Outdoor adventures enjoy the state and national parks in Texas. Big Bend Ranch State Park is adjacent to Big Bend National Park, which is America's most southern National Park, where whitewater rafters and canoers find the rapids of the Rio Grande River challenging. After rafting on the Rio Grande, camping on the bluffs above the river, backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, picnicking, observing wildflowers, and birding, visitors to Big Bend relax in Lajitas with its colorful cantinas, rustic lodging, and outfitters. Texas state parks offer day passes and offer an array of outdoor activities as well as water-related activities. Texas has out-of-state licenses for fishing and hunting, including small and big game. The Texas landscape is dotted with ghost towns like Marfa, location for the epic movie Giant, and Terlingua, a quicksilver (mercury) mining town. Fort Davis is an interesting Texas vacation destination because of the sensational hiking at Davis Mountains State Park as well as staying at a dude ranch, visiting a frontier fort, exploring the history of the buffalo soldiers, and viewing the galaxies at nearby McDonald Observatory. Agri-tourists enjoy Abilene because they can view the Texas Longhorn herd at the Abilene State Park or Amarillo on the Texas Panhandle where cattle roam in the buffalo grass. Others enjoy Ladybird Johnson's Wildflower Center. Although Austin is the Texas capital and home of the University of Texas, it also is the music capital of Texas where tourists can stroll through the shops and museums or play golf during the day, and visit the music clubs in the evening.

Texas has many varied terrains and cultures. San Antonio, an hour's drive southwest of Austin, reflects the Spanish influence in Texas and has the famous Riverwalk with exciting restaurants and shops and Alamo, the historic mission where Davey Crockett, James Bowie, William Travis, and 186 stood off General Santa Anna. New Braunfels shows the German influence in Texas. Midland is mid-way between Fort Worth and El Paso at the edge of the high plains and has a museum commemorating the Air Force and airpower as well as the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, recognizing a major industry in Texas. Galveston, on the Gulf of Mexico coast, is a major resort area for international tourist seeking beautiful beaches, fishing piers, sailing, boating, water sports, charter fishing, and sunshine. The Intercoastal Waterway flows along the Gulf Coast allowing the seafaring tourists to travel between Galveston, Corpus Christi, and other coastal cites on the scenic coastal waters. Houston and Dallas have the luxury and excitement of urban areas with good shopping, five-star restaurants, pro-sports teams, world-class medical centers, and museums.

All major national and international airlines serve the major Texas cities.