In our last two posts, we've discussed where to go, what to see and some good food to try in our city. This final installment of all things Austin, answers some questions on how to get around the city and the best areas to stay. With the growth of Austin, more things continue to be happening here. We won the bid for the summer X Games to be in Austin for at least three years (next year is the last one unless we win the bid again), the Formula1 track was finished in 2013 and they have annual races bringing people from all over the world. We also have SXSW every spring as well as TV, food, film, and music festivals happening all year round. With lots of good things happening here, people are visiting from everywhere. Downtown and parts of South Congress are obvious places to stay but with hotel prices being anywhere from $200-700 a night, visitors are looking elsewhere. Here are our favorite neighborhoods with some independent rent options from AirBnB. Where to Stay- Zilker Neighborhood - between Zilker Park and South Lamar. Outdoor adventures at Barton Springs, Zilker Park, and Lady Bird hike and bike trail can fulfill your active needs. South Lamar is jam packed with some of the best eateries, coffee houses, and dessert shops. AirBnB has some great options from $95-195 a night. South Congress - just south of the river and city center. We mentioned that South Congress is an area with some pricey hotels but there are cheaper options in the neighborhoods surrounding it. SoCo has a lot of must see attractions so what better area to stay in especially if you decide to skip a rental car. Jo's coffee, Allen's boots, Amy's ice cream. The gangs all here! Some adorable options on AirBnB were from $125-350. East Side - on the east side of I-35 between Cesar Chavez and 7th street. If we were visiting Austin, this is the area we'd stay in! Due to the revitalization in the neighborhood, all the trendy restaurants have popped up over there. Some awesome fine dining, great bars and cafés and even our favorite food truck are on the east side. Bungalows and high rise options are from $80-185 a night via AirBnB. West Campus - just north of the Capitol building along Guadalupe between 15th and 24th street (also known as the drag). This area is in the heart of the University of Texas. We picked this location because it's not touristy and still has public transit options with both B cycle bike rentals and bus stops. There are some good coffee shops along the drag as well as one of our favorite dive bars with East Side King in the back serving up the best Asian-fusion food around. make sure and stop at Tyler's for a signature suvie shirt with our "Keep Austin Weird" slogan on the back! AirBnB options go for $60-185 a night. Getting Around- If you've heard anything about Austin, it's probably that our traffic is terrible! Granted, the city's population just 10 years ago was 700,000 people... with the nearby suburbs, it's well over double that now, so it makes sense that Austin wasn't built with a million commuters in mind. Unfortunately, with the insane amount of cars and not enough road, traffic jams occur daily but the city is trying hard to fix the problem and there are some good ways to get around town without having a car. CapMetro- we have a pretty good bus system here with stops all over town. There is also a bus line goes from the airport to downtown. It's a great way to get into the city center without the large taxi fees. We suggest taking the bus if you are staying outside the downtown area and trying to get somewhere. If you are within walking distance to downtown we'd say put on your comfy shoes and walk or bike into the city.
Bike rentals - Austin just finished placing B Cycle stations all over the downtown area. Basically it's a bike rack with a credit card slot. Once you swipe, you have access to the bikes for 24 hours. With that being said, you will get charged extra fees if you don't return the bike to a rack within 30 minutes. Once you clock it in, you can rent the bike under the same credit card for another 30 minutes (within that 24 hour period). That seems crazy but the bike program was set up for a destination in mind not joy rides. The city doesn't want people hoarding bikes but instead using them to get from point A to point B. If you'd prefer to have access to a bike whenever and for however long, there are bike shops around town that do rentals (roughly $25 a day or weekly rates around $85 per bike). Check out bartonspringsbikerental.com for some options. The MetroRail- Here in Austin, we don't have a subway or an L but we do have one metro line. Don't get your hopes up, it's not convenient for anyone unless you live about 30 miles from the city. The metro rail doesn't go to the airport so don't expect to use that when you land. Honestly, the rail can take you to the east side of Austin and all the way up to the suburbs but for visitors, we wouldn't suggest using it. There are high hopes that one day, the rail lines will be expanded and include the airport as a stop. Maybe then visitors and locals alike could get more use out of it. Until then, check out the rail lines and if it's going somewhere you've been dying to visit, by all means use it! Uber and Lift- Our city officially became Uber and Lift friendly last year! If you've never used these companies, they are on-demand taxi services that you request a ride through their apps. You simply put in where you want to be picked up and request a car. Within the app, it'll show you how long it will not take for someone to get to you and you can also search a fare estimate for where you are planning to go. Rate vary depending on the day and time. Car2Go- this is probably the most complicated means of travel around town but if you are in need of a car for a trip outside the city, this might be a good option. It's essentially a rental car that you can pick up and drop off anywhere in the city, with reserved parking especially for Car2Go. The only downside, it's pay per minute unless you splurge for the hefty per day rates which can run you around $80. Ok... That's Austin! Thanks for reading along and be sure to check out our other two Austin posts. If you plan on visiting, please feel free to contact us for any tips! Until Next Time, C + D
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorChase & Dani here, providing Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|