As a Houstonian and Aggie I recommend Austin, College Station, Dallas. Houston doesn’t have much to offer other than NASA, or a sporting event (not much going on when you’ll be there). Then again, Dallas doesn’t have much to offer either other than sports. Unless you like shopping, they both suck for tourism. NASA is awesome but you’d basically have to skip on one of the football games to do it.
Option 1
- Fly into Austin and check it out Friday night. Could be some interesting shows going on with FunFunFun Fest happening.
- Drive to College Station early and enjoy some tailgating. You’ll want to get there at least 3 hours before kick-off. Traffic can build up quick and the public pay parking also fills up. Auburn travels well so expect some fun trash talk. Be prepared to walk and have some beer with you for the walk, it can still be quite warm in November. You'll have no problem getting offered free food and beer just stopping by people's tailgates and saying you’re visiting from Canada. Good tailgate spots on west Campus near Reed Arena and Rec Center, the other big spot is Spence Park on the east side of the stadium. Go to the game and witness crazy traditions as others have posted. Do bring a seat cushion as someone suggested. Check FlashSeats for tickets. Go to the North Gate bar district after the game. It’s an easy walk the stadium, just follow the crowd.
- Head to Dallas early and plan on getting to Jerryworld early. Friends went a couple years ago for the Green Bay game and it took them 2 hours to get to the stadium from their hotel < 10 miles away. Traffic is a disaster, parking is a disaster. I believe there are shuttle busses from some of the nearby bars.
Option 2
- Fly into Houston and drive to College Station immediately. Avoid the Houston traffic and sprawl as much as possible.
- Check out campus, North Gate bar district, Midnight Yell (experience the crazy traditions and new stadium). Dixie Chicken and Dry Bean are the “traditional” bars that have been around for decades everything else is relatively new (2006 or newer).
- Drive to Austin early on Saturday. Have some BBQ along the way. Go to the UT-KU game and check out 6th street and downtown.
- Head to Dallas Sunday for Cowboys game
The Guadalupe River in New Braunfels is a lot of fun, but it’s at least a half day to float plus extra driving time. You’d have to skip a college ball game.
Tips
- Traffic can be terrible in each city you want to visit, including little College Station on game day. Plan extra time for it especially if there is any rainy weather. 35 getting to Dallas/Arlington can be a nightmare. There are toll roads in every city so make sure you have change or your rental has a toll tag. The toll tags work statewide.
- A lot of the hotels in Austin and College Station will have 2 night minimums on game weekends. VRBO, Air BNB, or Craigslist are good options but book now as game weekends fill up and may already be hard to find any room anywhere in Aggieland.
- Make sure you have your drivers license and passport. Bars can sometimes be jerks about foreign drivers licenses.
- Weather could be anything from hot (80-90) and dry to cool (40s) and drizzly. Most likely on the warmer side.
If you have to narrow it down to two stops I suggest College Station (SEC, tailgating, easier to get around) and Dallas. There is more to do in Austin and that could be a whole trip on its own, including checking out the rivers, Hill Country, etc.
Good luck
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