Austin Travel Forum

To Whom it may concern:

I would like to take my boyfriend hiking/camping for his 40th birthday. I know nothing about what is entailed, how I sign up, costs, etc. I would like some information about what you consider a good place to start. We are both physically fit, so we would prefer something a little more advanced, but not to kill us--we are not pros!!! Whether there is somewhere to stay or if there is camping it doesn't really matter. Any information would be greatly appreciated for this newbie!

Thank you --Holly hammonds

I was wondering if there was a lot of boat traffic or is this a place
for a relaxing day of kayaking and taking pictures?
Thanks
Plummer

Does anyone know if there is a banquet hall in the Frost Bank Tower? I am looking for a place to throw a wedding reception, and was hoping someone might now what was at the top of the tower. If anyone has any idea what is up there, let me know.

Hi All, I'm gonna come to visit Austin TX. How is the night life in November? Hope I can find Live Texas Blues and Texas Blues Albums.

Hi all, need help in looking for a place to stay in Austin, preferably close to the Convention Centre. Price range, less than $100 per night.
I'm looking at options aside from motels, inn and hotels like Extended Stay. Any good suggestions?
Would consider time sharing places if the requirements fit.
Thanks!

boy, i really had a hard time booking a hotel in the downtown location i wanted. finally gave myself a huge splurge at the hyatt regency town lake!!! so, in order of priority, what's good to do in austin; are there any good city bus tours around town...not ducks please!! thanx again...

will be in austin for some days in the beginning of june...6/1-4. don't have a car, want to be in a hip, urban, arty area...hopefully not to expensive. would welcome suggestions re: hotels, neighborhoods, things to do, etc. have looked at past posts and have found them helpful so thanks in advance.

Hi, what will the weather and temp be in May around the Austin area? We are coming over for 2 weeks, what clothes will we need?
Thanks
KG

My husband is going to the SXSW Music Festival next month.

He doesn't have a Laptop, so wondered if there were any Internet Cafe's in the centre of Austin that he could go into and log on. He wants to keep up with the "Football" scores back him - Big Cup Game on whilst he's away.

Many thanks.


Ann-Marie

My wife and I are considering moving to Austin from the Northeast. We are growing tired of the Northeast winters; it is currently 14 degrees and overcast here!!!

My wife's gradmother lived in Austin, but I have only visited there once for a couple of days.

We are in our mid 30's and we are very active; we love to hike, kayak, run, etc. and we are wondering what the Austin area has to offer in this regard.

Thanks,
Mike

What are some romantic lunch restaurants and date ideas? cheap ideas best.

Hello!
My wife and I are mulling over the idea of moving to Austin. I grew up in San Jose, CA (some in Gilroy too) and have spent the past 6 years in Portland, OR.
My wife is from Louisiana and has also lived Seattle (5 years), Austin (2+ years) and Portland (5 years).
She has never felt Portland was her home and has never really taken to it (oddly not the weather but no happiness in her job or friendships). I want her to be happy and know she has an awesome base of friends there and we both can get good (if not better) jobs in our industry.

What I'm concerned about is moving to Texas. Being from California...well it's hard to imagine moving there. We're in our mid 30's, no kids but soon and enjoy big city living.
What freaks me out is the heat, being far from my family (Sacramento, San Jose, Greenwich Ct), people are a lot more religious down there and they say y'all a bunch.

Is Austin a cool city to live in? Fun things to do? Good places to eat? Open minded people? Have a funky part of town? I just want to calm my nerves that I'll be showing up wearing shorts, t-shirt with my funky glasses, tattoo and be an outcast for not wearing boots and a cowboy hat (which will NEVER happen).

Admittedly the idea of having a pool, being able to BBQ more than 6 months out of the year and not having to kill moss on my house, sidewalks, in the yard and on the dog is kind of appealing. I like what I've seen from my few visits but know little more than a few good places to eat and time at her friend's house.

Any advise? Tips? Pros? Cons?

Hi. I will be on a business trip to San Antonio next week and wanted to visit Austin on Thursday/Friday.

I'm a music fanatic and just couldn't pass up the chance to see this beautiful city I have heard so much about.

Question: What is 6th street like on a Thursday night? Will it be tame? Do most of the bars and shows have high cover charges?

