South PlainsWest Texas
The Fort Worth Stock Yards sign over Exchange Avenue in the historic Stockyards district

Tours & Tickets for Your South Plains Trip

Honest picks for the road in and out of Lubbock — compared, priced and bookable in a couple of taps.

Let’s be straight with you: GetYourGuide does not currently sell any guided tours in Lubbock or Amarillo, and we will not invent any. The South Plains are road-trip country — you drive yourself to Palo Duro Canyon, the Buddy Holly Center or the wineries.

What you can book are excellent experiences on the routes that almost every South Plains trip uses: the Dallas–Fort Worth gateway where most flights connect, New Mexico to the west along US-84, US-380 and Route 66, Big Bend in the far southwest and the Hill Country wineries that buy much of the High Plains grape harvest. Everything here is booked through GetYourGuide — live availability, free cancellation on most options and often reserve-now-pay-later. Prices are indicative US-dollar “from” prices; tap any card for the live price in your currency.

Pick by where your trip takes you

Flying in via Dallas–Fort Worth

Most international travellers connect at DFW. Spend a night and meet cowboy Texas at the Fort Worth Stockyards, or visit Dealey Plaza and the Cowboys’ stadium before the short flight or five-hour drive to Lubbock.

The famous Fort Worth Stock Yards entrance sign over Exchange Avenue Small-group tour from $36
🕒 Half day 📍 From Dallas or Fort Worth ⭐ 4.6 (281)

Fort Worth: Guided Tour from Dallas or Fort Worth

The best-reviewed way to see “Cowtown” without driving in DFW traffic. The tour takes you to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Cattle Drive visitor centre, with a guide explaining how the cattle trade built the city — a good warm-up before the long drive west to Lubbock and the ranching country of the Llano Estacado.

  • The historic Stockyards and the longhorn cattle drive
  • Cowboy history of “Hell’s Half Acre”
  • Transport from Dallas or Fort Worth included
Check price & availability
A historic saloon building on Exchange Avenue in the Fort Worth Stockyards Walking tour from $45
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Fort Worth Stockyards ⭐ 4.9 (45)

Fort Worth: Stockyards History Tour Pub Crawl

Most international visitors reach the South Plains through Dallas/Fort Worth, and the Stockyards are the perfect prelude: this is where the cattle trails ended. A local historian leads you between old saloons on Exchange Avenue, mixing cattle-drive history, outlaws and cowboy culture with cold drinks — the same ranching story you will meet again at Lubbock’s National Ranching Heritage Center.

  • Hidden history of the cattle drives and cowtown saloons
  • Several classic Stockyards bars with an expert guide
  • Top-rated by guests (4.9/5)
Check price & availability
Elm Street and Dealey Plaza in Dallas looking toward the former Texas School Book Depository History tour from $72
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Dallas ⭐ 4.8 (555)

Dallas: JFK Assassination and Sixth Floor Museum Tour

One of the most popular history tours in Dallas, with more than 500 reviews. A guide walks you through the events of November 1963 at Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, then takes you to other sites connected with the assassination — an absorbing half day if you overnight in Dallas on the way to or from Lubbock.

  • Dealey Plaza and the grassy knoll
  • The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
  • Other key sites of 22 November 1963
Check price & availability
The huge AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas Stadium tour from $97
🕒 3.5 hours 📍 From Dallas ⭐ 4.5 (442)

Dallas: Cowboys Stadium or The Star in Frisco Tour with Transport

Coming to Texas for Texas Tech football? Double down on the state’s great obsession with a tour of the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington or their headquarters at The Star in Frisco. Transport from Dallas is included, which makes it an easy add-on before or after your flight to Lubbock.

  • Choose AT&T Stadium or The Star in Frisco
  • Behind-the-scenes areas of an NFL giant
  • Round-trip transport from Dallas
Check price & availability

West into New Mexico

US-380 leads to Roswell in about three hours; US-84 runs to Santa Fe; Route 66 from Amarillo reaches Albuquerque. Classic extensions of a South Plains road trip.

