Best Time To Visit Texas

While summer tends to be the high season for much of the United States, summers in Texas are hot enough that tourist crowds tend to be bigger in March and October. This is partly due to the milder temperatures and partly to the timing of two of Texas’ biggest festivals (both in Austin, as it happens)—South by Southwest in March and Austin City Limits in October. For travelers hoping to get into the great Texan outdoors, April and September are also a bit less hot than the summers. April, in particular, is the peak season for the state’s famous wildflowers to be in full bloom.

The best times to visit Texas, at least weather-wise, are also the peak tourist months: March-April and September-October. As mentioned above, South by Southwest happens in March, and Austin City Limits happens in October, both of which draw huge crowds to Austin. Even outside Austin, though, these months tend to be the most pleasant weather-wise. The winter months, roughly November-February, offer the coolest temperatures you’re likely to get in The Lone Star State—and if you don’t mind the chance of occasional rain, winter trips can be very budget-friendly.

There are 25 commercial airports in Texas with regularly scheduled passenger flights, seven of which serve one million or more travelers in a year.

The biggest and busiest by far is Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), which is also the second busiest airport in the entire country. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is just behind DFW in terms of passenger traffic, and these two also run neck-and-neck for the number of deals we tend to find. Other airports where we find more deals than average are Austin (AUS) and San Antonio (SAT), so be sure to check those two if you’re not having much luck in Dallas or Houston.

Dallas and Houston are likely the easiest cities to get to for a few reasons. First, each city has two metro-area airports, so travelers have more airlines and flights to choose from. Second, the two busiest airports in the state are Dallas-Fort Worth and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, so these cities just see the most air travelers in a given year. Finally, those are also the two airports where we find the most deals for members.

Although Austin and San Antonio have much less overall traffic, we find almost as many deals to these airports as we do to DFW and Houston—so it’s always a good idea to check on flights into all of Texas’ major airports to find the best deals.

• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is the biggest hub for American Airlines, and it’s also a focus city for Frontier, Sun Country, and Spirit. There are 28 airlines in total that serve DFW, which has about 190 direct flights from other airports in the US.
• George Bush Intercontinental Houston Airport (IAH) is a hub for United Airlines and an operating base for Spirit. There are 28 airlines serving IAH, with 110 nonstop flights from other US airports.
• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is an operating base for Allegiant Air, with service from 20 other airlines as well. There are almost 80 nonstop flights to Austin from elsewhere in the US.
• San Antonio International Airport (SAT) has service from 12 airlines, which operate 35 direct flights from other US airports.
• Dallas Love Field (DAL) is significantly smaller than DFW, but it’s a major operating base for Southwest Airlines, so it has more flight options than you might expect. Though there are only four airlines serving DAL, they operate more than 70 nonstop flights from elsewhere in the United States.
• William Hobby Airport (HOU) is an operating base for Southwest and has service from five other airlines. Together, they operate 66 nonstop flights from other US cities.

The Texas Department of State Health Services sets the regulations for bringing pets into Texas, and the rules vary depending on the type of animal. For dogs and cats, for instance, you must have proof of current rabies vaccination for animals older than 12 weeks, and 30 days must have passed since the first vaccination. Be sure to check the Texas DSHS site for more information, and don’t forget to check with your airline—they each have their own rules about flying with pets.

Flight times to Texas can vary a great deal, not only depending on where you fly from but also where in Texas you’re going—it’s a big state! In general, though, you can expect flights to Texas from the northeast to be at least 4-6 hours. From the southeast, it’s about 2.5-4 hours. From the midwest, it’s about 3-4 hours. And from the west coast it’s about 4-6 hours.