I had the forethought to pack my passport, in case a quick jump across the border was in the cards, but forgot my swimsuit while preparing for this trip down the Texas coastline. Don’t be silly like me. But if you were, you’ll find that there’s still plenty to enjoy on a drive from Houston to the Rio Grande Valley without either of these things. Over four days, pack in some Gulf seafood and the state’s best Mexican food, visit ranches brimming with cattle and even alpaca, and let the border communities show you who they really are.

Day 1

I headed out in the morning with my GPS set, as always on the first leg of any road trip I take, to the nearest Buc-ee’s on my route. The Wharton location an hour outside of Houston is a delight, probably the best Buc-ee’s I’ve been to. I was tempted to buy a beaver swimsuit to make up for my packing lapse but had the discipline to leave the premises after just a pleasant trip to the bathrooms.

I dipped down on SH 71 to Palacios, a small, sleepy oceanside town confusingly pronounced “Puh-lash-us.” The Point, a quaint corner store, sadly no longer sells Vietnamese food after a change in ownership, but it still has all your travel and fishing equipment needs. I had my heart set on the cuisine for lunch, as the city has a sizable Vietnamese population who came here to work in the local shrimping industry in the ’70s. Tran’s Restaurant provided the fix, serving Vietnamese as well as Chinese and pan-Asian dishes. I washed down my sweet-and-sour shrimp with a Vietnamese Arnold Palmer (a mix of jasmine tea and housemade limeade).

Stop by the City by the Sea Museum if it’s open (it’s 100 percent volunteer-run, so it might not be), which has local history and wildlife exhibits and serves as the headquarters of the Palacios Area Historical Association. Sitting right behind the museum with a view of the ocean, the historic Luther Hotel is impressive but has seen better days. It was bought in August 2024 by JP Bryan, owner of the Bryan Museum in Galveston, and is now headed for a thoughtful restoration spearheaded by the Palacios Preservation Association. Locals hope the effort will bring more tourism to the town.

A fuel-up at Old Main Bookstore and Coffee Shop was warranted—a café hybrid with more books than places to put them, owner Jan Pierce’s made-to-order coffee drinks, and Buddy the resident gray cat. I recommend peeing here rather than at the mediocre Buc-ee’s in Port Lavaca 30 miles down the road. Continue on SH 35 to see the Big Tree, a massive live oak in Goose Island State Park that’s estimated to be between 1,000 and 2,000 years old.

Once you get to Aransas Pass, you’ll see a sign with the wait time for the ferry (5 minutes for me, but locals warned me this stretch gets backed up during the busy season).

The Alister Square Inn is serviceable (rooms start at $69 per night); unless you spring for a private rental, Port Aransas is not exactly where you’ll find comfortable luxury. After a brief lie-down, I walked a few minutes to Lelo’s Island Bar for a quick mai tai, then stumbled on KC’s Oyster Shack. This teeny 14-seater is a great time. The staff lay out oysters on a built-in ice bed on the bar counter—help yourself, and they’ll tally up your shells when you’re done. A blackboard above the bar documents the record for most bivalves eaten in one sitting, which at the time of my visit was 72 for women (more specifically, Barbara) and 165 for men (Kevin).

I—and everyone else who had just dined at KC’s, apparently—went to the Busted Bicycle next door for another (OK) cocktail, then had a (much better) nightcap at Palm Social Club by the pier. The bar has live music almost every night, the biggest patio in town, and a cozy, living room–like interior.

Day 2

If you have time, packed your swimsuit, and didn’t have one too many in downtown Port A the night before, take yourself to one of the main beaches to splash in the ocean or pancake in the sand. None of these applied to me, so I headed to Chapel on the Dunes. It’s a little hard to spot, but just look up behind the gray-green cottage and use the indicated path to go up the steps. This minuscule, white wedding chapel seats 18 on pews and features beautiful floor-to-ceiling paintings. Catch a free tour every first and third Saturday at 9:15am (with additional times available on request); you can also easily peer through the windows instead.

After making your way south and off the island, you’ll find yourself on the most drab part of the drive for about an hour. Just put on a great album or podcast until you arrive at King Ranch. At a whopping 825,000 acres, it’s the largest ranch in the United States. The famous American Thoroughbred racehorse Assault, a Triple Crown winner, was born, bred, and buried here. A 90-minute bus tour ($20 for adults) covers some history of the property and its inner workings today, and gives you plenty of opportunities to see horses and cattle, including dozens of longhorns.

Drive another 87 miles down I-69 through cattle land to meet more animal friends: a herd of very cute and silly alpacas at Alpaquita Ranch. The experience ($249 a night) includes a stay in the wooden A-frame Airbnb (decorated in all things alpaca) as well as a 40-minute session with an actual alpaca. After giving you a safety spiel, the staff hands you one on a leash to walk around the grounds and take photos with. While fun, I realized quite quickly that there was only so much one could do with an alpaca in hand, so I returned Rosanna within 10 minutes. Her handler that day decided that simply wouldn’t do. She compelled me to get back out there and made me and Rosanna pose for photos around the property. I did appreciate how much she cared.