The International UFO Museum and Research Center on Main Street in Roswell, New Mexico Guided tour from $48
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell: Guided UFO Incident Tour

Roswell is roughly three hours west of Lubbock across the Llano Estacado — an easy, classic road trip. This two-hour guided tour walks you through what happened in the summer of 1947, the places tied to the story and the theories that followed, so you get far more out of the town than a quick photo with an alien statue.

  • The timeline of the famous 1947 “flying saucer” story
  • Sites connected to the incident around Roswell
  • What ufologists and sceptics have argued since
Check price & availability
An adobe building on the historic plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico Walking tour from $40
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Santa Fe, New Mexico ⭐ 4.8 (18)

Santa Fe: Guided Historic Downtown Walking Tour

US-84 runs almost straight from Lubbock to Santa Fe, which makes the New Mexico capital (around five and a half hours away) the classic extension of a South Plains trip. This two-hour walk with a museum-trained docent unpacks four centuries of Pueblo, Spanish, Mexican and American history in the adobe streets around the Plaza.

  • 400 years of history around the Santa Fe Plaza
  • Pueblo-style adobe architecture explained
  • Led by a museum-trained docent
Check price & availability
Dozens of hot-air balloons drifting in a blue morning sky over Albuquerque Balloon flight from $215
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Albuquerque, New Mexico ⭐ 5.0 (10)

Albuquerque: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight with Toast

Albuquerque sits on Route 66 roughly four and a half hours west of Amarillo, and it is the hot-air-balloon capital of the United States. After driving the Mother Road across the Texas Panhandle, this sunrise flight is a spectacular reward: calm dawn air, the Rio Grande valley below and the Sandia Mountains glowing in the first light.

  • Sunrise flight with views of the Sandia Mountains
  • Celebratory toast and light snacks after landing
  • Perfect 5/5 guest rating
Check price & availability
A colourful hot-air balloon floating low over houses in New Mexico in the early morning Balloon flight from $336
🕒 4 hours (including transfers) 📍 From Santa Fe, New Mexico ⭐ 4.9 (13)

Santa Fe: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride with Pickup

A splurge to finish a US-84 road trip from Lubbock in style. You are collected from your Santa Fe hotel before dawn and driven to the launch site for a sunrise flight over the high desert of northern New Mexico — mesas, arroyos and, if you are lucky, wildlife below.

  • Sunrise flight over the high desert
  • Hotel pickup in Santa Fe
  • Watch for desert wildlife from the air
Check price & availability

Big Bend and far West Texas

If Palo Duro gives you a taste for canyons, Big Bend is the grand finale — six to seven hours south, so plan a few nights.

The Rio Grande flowing out of the sheer walls of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park Outdoor adventure from $160
🕒 7 hours 📍 From Terlingua (Big Bend) ⭐ 5.0 (29)

Terlingua: Rio Grande Full-Day Guided Raft, Kayak or Canoe Trip

If Palo Duro Canyon gives you a taste for West Texas canyons, Big Bend is the grand finale. It is a long drive (roughly six to seven hours south of Lubbock), so treat it as a multi-day extension: this perfectly rated full-day river trip takes you through the canyons of the Rio Grande, with the United States on one bank and Mexico on the other.

  • Float between Texas and Mexico on the Rio Grande
  • Canyons of the Big Bend region
  • Raft, canoe or kayak depending on water levels
Check price & availability
The Milky Way arching over the dark silhouette of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend Private tour from $161
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Terlingua (Big Bend)

Terlingua: Private Big Bend Stargazing Tour with Telescopes

The South Plains already have big, dark skies, but the Big Bend region is one of the darkest places in the lower 48 states. If your West Texas road trip reaches Terlingua, book this private night with a guide and telescopes to chase galaxies and star clusters under the Milky Way.

