The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour

42 Reviews | Houston, USA

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1 to 3 hours (approx.)

Mobile ticket

Instant confirmation

Offered in: English

Overview

Find out what makes Houston the most vibrant city in Texas with this self-guided Houston driving tour! As you explore, you’ll see everything that makes Houston unique, from historic districts to stunning parks and the famous Space Center! Revisit historic battles on the Bayou. Stop by Emancipation Park, a centerpiece of Black history in the city. Admire Houston's tallest skyscrapers and uncover the heart of this truly Texan city!

Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!

After booking, check your email/text to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action while connected to WiFi or mobile data. Enter the password, download the tour, and enjoy it offline. Follow the audio instructions and route from the designated starting point.

New, Lifetime access, no expiry. Use it anytime, on any trip, as many times as you want.

This isn't an entrance ticket. Check opening hours before your visit.

What's Included

Text transcripts of audio narration & Self-paced format (start/pause/resume anytime)
Pre-recorded audio commentary (downloadable or streamable)
Lifetime access (no expiration) with Customer support (chat/email)
This tour is NOT a ticket to any attraction or site
Suggested walking/driving itinerary with stop-by-stop directions
Offline GPS-enabled route map
NO in-person guide or physical equipment (bring your own device & headphones)
This is a GPS-powered, self-guided audio tour that works through an app

Entrance fees, in-person guide, headphones, transport, parking, food,Wi-Fi or cellular data, rentals

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Meeting Location

Meeting point

Houston
TX 77010, USA

Show on Google Maps

Detailed check-in instructions, including the exact address, are provided with your booking confirmation.

End point

2101 East Nasa Parkway
Houston, TX 77058, USA

What To Expect

Book Online

Our secure website provides real-time availability, instant confirmation, and free, no-hassle cancellations up to 24 hours before your tour begins.

Safe & secure • Easy breezy • Hassle-free

Buffalo Bayou Park

Next, we'll arrive at the Buffalo Bayou Park, where we'll get a chance to see the enormous cisterns the once quenched the thirst of the entire city! We'll also learn how the city transformed and found new uses for these cisterns once they weren't needed for drinking water any longer.NOTE: The tour is over 40 miles long, with more than 40+ audio stories, and takes about 2-3 hours to complete.New, Lifetime access, no expiry. Use it anytime, on any trip, as many times as you want.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sam Houston Park

Our drive takes us past Sam Houston Park next, where a row of preserved historic homes display how Houstonians from all walks of life lived, from freed slaves building new lives for themselves to affluent merchants.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Houston City Hall

We'll park at City Hall and hear about the challenges of building it during the Great Depression. We'll also get a good look at the statues of Houston's founders which stand before the hall, and learn about how those statues had to wait over 80 years to be built!

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Pennzoil Place

We'll keep driving until we see Pennzoil Place, a pair of huge black towers looming over Houston. Here, we'll pick up some facts about the imposing buildings and the innovative architect behind them.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Market Square Park

Our route takes us next through Houston's Historic District, chock full of gorgeous old buildings. We'll also hear about the multiple fires which swept across the old City Hall, and the celebrities like Johnny Carson who have partied in this very district!

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

JPMorgan Chase Tower

The next sight we'll see is the Chase Tower, the tallest building in all of Texas. Here, we'll uncover some secrets of its construction, like how the original design was hazardous to air traffic and it sports a helipad that's never been used!

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Christ Church Cathedral Episcopal Church

Next, we'll park at the Christ Church Cathedral, Houston’s very first religious congregation which dates back to 1859. We'll also hear about the generous stranger who's responsible for a steer's head being part of the church seal.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Daikin Park

Our route then passes Minute Maid Park, the famous baseball stadium designed to imitate the Golden Age of baseball.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Emancipation Park

Next, we'll see Emancipation Park, a lovely recreational space with a rich history. We'll hear about emancipation, Juneteenth in Texas, and how this park became an epicenter for the Black community in Houston. Then, we'll get the real facts on some of Houston's most notorious urban legends.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Houston Museum District

As we drive, we'll enter Houston's Museum District, home to fascinating museums covering everything from Black history to natural science to fine arts and beyond. If you want a really deep dive into the city of Houston, this is the place to be.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hermann Park

Next, we'll pass Hermann Park, home to plenty of attractions for the little ones, including an entire zoo featuring cheetahs, chimps, and more!

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rice University

Our route brings us through the Rice University campus next, where we'll get some insight into the founder and hear about a baffling--and very ambitious--senior prank conducted by an alum known only as "The Mastermind."

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

William Marsh Rice Statue

Next, we'll see the subject of the prank itself: the William Marsh Rice Statue, and learn about how the pranksters banded together to protect one of their own from repercussions.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyscape

As we continue through the Rice campus, we'll see the strange, pyramid-shaped building known as Skyspace. Here, we'll get a quick rundown of what this odd building is for, and how you can experience its beautiful sky viewings for yourself.

