Austin - stay downtown?

[Anonymous]

All of my prior attempts to book a reasonably-priced Spring vacation have failed. My next idea is a few days (five nights?) in Austin. It is DH, DS (2 years old) and me. We are very active and love to walk. We also love good food. I am thinking downtown would be a good bet. Should I look at any other areas? If we stay downtown can we skip a car rental or should we get one to take day trips?

[Anonymous]

The Omni.

But, if you haven't priced flights to Austin yet, be prepared for a shock.

[Anonymous]

pp here.

Curious why you would choose Austin. Have you ever been?

Not much to do downtown, unless you're going to drag the 2 yo to clubs to hear live music on 6th Street.

The bat bridge is most active in August, I think. Your 2 yo might enjoy the turtles at the UT pond.

I suppose you could tour the capitol, get BBQ.

Not sure when the bluebonnets bloom -- look into that. But you'll want a car.

But nothing about Austin really screams "SPRING BREAK" to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pp here.

Curious why you would choose Austin. Have you ever been?

Not much to do downtown, unless you're going to drag the 2 yo to clubs to hear live music on 6th Street.

The bat bridge is most active in August, I think. Your 2 yo might enjoy the turtles at the UT pond.

I suppose you could tour the capitol, get BBQ.

Not sure when the bluebonnets bloom -- look into that. But you'll want a car.

But nothing about Austin really screams "SPRING BREAK" to me.

Austin is a fun town. The Four Seasons is nice and on Lady Bird Lake and the hike and bike trail. There are other nice hotels in the area. If you're more into the quirky weird part of Austin, check out places along South Congress. The blue bonnets bloom in March at the earliest but probably early to mid April in Central Texas.

There's a lot to do in Austin and the surrounding areas. Fredericksburg, Gruene (pronounced "green"), New Braunfels, Barton Springs Pool, Amy's Ice Cream, Salt Lick, Town err Lady Bird Lake, South Congress, Texas State Museum, LBJ Library, Zilker Park, Blues on the Green, TexMex, even San Antonio is an easy day trip, but you'll definitely want a car for this trip. Not sure what PP is talking about in terms of flights. I see flights for under $400 all the time (almost always stopping in DFW though). March/April is a great time to visit, too, before it gets hot.

I lived there for 6 years before we had kids. I miss it! I have only ever stayed at the Four Seasons and the UT AT&T Center (really nice).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp here.

Curious why you would choose Austin. Have you ever been?

Not much to do downtown, unless you're going to drag the 2 yo to clubs to hear live music on 6th Street.

The bat bridge is most active in August, I think. Your 2 yo might enjoy the turtles at the UT pond.

I suppose you could tour the capitol, get BBQ.

Not sure when the bluebonnets bloom -- look into that. But you'll want a car.

But nothing about Austin really screams "SPRING BREAK" to me.

Austin is a fun town. The Four Seasons is nice and on Lady Bird Lake and the hike and bike trail. There are other nice hotels in the area. If you're more into the quirky weird part of Austin, check out places along South Congress. The blue bonnets bloom in March at the earliest but probably early to mid April in Central Texas.

There's a lot to do in Austin and the surrounding areas. Fredericksburg, Gruene (pronounced "green"), New Braunfels, Barton Springs Pool, Amy's Ice Cream, Salt Lick, Town err Lady Bird Lake, South Congress, Texas State Museum, LBJ Library, Zilker Park, Blues on the Green, TexMex, even San Antonio is an easy day trip, but you'll definitely want a car for this trip. Not sure what PP is talking about in terms of flights. I see flights for under $400 all the time (almost always stopping in DFW though). March/April is a great time to visit, too, before it gets hot.

I lived there for 6 years before we had kids. I miss it! I have only ever stayed at the Four Seasons and the UT AT&T Center (really nice).

Agreed. lots to do with small kids. Zilker Park Train, Barton Springs or Deep Eddy pools, children's museum, Imax movies at Texas State Museum, and drive to San Antonio for a boat ride on the river walk ...

[Anonymous]

Austin isn't that kid-friendly. Aside from the Children's Museum, which will take >2 hours, there is nothing for kids to do downtown. It'll be too cold for Barton Springs at Spring Break. Zilker Park and an IMAX movie are not reasons to fly half-way across the country. Go to a beach.