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Houston

Travel Guide North America USA Southern United States Texas Houston

Introduction

Downtown Houston

Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest in Texas with around 2.3 million people living in the city, almost 6 million in the metropolitan area.

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Neighbourhoods

Downtown

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Sights and Activities

Space Center Houston is the official visitors’ center at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. You will find interactive exhibits, a shuttle simulator and numerous presentations detailing NASA's history.
The Theatre District
Houston Zoo within Hermann Park, houses over 4,500 animals divided over 900 species.
The Galleria is Texas' largest mall
Enjoy some sporting action while watching the Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Texans (NFL) or Houston Dynamo (MLS).

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Events and Festivals

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is held over 20 days from late February to early March.
The Houston Pride Parade is a night-time gay pride parade held each year in June.

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Weather

Houston has a humid subtropical climate, with occasional tornadoes in spring. Prevailing winds from the south and southwest bring heat from Mexico's deserts and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

In summer, temperatures regularly reach over 90 °F with an average 99 days of the year over 90 °F. The humidity of the area results in an even higher heat index than the actual temperature. Winds in summer are often light and bring little relief. Air conditioning use in Houston is very heavy to cope with the high temperatures.

Winters are quite temperate with an average high of 63 °F in January, the coldest month. Snowfall is rare.
Houston receives a high amount of rainfall each year, averaging 48 inches annually. The rains frequently cause flooding in parts of the city.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg Max	16.1 °C	18.5 °C	21.7 °C	25.8 °C	29.2 °C	32.3 °C	33.7 °C	33.6 °C	31.3 °C	27.6 °C	22.4 °C	18.2 °C
Avg Min	4.3 °C	5.9 °C	10 °C	14.5 °C	18 °C	21.4 °C	22.4 °C	22.2 °C	19.9 °C	14.2 °C	9.8 °C	5.7 °C
Rainfall	83.6 mm	75.2 mm	74.2 mm	81.5 mm	133.1 mm	126 mm	91.4 mm	88.6 mm	124.2 mm	108.5 mm	96.3 mm	87.6 mm
Rain Days	7.9	5.9	6.8	5	6.9	7.3	7.5	6.9	7.5	6.1	6.8	6.8

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Getting There

By Plane

The George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Houston's primary airport and the 9th largest in the US in terms of total passengers. It is the headquarters of Continental Airlines and its largest hub. It's located about 20 miles (32 kilometres) from downtown Houston.

To/from the airport

Bus: The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, offers bus service available at the south side of Terminal C. The 102 Bush IAH Express and the METRO Airport Direct serve the airport.
Shuttles: Regularly scheduled bus and shuttle service go to locations from IAH to Reliant Park/Reliant Astrodome, Downtown Houston, Uptown, Greenway Plaza, the Texas Medical Center, Westside hotels, the city of College Station and William P. Hobby Airport. Super Shuttle also provides service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the surrounding communities via shared vans.
Taxis and vans also are available and there are plenty of options to rent cars.

The William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Houston's second largest airport and mainly operates small to medium-haul flights. It is the only airport served by Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

By Train

Amtrak stops in Houston along the Sunset Limited route from Los Angeles to New Orleans. The station is on the north side of the downtown area.

By Bus

Greyhound Bus Lines have intercity services from 5 stations in Houston and Houston suburbs. Other bus lines also operate from Greyhound's stations.

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Getting Around

By Car

Many international rental companies have a wide selection of rental cars and these include Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget and Alamo/National. Most companies will require you are at least 25 years of age, although younger people might be able to rent cars at slightly higher rates and with some insurance differences as well. A national driver's license is usually enough, but an additional international one is recommended. Also note that it usually costs more to include lots of other extra things. For example extra drivers, GPS, the first full tank, SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance), PAI (Personal Accident Insurance, usually covered already at home), road assistance/service plan, and drop-off costs for one-way rentals.
If you want to book a car, it is recommended that you book your car before arriving in the USA. This is almost always (much) cheaper compared to just showing up. Also, try and book with a so-called 'broker', which usually works together with a few or many car rental companies and can offer the best deal. Some examples include Holidayautos, Holidaycars and Sunny Cars. Some of the cheapest deals to book from Europe, includes Drive-USA, which also has a German version.

For more information and tips about renting cars and campers, additional costs, insurance, traffic rules, scenic routes and getting maps and fuel it is advised to check the USA Getting Around section.

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Houston International Hostel	5302 Crawford St. Texas	Hostel	77
Friends Cottage Hostel – Downtown	1818 Lubbock	HOSTEL	84
Americas Best Value Inn & Suites	12170 North west freeway	HOTEL	-
Space Pod Houston	10046 Rosbrook Drive Houston, Texas 77038	GUESTHOUSE	-
Motel 6 Houston Reliant Park	3223 South Loop West Houston	Hotel	-
Motel 6 Houston - Westchase	2900 West Sam Houston Parkway South Houston	Hotel	-
Knights Inn Humble/Houston	15319 Eastex Freeway Humble/Houston	Hotel	-
Baymont Inn & Suites Houston IAH Airport	18032 McKay Blvd Humble	HOTEL	-
HI-Houston: The Morty Rich Hostel	501 Lovett Boulevard	HOSTEL	90
Carefree Inn Houston Medical Center	10015 South Main St	Hotel	-

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Learn

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the seventh-largest in the United States and has 112 campuses. Some of the major universities include:

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Keep Connected

Phone

Post

The US Postal Service is very good and well priced mail system. There are hundreds of big and small post offices in Houston. If wanting to send a letter or postcard it is best just to leave it in a blue mail box with the proper postage. There are also private postal services like FedEx, UPS and DHL.

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