Austin, Texas – How to have the Ultimate Girls Trip
This blog post is the ultimate girls trip (can also be visited with other friends or family members) travel guide for Austin, Texas.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!GIRLS TRIP!! Double exclamation because those are always fun! We deciding on our annual girls trip to be Austin, Texas! Doing a long weekend in in the summer was a blast. We flew in on a Wednesday to the Austin and stayed till Sunday giving us lots of time to spend in the city!
We booked 4 tickets on Expedia, bundling flights and stay…..OF COURSE (In case you did not know, Expedia is the easiest travel hack!
Stay at the Fairmont in Downtown Austin. The view, rooftop pool, and room accommodations were top tier.
How to get to Austin, Texas
Fly into the Austin airport. If you are coming from the east or west, there will be a time change so add that into your travel timeline.
Renting a car is a must. Austin is a larger city so getting around can be difficult if you are only relying on Uber. If you want to see the universities and Waco (which I 100% recommend), you will need a car.
DAY 1 IN AUSTIN, TEXAS
We arrived late in the afternoon and went straight to the hotel. We did rent a car through Dollar because we had plans to spend a day in Waco, Texas.
After checking in, we immediately started our itinerary.
Lady Bird Lake Boardwalk
Near downtown Austin is Lady Bird Lake. There is a super popular boardwalk on the river overlooking the city.
We were just in time for sunset! It was a beautiful first look of Austin upon arrival. Lots of people were walking, running, and biking along the boardwalk.
Austin, Texas is food truck galore. After sunset, we grabbed pizza at Via 313.
DAY 2 IN WACO
Waco, Texas was on the list. Waco is an hour and forty five minute drive from Austin.
The famous Magnolia Market was the reason for making the day trip to Waco, Texas. We were obviously on the hunt for our idol, Joanna Gaines.
Magnolia Market
If you are going to Austin, Texas, plan an extra day to drive to Waco! You will not regret it!
It is free to enter and walk around. There are so many cute little shops to check out and browse around.
It was a beautiful, hot, summer day to spend at Magnolia Market.
Between the numerous small businesses, garden, home store, and the large market full of food trucks, there is PLENTY to do for the day.
The famous large silos stood behind us as we sipped out Texas tea, ate our Texas BBQ, and took in the dry heat.
Prepare to not have any other plans that day. With the drive from Austin and the variety of activities in Magnolia, there will not be much daylight left.
In & Out
Burger and animal fries had to be a stop for us!
Being from Florida, we don’t have In & Out. Naturally, we had to swing through the drive thru when we were in Austin, Texas!
DAY 3 IN AUSTIN
Lady Bird Lake Trail
The nature experiences were endless in Austin! We were amazed by all the opportunities so close to the city.
The summer sunshine was perfect for a nature day. There are many trails and parks around Lady Bird Lake.
The river runs parallel to the city of Austin and was filled with kayakers, swimmers, and rafters.
We walked for a good bit to get some steps in and see the river.
We ended up stumbling upon a rope swing that went into the river. It was the best way to cool off!
Domain Northside
We headed out on the town after the long day out in the sun.
We landed at Domain Northside. There were lots of shops and dining options here (you could tell this was a popular local spot!)
We finished out the day at a mexican food spot: Valencia’s Tex Mex Garage! Let me tell you, some of the best Tex Mex I have ever had! Anything with Tacos & Tequila on the sign, count me in!
DAY 4 IN AUSTIN
Texas Capitol
The Texas Capitol is a must see since it is in downtown Austin.
The park area was well maintained and very nice to walk around in the afternoon.
Scooters
I know these are in every city but it never gets old. A
Like I had mentioned, Austin is a great size city. Walking or scootering is the best way to get around.
Even though we had a car, the downtown area of Austin is very compact and it was much easier getting around on the scooters.
University of Texas
I love seeing colleges/universities when traveling to new cities so University of Texas was a must on my list.
The university is right in Downtown Austin.
On our drive to Waco, we stopped and drove around Baylor University as well (beautiful campus!).
Scooters got us there but cannot be ridden on campus. Because it was summer, school was out so it was nice to walk around and see the entire campus.
Lake Travis
Dinner on Lake Travis must be on your list when visiting Austin, Texas.
From downtown Austin, it was about a 30 minute drive……which was a scenic drive to say the least.
This was our favorite part of the trip!
If we had another day, we would have spent the day on the lake….IT WAS THAT BEAUTIFUL.
We had dinner at the Oasis. The view was breathtaking. Food was delicious. We even put a lock on the famous railing around the restaurant.
DAY 5 IN AUSTIN
Covert Park at Mount Bonnell
A quick stop to a lookout in the morning before heading back to the airport.
We did not do a hike, but there are enough stairs to the top to consider it a hike!
