Travellers will enjoy a fun-filled, memorable holiday with arts, culture and natural beauty.
From fine wine to fine art, and the great outdoors to grand resorts, Texas and Oklahoma have holiday travel covered. And, with direct flights from Auckland to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, travellers can easily access both.
As its name implies, Grapevine, Texas is steeped in wine culture! Its self-guided Urban Wine Trail introduces travellers to the city’s best wineries, including Cross Timbers Winery, located in a charming historic home, and Messina Hof Winery, for 100 per cent Texan grown grapes. Travellers in September can enjoy Grapefest, the southwest’s largest wine festival, an annual celebration of Texas wine with wine competitions, tastings and winery tours in a family friendly, carnival atmosphere.
A wine-themed boutique hotel, Hotel Vin’s dining and entertainment options include European-style, multi-vendor Harvest Hall and Bacchus Kitchen and Bar, which offers Mediterranean-inspired cuisine on the hotel’s Rioja Rooftop Terrace overlooking Grapevine’s Main Street Historic District.
Downtown Grapevine mixes historic architecture with modern dining, shopping and nightlife. Tolbert’s Restaurant & Chili Parlor has served up “bowls of red” for more than 50 years, and its signature “Donkey Tails” appetiser is a must-try! Esparza’s Restaurante Mexicano, the Margarita Capital of Texas®, is known for its famous House Margarita and the Corona-Rita, a super-sized House Margarita with an entire bottle of Corona beer upended inside the glass. Visit Vetro Glassblowing Studio & Gallery and the Texas General Store for unique gifts.
Want to immerse yourself in an alternate universe? “The Real Unreal” is Texas’ first location of Meow Wolf, a national attraction combining installations with an interactive mystery to solve. Meow Wolf Grapevine’s experience, or “portal,” centres on themes of chosen family and community, and highlights the region’s creative community, with artistic collaborations, murals, and dining options from local restaurants. Make advance reservations and stay a while. “The Real Unreal” is brand-new and extremely popular. You’ll want to experience every detail.
Nature lovers can spend a few hours or an entire day exploring Lake Grapevine, with its more than 14 kilometres of wilderness trails, beautiful shoreline and many parks. Boat rentals, water sports, chartered sailing tours and other lake excursions are available.
Gaylord Texan Resort is a destination hotel with restaurants and entertainment, indoor garden atriums decorated with seasonal showstopping displays, and Paradise Springs Water Park, a ten-acre, onsite water park. Relâche Spa & Salon is perfect for pampering.
Oklahoma’s visitors will find a diverse and culturally rich destination with Native American culture and history, landmark Route 66 attractions and breathtaking scenery.
Experience the kitsch of Route 66 in Tulsa. Begin with the city’s Meadow Gold District and savor local charcuterie at The Meat and Cheese Show, have dessert at Cherry & Bark and grab a souvenir at Buck Atom’s before heading to your next stop. The Blue Whale of Catoosa is just outside of town. Pull over for a picnic, or walk through the whale sculpture and snap photos to capture this only-in-Oklahoma attraction.
Get close to art, nature and history at Woolaroc, a wildlife preserve and Western art museum. Named for the woods, lakes and rocks of its Osage County home, Woolaroc protects free-roaming American bison, longhorn cattle, elk and more. A farm and petting zoo allows guests to engage with domestic animals. Woolaroc’s popular Mountain Man Camp, a historically authentic reenactment and ongoing living history event, shows the lived experiences of 1840′s era fur traders.
Bartlesville is the unexpected home of Price Tower, the only skyscraper ever built by acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Home to the Price Tower Arts Center and gallery, it’s a unique stop for a self-guided or guided tour, or settle in and spend the night in one of its hotel suites.
In Oklahoma City, the state’s capital, you’ll find world-class attractions like the First Americans Museum (FAM), which showcases histories of 39 First American Nations tribes in Oklahoma, including the Wichita, Comanche, Kiowa and Seminole. The museum hosts permanent and rotating exhibitions, special events and learning opportunities, and its restaurant, Thirty-Nine, serves modern Indigenous cuisine like Corn Ribs with Sumac Brown Butter, Skillet Corn Bread and Blue Corn Blueberry Pancakes.
For an Oklahoma City’s local perspective, visit the Paseo Arts District, which is lined with galleries, shops and restaurants. When you spot blue bear sculptures, you’ll know you’ve found Oso Paseo, known for tacos and taqueria. In the nearby Plaza District, you’ll find a sprawling, colorful mural installation, the Plaza Walls.
Grapevine and Oklahoma visitors can enjoy the best that the U.S. has to offer. Direct flights from Auckland to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport give travellers easy access to Grapevine’s charming city vibes, Oklahoma’s road trip-worthy destinations, and many once-in-a-lifetime experiences throughout the journey.
To book your next road trip to include Grapevine and Oklahoma, visit House of Travel at houseoftravel.co.nz, and fly direct flight from Auckland to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Start planning today at grapevinetexasusa.com and travelok.com.