I had made a reservation for dinner at Le Rêve in Brownsville that evening, not realizing how far the city was from the alpaca farm (an hour). I do recommend both, but you might want to plan better than I did.

Be warned: Parking in downtown Brownsville is untenable. I circled several times until I eventually decided that squatting in a “15-minute parking enforced” spot was worth the ticket (which I didn’t get). The restaurant, which serves French-American cuisine, has a dim-lit, sexy vibe with dark-blue paneling and brick walls. The Parker House rolls, drizzled with garlic-fermented honey and served with lemon-chamomile butter, are excellent, as are the crispy veal sweetbreads with vol-au-vent puff pastry and maitake mushrooms. Stop by Las Ramblas a few doors down for a cocktail before you make the trek back up to the ranch.

Day 3

Breakfast at Alpaquita Ranch is brought to your door in the morning. Take some time to enjoy it on the deck. You can also let the alpacas into the pen adjoining your Airbnb and feed them—heads up, they are very excitable around food and have no sense of personal space.

I drove back down the valley, this time to McAllen. With its colorful houses, mercados, and taquerias lining the road, this stretch of the drive gives the best feel for the region. Just before entering McAllen proper, I made a sharp right at Delia’s in Edinburg for midmorning tamales, then set out to explore the city.

McAllen struck me as the kind of town that focuses on making itself a nice place to live for locals—and power to them. But it’s slightly more difficult to crack open as a tourist; there were a few art-centered businesses I had wanted to visit that weren’t open on the weekend. I grabbed a honey lavender latte at Kreative Coffee Grounds, which also sells local art and offers canvases ($5–25) for people to paint during their visit. Here, I also made two more feline friends, Allie (who is sleepy) and Theo (who is naughty). I then headed to the International Museum of Art and Science, which featured some photography; kid-friendly interactive exhibits revolving around sound, light, color, and motion; and community displays in the hallway with art from school-age kids. The gift shop is skippable, but Ante Books, a new indie bookstore five minutes away from the museum down Bicentennial Boulevard, is not. Check the shop’s Instagram for special events, like stamp carving or a “scrap and yap.”

There are two restaurants you should dine at before you leave the RGV. The first, Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, is a hole-in-the-wall so good its chef, Ana Liz Pulido, won the James Beard Best Chef: Texas award in 2024. Every table is greeted with six homemade salsas in little ramekins, and all the tortillas are made in-house, too. The Copy taco—fajita meat on a half-yellow, half-blue corn tortilla—and the Vampiro taco with deshebrada on blue maiz are highlights. Add a side of grilled cambray onions.

The second, Nana’s Taqueria in Weslaco, is a completely different vibe. It’s located in a sprawling former residence that’s been painted with colorful murals on the outside, and inside it’s bustling with local families and tourists. Try the lonches with ground beef—a specialty of Nuevo Progreso, where the owners are from—and a giant jamaica with gummies.

Once you’ve gotten your fill, it’s time to head back north. (While I did spend some time going down Reddit-thread rabbit holes, I decided not to cross the border this trip despite having remembered my passport, but Nuevo Progreso appears to be the best bet for a quick visit.)

People in the valley drive on the highway with Houstonesque gusto, so you’ll feel right at home. On your way back up, stop by Sal Del Rey, a cool salt lake that’s accessible by turning off 186, driving two miles on an unpaved road, and walking about five minutes through a wooded area. Snap a quick pic and get back on 281. Be prepared to stop at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint—no two experiences will be the same, but expect at least one or two routine questions.

This part of the trip has fewer points of interest, but if you need to stretch your legs before Victoria I suggest stopping in George West to see Geronimo, a very special longhorn in these parts, stuffed and displayed in front of the courthouse. After another 80 miles on 59, you’ll arrive in Victoria and can face-plant on the very comfortable bed at the charming Inn on Main (rooms start at $130).

Day 4

Victoria is a cute college town with just enough activities for the last day of an action-packed road trip. Begin your day at Five Points Museum of Contemporary Art, opened in 2016 by Ann Harithas, cofounder of Houston’s Art Car Parade. It’s a lovely space in a former Lincoln and Mercury dealership, and each exhibition incorporates an art car. I enjoyed a retrospective of Jesse Lott (another Houstonian) in March, but expect to see Lookout: Paintings by Davey Eldridge if you visit this summer.

For some interesting Texas history, head to Goliad. You’ll have to retrace your steps about 30 minutes (or do this on day three instead). Mission Espiritu Santo and Presidio la Bahía are a mile apart and don’t take long to walk around.

Finally, make your way back to Victoria for lunch at LaVaca BBQ. (Note: There’s a location in Port Lavaca, if that fits your itinerary better.) First-timers are given a thorough rundown of the menu and some samples. I opted for the sausage with serrano and queso blanco, the brisket beans, and the best banana pudding I’ve ever had, which had an almost whipped texture. I took it to go and couldn’t resist sneaking spoonfuls while driving one-armed all the way back to Houston.