  • Private session for your group only
  • Telescopes on a 60-acre dark-sky property
  • Galaxies, star clusters and the Milky Way
Check price & availability

Hill Country wine

Taste the other half of the High Plains wine story in Fredericksburg — much of the fruit is grown around Lubbock.

Historic limestone shopfronts on East Main Street in Fredericksburg, Texas Day trip from $179
🕒 6.5 hours 📍 From San Antonio ⭐ 5.0 (23)

From San Antonio: Hill Country Wine Tour to Fredericksburg

Here is a secret of Texas wine: a large share of the grapes poured in the Hill Country are grown up on the High Plains around Lubbock. If your Texas trip also takes in San Antonio, this perfectly rated day trip lets you taste the other half of that story in Fredericksburg, with two winery stops and time to explore the historic town.

  • Tastings at two Hill Country wineries
  • Free time in German-founded Fredericksburg
  • Transport from San Antonio included
Check price & availability
Oak wine barrels stacked in the cellar of a Texas winery Wine tour from $199
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Fredericksburg, Texas ⭐ 4.8 (6)

Fredericksburg: Classic Cowboy Wine Tour

Already in the Texas Hill Country? This small wine tour visits three Fredericksburg-area wineries with four or five tastings at each. Ask which wines are made from High Plains fruit — many Hill Country labels buy grapes from vineyards around Lubbock, Brownfield and the rest of the Texas High Plains AVA.

  • Tastings at three Hill Country wineries
  • 4–5 wines at each winery
  • Transport between wineries so nobody has to drive
Check price & availability
Live availability

More Texas experiences — real-time prices

Straight from GetYourGuide, updated continuously for the whole of Texas.

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The full list

Every experience we recommend

Fourteen experiences we would happily book ourselves on a trip that includes Lubbock and the Llano Estacado.

The famous Fort Worth Stock Yards entrance sign over Exchange Avenue Small-group tour from $36
🕒 Half day 📍 From Dallas or Fort Worth ⭐ 4.6 (281)

Fort Worth: Guided Tour from Dallas or Fort Worth

The best-reviewed way to see “Cowtown” without driving in DFW traffic. The tour takes you to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Cattle Drive visitor centre, with a guide explaining how the cattle trade built the city — a good warm-up before the long drive west to Lubbock and the ranching country of the Llano Estacado.

  • The historic Stockyards and the longhorn cattle drive
  • Cowboy history of “Hell’s Half Acre”
  • Transport from Dallas or Fort Worth included
Check price & availability
A historic saloon building on Exchange Avenue in the Fort Worth Stockyards Walking tour from $45
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Fort Worth Stockyards ⭐ 4.9 (45)

Fort Worth: Stockyards History Tour Pub Crawl

Most international visitors reach the South Plains through Dallas/Fort Worth, and the Stockyards are the perfect prelude: this is where the cattle trails ended. A local historian leads you between old saloons on Exchange Avenue, mixing cattle-drive history, outlaws and cowboy culture with cold drinks — the same ranching story you will meet again at Lubbock’s National Ranching Heritage Center.

  • Hidden history of the cattle drives and cowtown saloons
  • Several classic Stockyards bars with an expert guide
  • Top-rated by guests (4.9/5)
Check price & availability
The Rio Grande flowing out of the sheer walls of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park Outdoor adventure from $160
🕒 7 hours 📍 From Terlingua (Big Bend) ⭐ 5.0 (29)

Terlingua: Rio Grande Full-Day Guided Raft, Kayak or Canoe Trip

If Palo Duro Canyon gives you a taste for West Texas canyons, Big Bend is the grand finale. It is a long drive (roughly six to seven hours south of Lubbock), so treat it as a multi-day extension: this perfectly rated full-day river trip takes you through the canyons of the Rio Grande, with the United States on one bank and Mexico on the other.