Question: Suggestions for Friday afternoon / evening? I am mostly interested in seeing the 'real' Austin and finding the roots to the great music I've heard.

Question: Cheaper hotel suggestion close to the action. (I found an earlier post recommending Austin Motel)

I'll be alone, so it may be pretty interesting to see where I end up and what trouble I can get into.

Thank you for your help!

Best,

S

Hi All,

I would like to know a shop in Austin area from where I can order some small chocolates like pink or blue booties or heart-shaped to personalize the gifts. We plan to give it to our friends visiting us to meet our new born baby.

Thanks
Pankaj

Hi, I am seeking a hotel room with a living area that is seperate from the bedroom, preferably two separate rooms rather than a bed on one side of the room and a couch on the other side. My only other request is that there is a nice bar there, maybe one that is dark and romantic to set the stage for a special night. Any recommendations besides the obvious Embassy Suites?

I'm planning a little trip to Austin in late December, and I'd appreciate any feedback.

1. Are the bats under the bridge a year round thing or just in the summer? We'd love to do one of the river boat cruises to see them if available this time of year, can anyone reccomend a specific company/website?

2. Any good kayak companies in town that offer rentals/guided tours in the area?

3. What is the best BBQ?? I've read a lot about both Salt Lick and County Line (i'm not sure if Threadgill's is considered a real BBQ joint).

Thanks in advance!

Hello all....

Does anyone no where I can get cheap flights from london to austin.. Me and a few of my buddies fancy a week in your beautifull town.. Thanks alot

andy

I posted this same question in the San Antonio forum

I'm thinking about moving to the South someday in the future and I was wondering if some of you guys could help me with some information.
I grew up in Venezuela (a tropical country, near the beach) but I have lived in Missouri/Kansas for 12 years. Now that I have a family and two kids I realize that I'm staying in the US to raise my family (can't move around as easily as before).

I'm a little tired of living in the center of the US where people look down on me if I speak spanish, I really want my kids to speak spanish, I want to live closer to the beach/ocean, I want to live in a city that is family friendly (not Miami), I want to live away from cities with racist people or history (South-East US), I also wouldn't mind traveling to Mexico by car to visit a Latin-American city every now and then without having to spend $800 per person to go to Venezuela (it'd be $3200 per trip), I'm also a christian (not fanatic, respectful of other religions) and very proud of my latino/hispanic heritage.

Based on this, I believe that Austin would be a perfect city for me and my family. It's close to the beach, Mexico, big hispanic population, warm, etc, etc.

What do you guys think?
Can you tell me some of the good/bad things about Austin.
I have in my mind that it is a party city (not a family city) but I could be wrong.

Hey all, I've enjoyed the forum's information. I'm a Software Engineer in Pittsburgh from Florida. I'm done with the cold, dark weather here and want to get back South and Austin has got me hooked. I've made alot of trips to Texas and Austin feels like home over any other city in Texas with the social culture and things to do. Right now I'm about a year from being available to move. Any advice on when to start knocking on employers doors in Austin and what's the social climate at the technical companies there.
My wife's concerns are that our kids 6 & 8 will have all the activities available there as they do here i.e. baseball, dance, scouting, church. I've assured her that there's all of that plus, but I don't know which areas are best to find that in. I've read some posts that mention austinhomesearch.com. What regions work well for her concerns. Personally I like the Cedar Park area unfortunately I've only been able to visit it online. Any information there would help.

Thanks..

Hi there fellow VTers - I'll be moving from san francisco to austin for acupuncture school. It's basically Anderson/Mo-Pac - I'm looking to move between there and downtown. What are the neighborhoods to search for in that area? I can't seem to find a good map or descriptions of hoods. I'd like to be somewhere where people walk/ride bikes and has (some) local neighborhood amnemities - ie restaurant, coffee shop etc or the like.

by the way - thanks to all the local VT pages! Had a great time there in sept based on all your recommendations!!

Many many thanks for your info!
Aga

I am seeking an Austin hotel that has an in-room spa, hot tub, whirlpool bath that is big enough for more than two people. We don't like those small tubs. Can anyone help us? It would be great if it was near some night life, too, but we're not greedy. Thanks in advance.

