The best road trip stops on the Houston to Albuquerque drive are Fort Worth, Wichita Falls and Amarillo. The distance from Houston to Albuquerque is 883 miles, with an 12h58m driving time.
Planning a Houston to Albuquerque road trip itinerary
The Houston to Albuquerque drive takes you from the biggest city in Texas to the largest city in New Mexico.
Five great things to do in Houston
- 🚀 Reserve your tickets – for Houston’s number one attraction, Space Center Houston.
- 🎵 Discover Houston’s hip-hop culture – on a motorised party bike.
- 🚇 Explore the largest downtown tunnel system in the US – on the Astroville Tunnel Tour.
- 🎨 On a downtown mural tour – learn about Houston’s street art scene.
- 🖼️ Immerse yourself in a spectacular interactive art installation – at Meow Wolf’s Radio Tave.
The top Houston attraction is unquestionably the Space Center Houston, 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, Downtown Aquarium, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and 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.
In Albuquerque, the must-dos are the Sandia Peak Tramway cable car and Petroglyph National Memorial. Explora and the ABQ BioPark are good bets with kids in tow, while the Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum explores one of the greatest places in the world for hot air ballooning.
Fabulous Albuquerque experiences include a sunrise hot air balloon flight, old town ghost walks and nature tours by bike. You can also pay a visit to the castle-like Turquoise Museum and old town food tours focusing on New Mexican flavours.
Great Albuquerque accommodation choices include the historic, adobe-style Casas de Suenos and the old town’s art-filled Hotel Chaco.
5 great Albuquerque experiences to book
- 🎈 Admire the sunrise on a hot air balloon ride across the desert.
- 🌅 Alternatively, take your balloon ride at sunset.
- 🎬 Get on the trail of Walter White with a Breaking Bad filming locations tour.
- 🚴 Take a bike tour – and see Albuquerque’s top natural sights.
- 👻 Listen to spooky historic tales on an Old Town ghost tour.
Houston to Albuquerque distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Houston to Albuquerque is 883 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 12 hours and 58 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-45, US-287 and I-40.
The best stops to add to a Houston to Albuquerque road trip itinerary are Fort Worth, Wichita Falls and Amarillo.
Houston to Albuquerque road trip attractions: Fort Worth
5 great Fort Worth experiences to book
- 🎸 Visit the legendary Billy Bob’s Honky Tonk – with a dinner and photo package.
- 🏛️ Take a small group historical tour of Fort Worth – including the Livestock Exchange Building.
- 🍖 Taste the best of the Fort Worth Stockyards – on a foodie tour.
- 🍷 On a wine tour, explore the best wineries of North Texas.
- 👻 Discover the spectres of the stockyards – on a Fort Worth ghost tour.
Fort Worth fully embraces its status as a cow town, with the Stockyards district full of cowboy heritage. And cowgirl heritage, as the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame shows off.
It’s also a place that knows how to have a shamelessly good time, with Billy Bob’s Texas Honky Tonk famously big on the yee-has and line dancing.
The city does have an impressive cultural selection, though. The Kimbell Art Museum and Amon Carter Museum of American Art cover the art side, while the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and Fort Worth Botanical Garden do science and nature.
Other good Fort Worth experiences include a Stockyards food tour, electric bike BBQ tours, historic pub crawls and ghost tours.
Houston to Albuquerque drive: Wichita Falls
The ‘falls’ in Wichita Falls is a man-made waterfall in Lucy Park. Artificial or not, it still looks pretty cool. But there’s more to see in this North Texas city.
If you want serious, there’s the Museum of North Texas History. If you want fun, there’s the Castaway Cove Water Park. And, for a touch of nature, plump for the River Bend Nature Center.
Best stops between Houston and Albuquerque: Amarillo
Amarillo is a classic stop on Route 66. Highlights include Cadillac Ranch, an art installation featuring 10 brightly-painted Cadillacs buried nose-first in the ground. You’ll also find the Texas Air and Space Museum here, and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. For the great outdoors, Palo Duro Canyon State Park is just to the south-east of the city.
Interesting Amarillo activities include Route 66 walking tours and scavenger hunts.
More Houston travel
- Guides to wildlife sites near Houston: Brazos Bend State Park and Armand Bayou Nature Center.
- Getting to Houston: The best stops on the Abilene to Houston drive, Arlington to Houston drive, Dallas to Houston drive and Waco to Houston drive.
- Getting to Houston from interstate: The best stops on the Little Rock to Houston drive and Nashville to Houston drive.
- Texas road trips from Houston: The best stops on the Houston to Amarillo drive, Houston to Austin drive, Houston to Fort Worth drive and Houston to Lubbock drive.
- Interstate road trips from Houston: Where to stop on the Houston to Hot Springs AR drive, Houston to Memphis drive, Houston to Oklahoma City drive and Houston to Wichita drive.