  • Float between Texas and Mexico on the Rio Grande
  • Canyons of the Big Bend region
  • Raft, canoe or kayak depending on water levels
Check price & availability
An adobe building on the historic plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico Walking tour from $40
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Santa Fe, New Mexico ⭐ 4.8 (18)

Santa Fe: Guided Historic Downtown Walking Tour

US-84 runs almost straight from Lubbock to Santa Fe, which makes the New Mexico capital (around five and a half hours away) the classic extension of a South Plains trip. This two-hour walk with a museum-trained docent unpacks four centuries of Pueblo, Spanish, Mexican and American history in the adobe streets around the Plaza.

  • 400 years of history around the Santa Fe Plaza
  • Pueblo-style adobe architecture explained
  • Led by a museum-trained docent
Check price & availability
The International UFO Museum and Research Center on Main Street in Roswell, New Mexico Guided tour from $48
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell: Guided UFO Incident Tour

Roswell is roughly three hours west of Lubbock across the Llano Estacado — an easy, classic road trip. This two-hour guided tour walks you through what happened in the summer of 1947, the places tied to the story and the theories that followed, so you get far more out of the town than a quick photo with an alien statue.

  • The timeline of the famous 1947 “flying saucer” story
  • Sites connected to the incident around Roswell
  • What ufologists and sceptics have argued since
Check price & availability
Historic limestone shopfronts on East Main Street in Fredericksburg, Texas Day trip from $179
🕒 6.5 hours 📍 From San Antonio ⭐ 5.0 (23)

From San Antonio: Hill Country Wine Tour to Fredericksburg

Here is a secret of Texas wine: a large share of the grapes poured in the Hill Country are grown up on the High Plains around Lubbock. If your Texas trip also takes in San Antonio, this perfectly rated day trip lets you taste the other half of that story in Fredericksburg, with two winery stops and time to explore the historic town.

  • Tastings at two Hill Country wineries
  • Free time in German-founded Fredericksburg
  • Transport from San Antonio included
Check price & availability
Dozens of hot-air balloons drifting in a blue morning sky over Albuquerque Balloon flight from $215
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Albuquerque, New Mexico ⭐ 5.0 (10)

Albuquerque: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight with Toast

Albuquerque sits on Route 66 roughly four and a half hours west of Amarillo, and it is the hot-air-balloon capital of the United States. After driving the Mother Road across the Texas Panhandle, this sunrise flight is a spectacular reward: calm dawn air, the Rio Grande valley below and the Sandia Mountains glowing in the first light.

  • Sunrise flight with views of the Sandia Mountains
  • Celebratory toast and light snacks after landing
  • Perfect 5/5 guest rating
Check price & availability
Elm Street and Dealey Plaza in Dallas looking toward the former Texas School Book Depository History tour from $72
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Dallas ⭐ 4.8 (555)

Dallas: JFK Assassination and Sixth Floor Museum Tour

One of the most popular history tours in Dallas, with more than 500 reviews. A guide walks you through the events of November 1963 at Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, then takes you to other sites connected with the assassination — an absorbing half day if you overnight in Dallas on the way to or from Lubbock.

  • Dealey Plaza and the grassy knoll
  • The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
  • Other key sites of 22 November 1963
Check price & availability
The huge AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas Stadium tour from $97
🕒 3.5 hours 📍 From Dallas ⭐ 4.5 (442)

Dallas: Cowboys Stadium or The Star in Frisco Tour with Transport

Coming to Texas for Texas Tech football? Double down on the state’s great obsession with a tour of the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington or their headquarters at The Star in Frisco. Transport from Dallas is included, which makes it an easy add-on before or after your flight to Lubbock.

  • Choose AT&T Stadium or The Star in Frisco
  • Behind-the-scenes areas of an NFL giant
  • Round-trip transport from Dallas
Check price & availability
Exchange Avenue and its historic brick buildings in the Fort Worth Stockyards Sightseeing tour from $41
🕒 70 minutes or 3 hours 📍 From Fort Worth ⭐ 4.4 (32)

Fort Worth: Heritage and Landmarks Open-Air Tour

A relaxed open-air overview of Fort Worth that links the Stockyards with downtown and the museum-rich Cultural District. Choose the quick 70-minute loop if you are between flights, or the three-hour version to see more of the city that grew rich on the cattle trails that once crossed West Texas.

