West Texas / New Mexico

Length of Trip

To experience the various destinations, we’ve written this itinerary over 10 full days, with air travel on the 1st and 10th day. However, depending on your interest, availability, and flight options, you could reduce the trip by 1-2 days by skipping White Sands National Park entirely and/or decreasing time at Big Bend National Park.

Flight schedules may also impact your ability to do the activities as planned. See more details on the “getting there” page and reach out for any changes needed.

Travel Season

With summertime temperatures routinely topping 110°F in some parts of the region throughout the summer, this trip is best done in fall, winter, or spring. All key attractions are open year-round, but many are closed on some federal holidays.

   Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr     May     Jun     Jul     Aug     Sep     Oct     Nov     Dec   

Key:     best months       okay months     not advised

Many accommodations and high-demand activity permits fill up quickly during peak seasons. Planning a minimum of 6 months in advance, or in some cases 12 months, increases availability. However, even with shorter time horizons we will work to find options for you and your group.

Tip: Spring is the most popular time to visit due to blooming cacti and pleasant weather, but it can be crowded in April with spring break travelers.

Most nights on this trip involve lodging in 3-star hotels. Sometimes lodging in or adjacent to national parks may have fewer amenities, but is still the right choice based on location, as well as historic appeal. 

If you would prefer more luxurious lodging, let us know and we can present additional options along with the price difference. If you would prefer to save some money, let us know and we can discuss less expensive options as well. If you are interested in camping, there are campgrounds convenient to some, but not all, of the locations. Talk to our team about camping options in lieu of hotels when making your reservation. This will reduce cost significantly, but also may not always be available as park service campgrounds in particular often fill up quickly. (Note that Wandersaurus does not provide or facilitate rental of camping equipment.)

The recommended hikes throughout this trip are mostly 2-4 miles long and can be completed by a reasonably fit person without specific training. No more than 6 miles of hiking are listed on any individual day. For those seeking more of a challenge or wanting to explore more of any park, suggestions for longer trails are included in the detailed itinerary.

Desert conditions are found throughout Texas and New Mexico, and it is key to carry sufficient water and sun protection, especially in warmer months.

For hikes that are more challenging than others in the itinerary, detailed descriptions are provided along with alternative suggestions in case any are not suitable for your group.

Kids: You know your kids better than we do. A 5-year-old with enthusiasm for the outdoors and some hiking experience would not find any of these overly challenging. A 15-year-old with an “indoor cat” personality might struggle. That said, many trails are not stroller-friendly. A couple of individual trails will have notes of caution for kids in your detailed daily itinerary.

Everything is bigger in Texas, so it’s going to take some windshield time to reach all these destinations. Fortunately, there is an endless supply of breathtaking vistas on each of the drives. The major drive times are as follows:

• ELP to Big Bend NP : 5 ½ hours

• Big Bend NP to Van Horn: 4 hours

• Van Horn to Guadalupe Mt : 1 hour

• Guadalupe Mt. NP to White Sands NP: 3 ¼ hours

• White Sands to ELP: 1 ½ hours

If this much driving is unappealing to you, one option is to eliminate the visit to White Sands NP. This would reduce driving time by ~2 hours. Another option is to cut out the visit to Big Bend NP and spend more time visiting state parks and other natural areas closer to El Paso. This would save you about 8 hours of driving.

Other Logistics

There are no unique challenges associated with this trip, except for the unusual time zones situation. All the locations are in the Mountain Time Zone other than Big Bend NP, which is in the Central Time Zone. However, when you are in Guadalupe Mt. NP, the closest cell towers are in the Central Time Zone, so phones often display the wrong time here. Sometimes they even bounce back and forth between time zones. The best option is to keep the car clock or a non-smart watch on Mountain Time.

By Air

This itinerary is designed around a starting point of ELP El Paso International Airport in downtown El Paso. It is the busiest commercial airport in West Texas, Southern New Mexico and North Central Mexico. It is a hub for Southwest Airlines and served by all major domestic carriers. It is also served by 9 car rental agencies located in the baggage claim area of the terminal. We recommend flying in and out of ELP. A morning arrival and afternoon departure is ideal, but if flight times don’t work, we can make changes to activity and/or lodging plans to accommodate. 

By Car

Travelers from nearby states may find it more affordable to drive their own vehicle to Texas/New Mexico rather than fly and rent a car.

• San Antonio, TX is ~5.5 hours from Big Bend NP.

• Austin, TX is ~7 hours from Big Bend NP.

• Albuquerque, NM is ~3.5 hours from White Sands NP.

• Tucson, AZ is ~5 hours from El Paso.

If you’ll be driving to Texas let us know the details and we can adjust the start and end points of the itinerary to save mileage where possible.

Some features of this trip may have seasonal variation, so all package prices are presented as estimated ranges. Contact us for a more precise price estimate for your preferred travel dates. Pricing does NOT include airfare.

Couples / Two Travelers

This trip was originally designed for parties of 2 people, sharing a room. The expected total price for all included items is $2,700 - $3,000.

Families

Groups of 3-6 people can enjoy this trip as well, with costs variable depending on room-sharing preferences. Contact us for details.

Solo

Unfortunately for solo travelers, the majority of the costs are overnight accommodations, which do not reduce for individuals, so a solo traveler would only save around $200 off the couples' price.

Larger Groups

While some details of this trip were not designed with larger groups in mind, the itinerary has been done with groups of college students, and could be done with other age groups as well. Contact us to discuss!

Payment Policies

• Payments must be made by credit card. Specific restrictions may exist for certain lodging or activity vendors. 

• 20% deposit due at time of reservation

• Balance due 90 days before trip start date (If booking within 90 days of trip, full balance due at time of reservation)

• Some portion of deposit may be nonrefundable, as some excursions or activity fees (which will have been booked upon confirmation) are nonrefundable. Accommodations and transportation will generally be reserved as refundable.

• Fully refundable until 60 days before trip start, less $100 admin fee and any nonrefundable excursions

• 50% refundable until 14 days before trip start

• If cancelling within 14 days of trip start, no refunds are given

Included In Your Package Price

• Bespoke itinerary - tailored as needed to suit your particular requirements

• Overnight accommodations for all nights

• Rental car

• Maps of all driving routes

• Trail maps and trail descriptions for all recommended hikes

• Restaurant recommendations, at a range of price points, highlighting vegetarian and kid-friendly options

• “America the Beautiful” federal lands pass (grants access to all National Park Service facilities on the trip)

• Tickets to all museums included in trip plan

• Fees for any guided tours mentioned in trip plan

• Expert advice and local information, including packing suggestions

• Updated information on any changing conditions delivered in the weeks before your trip

• Carbon offset credits for the mileage driven along the main route of the itinerary

• Full support during your trip from the Wandersaurus Travel team (9:00 am until 9:00 pm Eastern Time)

Not Included

• Travel to and from your starting/ending points

• Gasoline, parking, and/or any other ground transportation expenses unless specified

• Meals unless specified

• Additional guided tours or excursions beyond those specified

• Tips/gratuities for any guides

• Travel insurance. Note: we recommend purchasing travel insurance via a certified insurance agency