a motorhome. Explore Bandera on Travel Texas →

🍺 Fredericksburg and Luckenbach For another taste of small-town Texas, head to Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, about an hour and a half west of Austin. It’s a charming town with strong German heritage, so think biergartens, bakeries and a main street lined with 19th-century stone buildings. Nearby wineries make it a great base for a couple of nights.

Just down the road is Luckenbach, a tiny hamlet that’s famous for live country music and an atmosphere so laid-back you’ll lose track of the afternoon. Pull up a chair under the oak trees and let the pickers play. Read Travel Texas’ guide to two-stepping in Texas dance halls →

🐂 Reason 3: The 2027 Texas rodeo season Texas rodeos are huge events that run for weeks. You get bull riding, barrel racing, livestock shows, carnival rides and big-name concerts most nights. Four of the biggest fall between January and March 2027, and that’s also the most comfortable time of year for a motorhome trip, before the summer heat arrives.

Rodeo 2027 dates What to expect

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo 15 Jan – 6 Feb Big rodeo thrills, livestock shows and carnival fun in the city where the West begins

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo 11 – 28 Feb Cowboys with a side of concerts. Easy to pair with the Hill Country

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2 – 21 Mar The big one. Arena action, nightly concerts and carnival rides. Perfect for your first or last days

Rodeo Austin 12 – 27 Mar ProRodeo, live music and plenty of family fun Dates as published by Travel Texas. Confirm on each rodeo’s official website before booking flights.

 

🗓️ Planning tip: catch three rodeos in one trip

Time a trip for late February to mid-March 2027 and you can catch the San Antonio, Houston and Austin rodeos on the one loop, while the United Elevated service is still on the Sydney–Houston route. Campgrounds near rodeo cities fill fast, so lock in your sites as soon as your dates are set.

See Travel Texas’ full rodeo round-up →

🍖 Reason 4: MICHELIN-starred barbecue (yes, really) Texas food has gone global. The 2026 MICHELIN Guide Texas awarded 19 restaurants One MICHELIN Star, and three of them are new to the list this year:

Fabrik in Austin, for innovative, plant-forward fine dining

Kappo Kappo in Austin, for Japanese-French counter dining

Goldee’s Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth, for world-class Texas barbecue

Here’s the best bit for road trippers. Four of the starred restaurants are barbecue joints: Goldee’s in Fort Worth, CorkScrew BBQ in Spring (just north of Houston and close to the airport), and InterStellar BBQ and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin. Some of the best food in the state is served on butcher paper, at picnic tables, for the price of a pub lunch.

🔥 BBQ tip from the road

Good Texas barbecue sells out. Get there early (some regulars queue before opening), and plan your drive so you arrive hungry. A motorhome comes in handy here because you can take leftover brisket back to camp for dinner.

Read more about the MICHELIN Guide in Texas →

📺 Reason 5: Get a taste before you go with SBS’s Feast by Fire Want a preview? Tune into Feast by Fire on SBS, live or on demand, and ride along with Hardcore Carnivore chef Jess Pryles as she digs into the barbecue traditions of Texas. Each episode visits a different corner of the state: the brisket capitals of Lockhart and Taylor, mesquite-fired cookouts in El Paso, and the seafood grills of Galveston.

It’s basically a road trip planner disguised as a cooking show. Two of those stops, Galveston and Lockhart, are on our suggested loop below. Watch Feast by Fire on SBS On Demand →

🗺️ Putting it together: a 13-day Texas motorhome loop from Houston This loop takes in the Gulf Coast, the barbecue belt, Austin and the Hill Country, then swings back through San Antonio to Houston. Daily drives are short and you’ll do roughly 1,100 km in total, which leaves plenty of time for dance halls and brisket.

Leg Distance Drive time* Why stop

Houston → Galveston ~115 km 1 hr 45 min Space Center Houston en route; Gulf beaches, The Strand, seafood grills

Galveston → Lockhart ~300 km 4 hr 30 min The Barbecue Capital of Texas. Brisket for lunch, state park camping

Lockhart → Austin ~50 km 45 min Live music capital, MICHELIN-starred BBQ, Rodeo Austin in March

Austin → Fredericksburg ~125 km 1 hr 55 min German heritage, Hill Country wineries, Luckenbach music

Fredericksburg → Bandera ~105 km 1 hr 35 min Cowboy Capital of the World, dance halls and trail rides

Bandera → San Antonio ~80 km 1 hr 10 min River Walk, the Alamo, San Antonio rodeo in February

San Antonio → Houston ~320 km 4 hr 50 min Return to depot. Houston rodeo in March *Distances are approximate. Drive times are calculated at a maximum of 80 km/h plus a 20% buffer for motorhome driving, fuel and photo stops.

 

🌡️ When to go

January–March: ❄️ Mild days and cool nights, plus rodeo season. This is our pick for a first trip

March–April: 🌼 Bluebonnet wildflower season in the Hill Country. The roadsides turn blue

May–September: 🥵 Hot and humid, often well above 35°C. Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November, so keep an eye on the Gulf Coast forecast

October–November: 🍂 Warm and settled, with quieter campgrounds

 

🚐 Motorhome tips for Aussies in Texas

Keep right! Take it slowly for the first day or two, especially when turning out of servos and car parks Speed limits are in miles per hour. 55 mph is about 88 km/h, and Texas highways can be signed at 75 mph or higher. You don’t have to drive that fast Book state parks early. Texas State Parks campsites can be reserved online, and spots near rodeo cities go quickly in February and March Go for a Class C motorhome. It’s big enough for comfort and small enough for state park sites and small-town main streets Carry your licence and passport. Visitors can generally drive in Texas on a valid overseas licence. An International Driving Permit is cheap insurance

 

❓ Texas road trip FAQs

Is there a direct flight from Australia to Texas? Yes. United operates a seasonal nonstop service from Sydney to Houston (IAH), with its upgraded Elevated 787-9 scheduled on the route until 27 March 2027. Check current schedules with the airline.

Qantas operates nonstop flights' from Sydney to Dallas (DFW) Twice a weekly and Melbourne to Dallas four times a week.  Also in the 787-9 Dreamliner.

What’s the best month for a Texas motorhome trip? February and March are hard to beat. The weather is mild, the major rodeos are on, and the Hill Country wildflowers start to bloom from March.

How many days do I need? Allow at least 10 days for the Houston–Hill Country loop. Our suggested 13-day version gives you rest days in Galveston, Austin, Fredericksburg and San Antonio.

🚐 Ready to saddle up?

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🪶 Acknowledgement We acknowledge the Indigenous peoples whose lands this road trip passes through, among them the Karankawa of the Gulf Coast, the Coahuiltecan peoples of the San Antonio region, and the Tonkawa, Lipan Apache and Comanche peoples of central Texas and the Hill Country. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. DriveNow also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands throughout Australia where we live and work.

🤝 Our promise DriveNow doesn’t receive commission from any of the airlines, restaurants, events or campgrounds mentioned in this article. Our recommendations are independent and chosen because we think you’ll love them.

Information in this article, including flight schedules, event dates, restaurant listings and campground details, was correct at the time of writing (November 2026). Schedules, prices and availability can change, so please check directly with the relevant operator or official website before you book.

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