  • The Stockyards, downtown and the Cultural District
  • Short 70-minute or longer 3-hour option
  • Good-value introduction to Fort Worth
Check price & availability
A historic red-brick general store building in the Fort Worth Stockyards Food tour from $115
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Fort Worth Stockyards

Fort Worth: Stockyards Saloons and Foodie Crawl Tour

Eat your way through Texas cowboy country before you head out to the real thing. This guided walking tour of the Fort Worth Stockyards pairs three savoury tastings and a sweet finish with the history of cattle drives and outlaws — a fun first taste of the Texas food you will find all across the South Plains.

  • Three food stops plus a dessert treat
  • Stories of cowboys, cattle drives and outlaws
  • A walk through the historic Stockyards district
Check price & availability
Oak wine barrels stacked in the cellar of a Texas winery Wine tour from $199
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Fredericksburg, Texas ⭐ 4.8 (6)

Fredericksburg: Classic Cowboy Wine Tour

Already in the Texas Hill Country? This small wine tour visits three Fredericksburg-area wineries with four or five tastings at each. Ask which wines are made from High Plains fruit — many Hill Country labels buy grapes from vineyards around Lubbock, Brownfield and the rest of the Texas High Plains AVA.

  • Tastings at three Hill Country wineries
  • 4–5 wines at each winery
  • Transport between wineries so nobody has to drive
Check price & availability
The Milky Way arching over the dark silhouette of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend Private tour from $161
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Terlingua (Big Bend)

Terlingua: Private Big Bend Stargazing Tour with Telescopes

The South Plains already have big, dark skies, but the Big Bend region is one of the darkest places in the lower 48 states. If your West Texas road trip reaches Terlingua, book this private night with a guide and telescopes to chase galaxies and star clusters under the Milky Way.

  • Private session for your group only
  • Telescopes on a 60-acre dark-sky property
  • Galaxies, star clusters and the Milky Way
Check price & availability
A colourful hot-air balloon floating low over houses in New Mexico in the early morning Balloon flight from $336
🕒 4 hours (including transfers) 📍 From Santa Fe, New Mexico ⭐ 4.9 (13)

Santa Fe: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride with Pickup

A splurge to finish a US-84 road trip from Lubbock in style. You are collected from your Santa Fe hotel before dawn and driven to the launch site for a sunrise flight over the high desert of northern New Mexico — mesas, arroyos and, if you are lucky, wildlife below.

  • Sunrise flight over the high desert
  • Hotel pickup in Santa Fe
  • Watch for desert wildlife from the air
Check price & availability
Plan your trip

Big skies, deep canyons and real West Texas

Pair Lubbock and Palo Duro Canyon with the best-rated experiences on the road in: cowboy history in Fort Worth, Route 66 west to New Mexico, or the canyons of Big Bend. Book in a couple of taps.

Browse Texas tours Compare our picks
Good to know

Booking questions

Why are there no Lubbock tours on this page?

Because GetYourGuide does not currently list any bookable activities in Lubbock or Amarillo, and we only recommend real products. The region’s sights are easy to visit independently by car — our sight guides explain how.

Can I cancel a tour booked through these links?

Most experiences on GetYourGuide can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before the start. The exact policy is shown on each product page before you pay.

Are the prices shown in US dollars?

Yes, prices on our cards are indicative starting prices in US dollars. GetYourGuide shows the live price in your chosen currency when you open a product.

Do I need to book in advance?

Popular options such as the Fort Worth Stockyards tours, balloon flights and Big Bend river trips can fill up at weekends and in spring and autumn. Booking a few days ahead — with free cancellation — is sensible.