El Paso is the kind of place that evokes more than just a tourist’s curiosity. While it rests in the big state of Texas, it’s characterized mostly by its proximity to Mexico, and border location. When you book flights to El Paso, you’re landing in the westernmost area of the state, so you can literally see the villages and colonias in Juarez as you drive on the Border Highway. Some describe it as a surreal experience – being able to freely see into the lives of Mexican residents’ homes, while they could never step foot on our soil without a proper process.
Downtown, a mix of newer, established areas and run-down, abandoned foundations are fused together to create a bit of urban sprawl. The bicultural hub accelerates toward the rotation of newness, but still holds firmly to its roots of Spanish conquistadors, struggles for land, and tension of immigration. The Rio Grande serves as a kind of “route” for people and goods, and the 609,000 residents that live there use it as a lifeline for commerce. Most tourists plan flights to El Paso for a very specific experience, but you shouldn’t feel like you absolutely need to have an agenda.
Even if you’re not here to cross the border, learn more about immigration, or to steep in the town’s history, you’ll still be able to enjoy the lighter aspects of the southern town. Sunny days, mountainous landscape, and fabulous TexMex are more of El Paso’s greatest attributes.
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No matter when you plan flights to El Paso, you’ll want to pack clothing in layers to accommodate for the changing weather. Mornings and evenings may be chilly, but mid-day, the intense sun will usually bake the land, so be prepared. When you plan flights to El Paso, you’re landing on a mesa, surrounded by mountains. The desert climate means dry days and little rainfall, except in June and July, when summer storms roll in. Since most of the year is dry though, dust is common, especially during March and April, when wind storms sweep the land and carry clouds of dust along the terrain. Although it’s not always hot here, it is almost always sunny, even if you book flights to El Paso in the winter time. The heat fluctuates throughout the day, so packing in layers is your best bet.
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The best time of year to consider flights to El Paso is undoubtedly in the autumn. For warm weather, sunny days, and few showers, the months between September and November will most likely remain pleasant.
Peak Season:
If you travel to El Paso in the fall, then you’ll be able to achieve a happy medium free from extreme heat, cold, and storms. The summer has just begun to cool down, and the cold breezes of winter and dust storms of the spring have not yet graced the land.
Off-peak Season:
While fewer travelers flock here during the dog days of summer, you can find cheap flights to El Paso if you travel during the scorching months of June, July, and August. A mix of searing heat and pesky showers drive most locals inside to find respite from the extremes, but if you can brave the severity, go right ahead.
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The public transportation here is nothing to write home about. While there are buses, they run infrequently and aren’t always reliable. Bikes are available, but not recommended. The city isn’t exactly prepared for bikes – sidewalks are potted and cracked, and drivers don’t leave room on the roads, and aren’t used to accommodating for other vehicles. Hailing a cab rarely works, either. Renting a car is your safest bet for El Paso travel. If you’re not renting a car, then you should plan to call a cab company every time you feel like going somewhere.
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National Border Patrol Museum: When you book flights to El Paso, there’s no escaping the looming presence of the border. Since you’re already here, you might as well check out the official museum. While it’s easy to just look across the border for yourself, you’ll probably learn a little more if you experience the museum. Dedicated to the US Border Patrol, it covers all the aspects of the federal agency through a Lady Liberty exhibit, a Statue of Liberty replica, immigrant stories, and an actual Piper Super Cub plane and a Hughes OH-6A helicopter.
El Paso Zoo: If the kids are in tow on your flight to El Paso, then there’s no better place to take them than the fun and friendly El Paso Zoo. More than 1700 animals from 240 different species exist in natural habitat exhibits. The focus here is on American and Asian wildlife, with an entertaining monkey island, cool reptile house, and a vast Asian grasslands display. You might come across sun bears, black jaguars, tigers and elephants – a lively mix of breed. On your way out, stop at the gift shop for a stuffed animal, or at the restaurant for a bit to eat.
El Paso Museum of Art: For art enthusiasts booking flights to El Paso, head straight to the El Paso Museum of art, where a wonderful regional flare has a wall-to-wall affect. Gorgeous landscapes and personal portraits are framed tastefully, and so many of the area’s beautiful topography has been captured with paint, sculpture, and imagery. Five permanent galleries attract visitors every year, but the real sellers here are the three galleries completely dedicated to El Paso-generated art. One is devoted to 17th to 19th century Mexican art, another to 13th and 18th century European art, and one to American works from 1800 to the mid-1900s.
Chamizal National Memorial: The Mexican American War may have ended in 1848, but it has definitely left its mark on El Paso in more ways than one. When you book flights to El Paso, you’ll see the importance of the border, it’s position, and its evolution. Long ago, the United States and Mexico agreed on the border location, set on the deepest channel of the Rio Grande. As rivers sometimes do, the Rio Grande shifted, and actually moved southward, creating a larger space on the US territory and a smaller one on Mexico’s side. The two parties argued about the move, and in 1967, Lyndon B. Johnson and Adolfo Lopez Mateos signed the Chamizal Treaty. Land was exchanged, homes and industries were uprooted, and a concert area around the channel was created to make a more discernable boundary.
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Your cheap flight to El Paso arrives at El Paso International Airport, just 8 miles northeast of downtown.
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