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

MacGregor Park

We'll keep driving past MacGregor Park and listen to the story of how he revolutionized Houston's transit system by replacing the donkeys it relied on for far too long.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

MacGregor Park MLK

At the end of the boulevard, look to the right. You should be able to spot the bronze statue of Dr. King. For a full picture of his life and achievements, check out the African American Culture Museum in Midtown.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Old Spanish Trail

As we drive, we'll end up on the Old Spanish Trail. Once upon a time, it spanned the entirety of the country! This trail stretched over 2,750 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Next, we'll look down get the inside scoop on the importance of oil and gas in Texas's development, and look up at the stars to hear about NASA, the infamous Apollo 13 mission, and world-famous astronomer Carl Sagan.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

San Jacinto Street

The San Jacinto Monument is a 567.31-foot-high column located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near the city of Houston. The monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Discovery Green

Discovery Green is an 11.78-acre public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, bounded by La Branch Street to the west, McKinney Street to the north, Avenida de las Americas to the east, and Lamar Street to the south.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Houston Graffiti Building

Grouping of industrial structures featuring rotating displays of colorful street art & murals.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Holocaust Museum Houston

The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in the U.S. state of Texas. The Holocaust memorial museum is the fourth largest in the U.S., and opened in 1996. A major commitment of the Holocaust Museum Houston is education.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Houston Museum of Natural Science

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park.

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (pass by)

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, located in the Houston Museum District, Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 70,000 works from six continents.

Children's Museum Houston (pass by)

Bustling family museum with a wealth of hands-on activities such as a Bubble Lab & a Tot Spot.

James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyscape (pass by)

Built in 2012, the pyramidal structure accommodates 120 people between two levels. Twilight Epiphany is acoustically engineered to host musical performances and to act as a laboratory for Shepherd School of Music students. Constructed of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel, the structure is equipped with an LED light sequence that projects onto the ceiling and through an aperture in the 72-foot square knife-edge roof during sunrise and at sunset. Turrell's composition of light complements the natural light present at twilight, and transforms the Skyspace into a locale for experiencing beauty and reflecting on the surrounding campus and the natural world.

The Health Museum (pass by)

The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, or The Health Museum in short, is a museum in the Museum District of Houston, Texas. The museum is a member institution of the Texas Medical Center.

Show 25 more stops

Additional Info

Confirmation is instant and will be received at time of booking
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How To Access: After booking, you’ll get an email and text with setup instructions and password (search “audio tour” in emails and texts). • Download the separate tour app by Action • Enter the password sent by email and text. • MUST download the tour while in strong wifi/cellular. • Works offline after download.
How to start touring: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction.
Go to the starting point No one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided Enter the first story’s point and the audio will begin automatically Follow the audio cues to the next story, which will also play automatically. Enjoy hands-free exploring. If you face audio issues, contact support. Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.

Travel worry-free: Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace. Skip anything you don’t care about or explore bonus content for everything that interests you
Savings tips: Driving tours: purchase just one tour for everyone in the car
New, Lifetime access, no expiry. Use it anytime, on any trip, as many times as you want.
Audio Setup: Connect your phone to your car's stereo system using Bluetooth, USB, or AUX. For the best experience, consider using headphones for walking tours. Audio playback is compatible with Apple CarPlay, with navigation features coming soon. Support for Android Auto is also on the way.
The tour requires a supported mobile device for navigation. Please use an iPhone with iOS 15 or later, an Android device with Android 9 or later, or an iPad/tablet with GPS and cellular service.
Operated by a business

Frequently Asked Questions

(6)

Q: What is the cancellation policy for the The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour?

A: You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the tour for a full refund. For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the tour start time.If you cancel less than 24 hours before the tour start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.Any changes made less than 24 hours before the tour start time will not be accepted.Cut-off times are based on the tour local time (CDT). Read more Apr 2025

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the tour for a full refund.

Still have questions?

We're here to help.
Activity code: C-259428P5

Traveler Photos

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Reviews

3.26

42 reviews

Average 3.26 out of 5 stars based on 42 traveler reviews collected by Cool Destinations and partner sites such as Trustpilot, Viator, and TripAdvisor

5 stars

12

4 stars

8

3 stars

8

2 stars

7

1 star

7

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The answers provided below were previously given in response to questions from Cool Destinations customers.

Q: What is the cancellation policy for the The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour?

A:

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the tour for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the tour start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the tour start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the tour start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the tour local time (CDT).

Apr 2025

Q: What's included in the price?

A:

The following is included:

Text transcripts of audio narration & Self-paced format (start/pause/resume anytime).
Pre-recorded audio commentary (downloadable or streamable).
Lifetime access (no expiration) with Customer support (chat/email).
This tour is NOT a ticket to any attraction or site.
Suggested walking/driving itinerary with stop-by-stop directions.
Offline GPS-enabled route map.
NO in-person guide or physical equipment (bring your own device & headphones).
This is a GPS-powered, self-guided audio tour that works through an app.

The following is NOT included:

Entrance fees, in-person guide, headphones, transport, parking, food,Wi-Fi or cellular data, rentals.

Apr 2025

Q: What is the minimum age for this tour?

A:

There is no minimum age for this tour, so bring your wee one along for an adventure..

Apr 2025

Q: My date is not available in the calendar, I am just checking to see if it is available?

A:

If a date or time is not listed on the calendar, it’s sold out or unavailable for another reason. Support cannot assist further if a date or time is not on the calendar.

If you find a date and time that works for you, book it NOW because things always sell out at this time of year.

Apr 2025

Q: Is this an accessible tour?

A:

Accessibility information for the The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour is as follows:

Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Apr 2025

Q: Where is the meeting point for this activity?

A:

Detailed check-in instructions – including meeting point address, Google map, and parking information – for The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour will be included in your confirmation email from Cool Destinations. Please be sure to double and triple check your email address is correct at checkout so this important email makes its way to you!

Mar 2024