Weekend Guide to Austin
Where to Stay
South Congress (SoCo)
This is one of the most expensive areas to stay, but also a really cool area with lots to do!
I stayed in this area last year at the Austin Motel. It’s nothing fancy but a really cute retro motel to stay at, plus it’s dog friendly! They even give your dog a mini Casper mattress doggie bed! The pool is also really instagrammable! To me the little details are what make this spot super fun to stay at!
I would also recommend the South Congress Hotel, which is an Art Deco luxury boutique hotel. It’s got an adorable pool, gorgeous lobby, and a beautiful bar area too. They also offer day passes to the pool for non guests for $30. I think this spot is perfect for a luxe bachelorette party or even a major birthday celebration!
Photo Courtesy of South Congress Hotel
Historic West Austin
This is where my sister, her husband, and myself stayed. There are no hotels in this area, it’s going to be all Airbnb’s. I booked us a cute duplex within walking distance of coffee shops and restaurants for $87 a night, which is super affordable! It was very Art Deco meets Texas with an adorable front porch. It was only one bedroom but still gave everyone enough space, and my sleeper bed was comfy.
We walked to Sweetish Hill Bakery for coffee every morning, and I had a delicious blueberry empanada one more morning. Everything here looked so delish, especially the cupcakes!
The original Whole Foods is in this area, as well as a shopping center with things like Free People, Anthropologie, and West Elm. We drove to the Whole Foods though seeing as it was 100 or hotter everyday!
You can get a $40 credit if you are using Airbnb for the first time using this link.
East Austin
This is a very up and coming neighborhood! I stayed here 3 years ago, it’s totally safe, some spots just are not as developed as others. Again, no hotels in this area but lots of Airbnb’s with great deals! You can walk to downtown from here or an uber ride is $7-$10. Some noteable spots in the neighborhood at Flattrack Coffee, Whisler’s, and Veracruz All Natural food truck to name a few!
Downtown
Downtown is a good area if you’re in town to go out on 6th street, or West 6th street which has a more mature crowd. It’s close to the Capitol, the convention center, and University of Texas. There are tons of hotels to stay at in downtown. If you are looking for something that is not your normal chain hotel I would suggest checking out the Driskill, although I have not stayed there since I was in high school with my parents.
What to Do
Shopping
South Congress Street is my favorite spot in Austin to go shopping! The street in lined with boutique and vintage shops, with lots of different price ranges. There are also some more mainstream shops like Tom’s, Kendra Scott, and Warby Parker. Some of my personal favorites are Cove Boutique, I seriously cannot walk out of there without something! Feather’s Boutique has a nicely curated vintage selection so that you do not feel like you’re wading through racks of things. Seriously though go in all the shops and use their free A/C to keep cool!
Grammable Spots
Austin has so many cute instagrammable spots throughout the city! I have noted each spot with an address or cross streets. My sister and I made stops at the following, thanks to her hubs for driving us around!!
Congress St and 7th St
Greetings from Austin at 1720 S. 1st Street
i love you wall at Jo’s 1300 S. Congress St
We seriously had so much fun playing around here, normally there is a line but with temps hitting 103 that day we had it to ourselves and got so many good outakes! :) After all of our exhertion taking photos we grabbed a lemonade at Jo’s which was so refreshing!
Favorite Places to Eat
You cannot go to Texas and not have Tex-Mex! It’s seriously the best thing ever— chips, salsa, queso, margaritas. You get the idea. There are seriously so many great spots, this trip I went to Maudie’s Too on South Lamar Street.
Other Noteable Tex-Mex spots include: Chuy’s, Baby A’s (watch out their margs are the ones that sneak up on you!), and of course Torchy’s Taco’s which is an Austin original with several locations throughout the city!
My family and some of my father’s colleagues had brunch at Kerby Lane after my dad’s retirement ceremony. It’s an Austin institution, they now have seven locations. We went to the South Austin spot that serves up all your favorites 24/7! I recommend getting the Eggs Francisco, because this girl loves eggs with avocado and who can resist queso?! Besides calories don’t count on vacation!
My mom and sister really wanted to go to Voodoo Donuts for dessert one night, so we all went as a family. It’s right in downtown on 6th street where all of the bars are, so if you want to check out the action but not drink this a good alternative! It’s definitely an experience and the crowd is a wide range of people! Be aware it’s CASH ONLY, but they do have an ATM inside if you are not prepared.
Voodoo is know for really decadent donuts. They also have the classics like chocolate iced and glazed as well! I opted for the pink hibiscus!
Getting Around
I flew into Austin from JFK, it about a 3 1/2 hour flight from NYC. My sister and her husband drove from their house in Texas, which meant I would not have to worry about access to a car. Not only that, my license is expired 🙈!
I will say though that a car is not necessary for a trip in Austin as there is Lyft and Uber and rides around the city are generally no more than $10. The city also provides bikes and scooters that can be used by swiping your credit card or downloading an app and scanning the barcode. And of course there is walking, which if fine if you’re just walking around the neighborhood you’re staying in or around in downtown as long as it’s not too hot!
Leave me a comment or send me a message if you have more questions about Austin! And if you have been what are some of your favorite spots?