New Mexico Travel Forum

I am planning a 3 day road trip to New Mexico from Houston,TX
What would be the best places to see?
I dont want to waste too much time travelling once I get to New Mexico.
What city do I visit?

You don't say if your 3 days include roundtrip or just one way, but keep in mind that from Houston to Albuquerque, for example, is a little over 1000 miles and will take close to 14 hours one way. So the time you have available will dictate what you can manage to see in only three days. If it's 3 days roundtrip you'll spend most of your time on the highway.

The closest New Mexico destination to Houston is Carlsbad Caverns, which is still a full day's drive (10 hours minimum). If you're going in the summer, you can catch the bat flight at sunset, then visit the actual caverns in the morning. The problem though is that Carlsbad (as well as the rest of the Estacado) looks essentially like Texas, and there really isn't anything else that you could feasibly do in New Mexico in your limited time except possibly the UFO Museum in Roswell, which is about an hour north of Carlsbad. You could drop into Texas a little though and hit Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
I'd say stay a night in Carlsbad, do Carlsbad Caverns but, after that, leave and take your time driving back avoiding the interstates. There's actually quite a bit in between the two places within Texas like Fort Davis, various towns in the Hill Country (Mason, Fredericksburg, Llano, Luckenbach) and sites in the Hill Country (Pedernales Falls, Enchanted Rock), not to mention all that Austin and San Antonio have to offer.
You could spend three days alone doing that drive.
hth

I would say the must-see attractions in New Mexico are

Santa Fe
Taos (Taos itself around the plaza, Ranchos de Taos and Taos Pueblo)
Carlsbad Caverns National Park

If time permits and depending on your interests, you could add

Albuquerque
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Bandelier National Monument
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
White Sands National Monument
Roswell

I assume you'll go to Santa Fe. that is great.
can you camp?

Chaco canyon is the best archeological site in the country and is not to be missed although it is quite out of the way and i think you'll have to camp.

chimayo is a very interesting church outside of santa fe.

taos is overly touristic in my opinion and you can find just as much interesting art in santa fe.

My favorite places in New Mexico are Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Monument. As pointed out, the distance is more than you might expect, and White Sands is even farther west than Carlsbad. We spent a number of days at the caves, as we love caves and ended up taking 6 of the 8 offered tours. Outside of the Big Room self guided route in Carlsbad and the Natural Entrance Self guided walk, you have to reserve ahead of time for other guided tours. The shortest activity here would be the Big Room tour, which you could probably do in an hour if you didn't spend time in the visitor center looking at the displays, and did only that. Of the two basic tours, however, I prefer the Natural Entrance Self guided walk, which will include the Big Room, but will take you considerably longer. Take a flashlight. Although there is lighting in the cave, it is fun to look back into darker areas.