Planning Your Trip to Waco, TX

Updated July 22, 2020.

It’s Flyaway Friday–hooray! So now you’re ready to plan your own trip to Waco. Whether you’re heading to this small Texas town for Baylor University happenings or to see Fixer Upper‘s famous power couple’s Magnolia Market for yourself, this is the ultimate guide to planning your trip!

When to Go

Texas is hot. Much of the state is very dry most of the time. Summer may not be the best time to visit, but that’s when we went! Winters are mild to chilly, but spring and fall have the best temperatures. Try to avoid spring break season, holidays, and weekends–Saturdays are super busy for the Magnolia Silos property, and they are closed on Sundays, along with many other family-owned businesses in town. If you’re heading in for a Baylor game or other University-related event, be prepared to pay a little more for airline tickets and accommodations. Book early if you can!

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Summertime at the Silos!
More here: The Very Best of Waco

Getting There

Most people heading to Waco from outside of driving distance fly into Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), or Austin (AUS), which are all around 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours from Waco, depending on traffic and time of day. Sorry, Houston is closer to 3 hours away. Alternatively, Waco has a small regional airport (ACT). At the time of this writing, American Airlines is the only commercial airline flying into Waco, and those flights come from Dallas.

You’ll also want to rent a car if you want to explore outside of Waco proper. If you’re flying into ACT and staying in downtown Waco, you can take a cab or an Uber into town and fill up your time pretty well for a couple of days within walking distance. Otherwise, you’ll want a car!

More here: What to Do in Waco Besides the Silos

Staying There

Since the success of Fixer Upper, there are tons of options for places to stay in Waco and the surrounding area. Several of the Fixer Upper homes are up for rent, and the Gaineses have their own rental property, Magnolia House, which books up quickly! You can find those on sites like VRBO, HomeAway, and AirBnB. If you like a typical hotel, which my husband actually prefers wherever we go, there are plenty of those as well. You can find those options here. Again, be prepared to pay more around event days. Check Baylor’s event calendar and the Magnolia Silos website to find out when their big events are taking place.

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The Mailander House, Season 1
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The Catastrophe House, Season 1
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The Tiny House, Season 3
Check out Living in a Fixer Upper and A Peek Inside the Mailander House!

What To Do

Check out my blog posts all about what to do in Waco! Whether you want the Fixer Upper experience or someone in your party needs something non-Fixer Upper to do, I’ve got you covered!

Top Tips and Quick Facts

If you’re heading into town for Magnolia and all things Fixer Upper, here is some quick info to make your trip easy and efficient!

  • Magnolia Market at the Silos Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:00-6:00
  • Bakery at the Silos Hours: 7:30-6:00
  • Silos grounds are open until 7:00pm, one hour after the store and bakery close; use this time to take some final pictures, maybe with no one else around if you’re lucky
  • Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days to visit the Silos property; Saturday is the busiest day; they are CLOSED all day Sunday
  • Don’t pay for parking; you can park downtown for free and take the FREE Silo District Trolley
  • There is also FREE parking just around the corner behind the Magnolia Market store
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Just around the corner!
More here: How to Plan Your Fixer Upper Getaway

Don’t Forget about Photo-ops Around the Silos

Here are some of the most “Instagrammable” spots around the Silos and more!

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Magnolia Market and Garden Mural
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Mama at the Bakery (after they all sang happy birthday to her!)
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The Green Truck
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Magnolia Silos Mural
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Magnolia Stage! Pardon my mid-run appearance! 
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#milestomagnolia
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The Silos and grounds!
Read next: What to Get at the Magnolia Silos Bakery

Are you visiting the Silos soon or have questions about planning your own trip? Let me know in the comments below! And check out my United States Page for more about Waco and Texas, too!

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Published by quickwhittravel

Welcome to the blog! We do things a little differently around here: no ads, no negativity, and no checked luggage, y'all. My name is Whitney, and Quick Whit Travel Blog is your one-stop shop for all the best travel tips, packing advice, and destination information. Click around or message me on social media @quickwhittravel for more!

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