Winter is right here, Texas! Which means just one factor: It is time to plan a festive vacation getaway, or lastly e book that much-needed staycation to unwind from the Thanksgiving break blues.
San Antonio vacationers can head right down to the coast for a weekend of vacation boat parades, get impressed at a Celtic vacation competition outdoors Austin, or preserve issues easy and native with an ice skating journey at Pearl.
Listed here are our prime 11 picks for winter Texas journey occasions, lodge information, and extra in December.
All through Texas
There is a new luxurious van service connecting Austin, San Antonio, and Houston: Shutto, a brand new mobility shuttle startup, is now providing luxe street journeys Monday via Saturday with departure instances within the morning and night. Riders can get pleasure from complimentary WiFi whereas they calm down on plush leather-based seats throughout their stress-free experience in Mercedes Sprinter vans. Van routes additionally embrace a assured pit cease at Texas’ favourite journey middle, Buc-ee’s. One-way fares vary from $47-$87.
Austin
Immersive experiences are a enjoyable option to spend time with family and friends, and a brand new digital actuality (VR) expertise is giving guests a take a look at historic Egypt: Horizon of Khufu will debut at VieVR (11000 Center Fiskville Rd., Ste. A1) on December 5. Throughout the 45-minute tour, visitors will discover the Nice Pyramid of Giza, “fly” over the plateau, look off the highest of the pyramid in each course, discover the corridors and burial chambers as an embalming ceremony occurs, and way more. Tickets ($36 for adults and $32 for kids) can be found by way of Fever.
Downtown Austin lodge Hyatt Regency Austin has accomplished an enormous renovation venture to make over its 448 guestrooms and suites, plus its assembly rooms, public areas, and extra. The lodge has additionally opened three new eating ideas: Texas-inspired restaurant Ripple & Roots, a breakfast eatery known as Cypress Grove, and grab-and-go meals market Juniper Breeze Market. Nightly charges on the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Austin start at $213 in December.
There is a piece of Celtic vacation cheer hidden within the rolling woods of McDade, a small city 35 miles east of Austin. The Sherwood Celtic Yuletide Pageant is getting back from December 12-14, reworking the grounds of the beloved Sherwood Forest Faire right into a winter weekend of music, merriment, and vacation magic. Visitors can count on artisan procuring, archery, dwell music, Highland Video games like Scottish hammer swinging and shot put, and extra. Tickets (together with day passes, weekend passes, and tenting) can be found on-line beginning at $12.50.
Individuals ultimately 12 months’s inaugural Yuletide Pageant. Picture courtesy of Sherwood Forest Faire
Houston
The Thompson Houston lodge is kicking off the vacation season with its “12 Days of Thompson” collection from December 4-25. A number of of the particular actions, created for each locals and guests, embrace a sizzling cocoa station within the lodge library (December 8), a neighborhood maker’s market (December 13), a pet-friendly picture hour (December 20), and plenty of extra mini celebrations. Charges on the Thompson Houston start at $283 per evening.
Alongside the Gulf Coast
Texas coastal metropolis Corpus Christi is internet hosting a number of lighted vacation boat parades throughout December. The primary extravaganza – the Port of Corpus Christi Illuminated Boat Parade – is scheduled on Saturday, December 6, beginning at 7 pm. Native boaters will compete for the title of “most festive vessel of the season,” and an after-party will observe. La Posada Lighted Boat Parade will happen the next weekend (Dec. 12-13) with U.S. Marines on web site for a kids’s toy drive at Doc’s Seafood & Steaks to assist Santa accumulate new, unwrapped toys.
At dwelling in San Antonio
The longer term web site of San Antonio’s Pearl mini golf course (1100 Springs Plaza) has been briefly changed into an out of doors ice skating rink for the vacation season till January 4, 2026. The enduring district has made its personal transformation right into a winter wonderland shimmering with lights and vacation music. Tickets to the ice rink at Pearl vary from $20-$28 and embrace skate rental. Skate classes final about an hour, and the final skate at 9:15 pm is 45 minutes lengthy.
Dallas-Fort Value
The primary-ever CultureMap Metropolis Rink, introduced by Verizon, has made its grand debut on the Principal Avenue Backyard in downtown Dallas and can run till January 5, 2026. Guests can count on themed pop-ups and a full slate of programming designed for each form of vacation reveler. From romantic Date Skate Wednesdays to Household Film Nights and Store + Skate Saturday Markets, there’s one thing new occurring every week. Tickets are $18 for all ages, and embrace skate leases and 75 minutes of ice time. Advance tickets, group reservations, and personal rink leases can be found at cityrink.culturemap.com.
The CultureMap Metropolis Rink will probably be open via January 5, 2026. Picture by Ashley Gongora
The HALL Arts Resort in Dallas’ Arts District is providing visitors a particular “Vacation on the HALL” bundle for stays booked from December 13-31. The bundle features a single-night stick with a welcome amenity, complimentary valet, a $50 eating credit score for lodge restaurant Ellie’s Restaurant & Lounge, and late checkout. Nightly charges with the “Vacation on the Corridor” bundle start at $389 in December.
Congratulations are to ensure that Fort Value and Frisco, which had been the one two Texas locations included amongst Good Housekeeping’s “23 Surprising Metropolis Holidays to Add to Your Journey Bucket Listing” in its 2026 Journey Awards. The approach to life publication had greater than 125 journey testers — together with workers members, journey trade specialists, and skilled client evaluators — uncover surprising locations with the most effective sights, accessibility, lodging selection, security, service, and general enchantment.
The luxurious Bowie Home lodge in Fort Value will educate North Texans all of the methods for making the most effective tamales throughout a tamale-making class on Saturday, December 20, from 2-3:30 pm. Attendees will learn to make recent masa, grasp the approach for wrapping tamales, and take dwelling their very own to impress their family members. Tickets are $85 per individual and will be bought on-line by way of Tock.
