There are several travel options. Driving may be the most convenient if you live in Texas (approx. 6 hours from Austin; 8 hours from D/FW and 9 hours from Houston). El Paso and Midland are the closest commercial airports (and both are approx. 3 hours away). Amtrak offers service to Alpine. Private planes can land at Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport. Commercial service to/from Viva Big Bend is available through El Paso International Airport.
Most of Viva Big Bend’s show take place inside regularly operating bars, restaurants and hotels. As a result, you don’t need to bring much! If you’d like, bring a chair to the Alpine Visitor Center, Out West, Fort Davis Pavilion and BBT BBQ. The Fort Davis Pavilion is also BYOB.
Visit Alpine | Visit Marfa | Visit Big Bend | Texas Mountain Trail
There are a lot of housing options in the area. Here are links to recommended hotels:
Partner Hotels
Cibolo Creek Ranch 
Gage Hotel (Marathon)
Hampton Inn (Alpine)
Holiday Inn Express (Alpine)
Holland Hotel (Alpine)
Maverick Inn (Alpine)
Quarter Circle 7 Hotel (Alpine) 
Other Lodging Options In The Area
Alpine Classic Inn (formerly Best Western) – 432-837-1530
Antelope Lodge (Alpine)
El Cosmico (Marfa)
Highland Inn (Alpine)
Hotel Limpia (Fort Davis)
Hotel Paisano (Marfa)
Hotel Saint George (Marfa)
Lajitas Golf Resort (Lajitas)
Lost Alaskan RV Park (Alpine)
Mountain Trails Lodge (Fort Davis)
Old Texas Inn (Fort Davis)
Riata Inn (Marfa)
Stone Village Tourist Camp (Fort Davis)
Sunday House Inn (Alpine)
Thunderbird (Marfa)
Veranda (Fort Davis)
Additional hotel/camping options can be found at the tourism sites listed above.
Tickets will be on sale by the end of 2022
Lineup will be announced by the end of May 2023
Tickets will not be mailed. Instead, each attendee will receive a wristband which can be picked up at one of the Viva Big Bend box offices. The person who paid for the passes will need to present a government issued picture I.D. (driver’s license, passport). Your online receipt is helpful, but not required. If multiple passes were ordered at the same time, only the person who bought the tickets needs to be present to pick up the wristbands.
Box office locations/times to be posted here by June 2023
Each person (regardless of age) needs a wristband for admittance to the venues. Since Viva Big Bend takes place in 10+ venues, each of those clubs, restaurants and hotels has their own policies. Here are those policies:
All daytime shows are free and open to the public (this includes the Holland Hotel, Fort Davis and Marathon shows). Also, there are a couple shows specifically geared toward children (see the Official Guide for more details)
For the concerts at VBB/music: Venues have varying capacity restrictions. If the capacity limit is reached, it’ll be one-in, one-out.
This is the first question many people ask, and believe it or not, the weather can be relatively “cool” in this area at this time of the year. The average high temperature in Alpine and Marfa at the end of July is in the upper 80s and the average low temperature is in the lower 60s. As everyone knows Texas has experienced above-average heat in recent summers. Still, the high temperatures for Alpine and Marfa are consistently lower than other parts of the state. Since Viva Big Bend began we’ve averaged a high of 89 and a low of 65 for the event!
Don’t drink and drive! A designated driver is highly recommended. If needed, a couple free shuttles (for Viva Big Bend attendees) will run between the cities of Alpine and Marfa at night when the shows are taking place. We booked the shuttles through Alpine Auto Rental. If you are riding the train to the area for the festival, or want to carpool and then rent another car while you are in town, check out Alpine Auto Rental.
Absolutely! West Texas is a great place for a family vacation. We are planning events that will keep the youngsters entertained. This includes daytime activities hosted by Wendy Parnell at multiple locations (check the fold-out map/program for specifics).
