The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
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.
Additional Info
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.
What To Expect
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.
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.
Options
The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
What‘s Included
Text transcripts of audio narration & Self-paced format (start/pause/resume anytime)
Pre-recorded audio commentary (downloadable or streamable)
This is a GPS-powered, self-guided audio tour that works through an app
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)
Entrance fees, in-person guide, headphones, transport, parking, food,Wi-Fi or cellular data, rentals
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
47 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Difficult to use, not...
Anonymous,May 2, 2026
- Review from Viator
2.00Difficult to use, not very interesting or relevant, route is not clear, lots of driving time with no info
Tour on your own with goggle maps
Fawn W,Jun 27, 2025
- Review from Viator
2.00It was hard to follow the directions and the map wouldn't load. Market square had construction so there was nothing set up there. We did this on Juneteenth and unfortunately there was nothing going on at Emancipation park either. A bunch of driving around unless you get out and walk the area and take pictures. There was also a detour on the rice university, so didn't see the statue. I would just put the places in your map and go see them for yourself. Save time from wrong turns, detours, etc.
Houston history
Paula R,Jun 15, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Very easy to use. Clear driving instructions and interesting facts and stories. I will definitely use this app again in other cities I visit by car.
Could be better
Gerald M,Apr 22, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00In theory this should be an incredible app. The last part took us at least an half an hour to get out to NASA. You pull up and the tour is over. Which means driving another half an hour back to the city. I thought it missed some important highlights of the city p
Needs work!!!
Jeffrey G,Apr 8, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
2.00The map was very difficult to follow. The driving instructions were not clear. Need to be able to put map on the car screen. Locations were not that great but nit sure if that was your fault or houston's.
Houston Trip
JamesM S,Apr 7, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00Car Play map does not work on this app. Very distracting having to watch iPhone in a city like Houston.
Quick overview of Houston offerings
dianejO3068SI,Mar 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00After reading reviews, I purposely downloaded the trip in the app but it seemed a little bit wonky at first/timing seemed to be off and I was concerned about missing another turn so I kept looking ahead to see what was coming up. Imagine it’s difficult when you’re in a city and have one point of interest after another. Otherwise the information shared was interesting and the price was right. I wanted to see what Houston has to offer without parking and walking so this seemed like the best fit.
Not worth it!
LEVI M,Sep 23, 2024
- Review from Viator
1.00We had a difficult time keeping track on this app, it kept dropping out and was very confusing to follow. The narration was not very informative and street signs were missing at various turns! Not what we were expecting!
Fun way to make good use of our rental car.
70bridgetv,Sep 2, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My BF and I visited Houston for a wedding and decided to get in a tour. It took us two days because we had other scheduled events. We enjoyed having the opportunity to do the tour at our own pace. We used AppleMaps to get to the starting point and CarPlay to listen to it. It’s a bit of a drive to the NASA Space center. If you are going to go to visit get your tickets ahead of time; they are free. So schedule the tour and leave time to visit NASA. We were not able to but it would have been interesting to take the tram tour.
HORRIBLE- Do not buy!!
JillHR,Jun 28, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00If you do not heed my advice to NOT buy this tour, you might try using a map app to get you to stop 16 or 17, and join the tour there. There is construction in the Houston area and this app knows nothing about it - you have to get off of the blue line, because the way it wants you to go is completely blocked. The automated guide does not have very much to say about any of the locations, and I noticed we drove right past what might have been Sam Houston’s house with not a peep from the guide. Also, you drive a very long way to the Space Museum (the end of the tour) with very little audio on the way there- maybe there’s not a lot to see in Houston or no stories to be told? Go ahead and spring for a guided tour— you will majorly regret purchasing this self-guided one.
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