Hi, I was interested in the hotel that you were talking about on 4th/Trinity can you provide a phone # or web address I am not able to locate it on line. Me and a few friends are visiting for a few days and this seems like a great location to were we want to be!
Thanks!!

I am trying to plan a bachelorette party for 12 girls in Austin in mid October. Any suggestions? Everyone in the group is in their late 20's.

Could anyone help me decide the best way to see the bats? From my research it seems that the options are to take a riverboat tour, to stand below and next to the bridge, or to stand on top of the bridge.

My sister and I (another woman) will be at Lake Travis next week with our two kids (ages 11 & 12) and we plan to come into Austin to spend a day. I thought that ending the day with the bat experience would be great. On one hand I know that the kids might enjoy a riverboat tour, but on the other hand, that would tie us down to having to be at Townlake by departure time whereas gathering by/on the bridge would give us more flexibility regarding time. However, a floating seat to view the bats might be nice at the end of a long, hot day. Sitting on the grass down below the bridge next to the river sounds nice too, but I heard that there is a lot of "waste matter" that rains down on the observers as the bats fly out. The top of the bridge seems most easily accessible and sounds like a nice view of both the city and bats, but no place to sit and be comfortable. Any opinions? Has anyone taken the boat and if so, is it a good tour (and which tour company because I believe there are two?)?

FYI, my other plans for the day include a hike up Mt. Bonnell on our way into town, the Texas Spirit show and quick tour at Bob Bullock museum, late lunch at Dirty's or Spider Cafe north of UT campus, walk through campus and maybe trip up tower if timing is right, and back downtown for to venture down Congress Avenue toward bridge (or directly to boat ramp). Oh, and somewhere during the day we'll have to have Amy's ice cream. We're going to leave our car in a park and ride lot and use the 'Dillo to get around as much as possible and walking otherwise. (I went to school many years ago in Austin so I'm somewhat familiar with the layout of the city.)

I have gotten much good info from you all off this website and I appreciate it so much. If you can help me with this seemingly small but perplexing dilemma, I'd appreciate it.

So we're in our 20s and were wondering what activities there are during the evening/nighttime, without having to step foot on the infamous 6th street.

We've tried out Karaoke (BTW, can anyone give recs on karaoke places), comedy clubs.. Yeah, we're out.

Any ideas?

Much appreciated!

My husband and I are contemplating moving to Austin from Tucson. We are in our early 30s and have just had a little boy 4 mos. ago. We're looking for an area that has good schools/not too far away from ammenities/homes are not packed too tightly together/trees, preferrably a community that is near somewhere where you can just go to walk (similar to a 2nd street area like in Long Beach, Calf....shops,restaurants,etc.).
My questions are:
1. Where are good places to buy a home ($260-$290k)?
2. What are areas/communities where NOT to buy? Pls. be honest.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Sincerely,
Charmaine

Who's found the famous Kelme soccer cleats in a sports/otherwise store in Austin? I can't seem to find them. The kangaroo leather gives more control of the ball.

So I've checked out Academy, Red Rhino Sports, and Soccer World. None.

Does anyone happen to know if there's a place to get good quality chocolate in the Austin area that is not a chain store (i.e. - Rocky Mountain, Godiva, etc)?

Thanks in advance.

I live in Maine which doesnt have a lot to do or a lot of oppurtunity. I am single and in my upper 20's and I want to relocate somewhere that will allow me to not only have an oppurtunity to make a lot of money and build a career but also a place where I can have the time of my life and have a lot of fun so I can get it out of my system once and for all.

I was looking real seriously at Austin but someone who lives in the area who moved to Maine said that Austin is really dirty and brown. That the water is unsafe to swim in (cant see what your swimming with snakes,alligators,jellyfish) and is really dirty. This is a concern because it gets so hot. The bigger concern though is that she said that if I cannot speak spanish I will not be able to get a good paying job. I make 12 dollars an hour and pay about 850 a month in bills right now. Thus I would need to be making at least 10 dollars an hour down there. Am I sunk if I can't speak spanish? I have a background in food service, customer service, retail, phones ect and a bachelor degree in business.....but I cant speak spanish.

I realize that Austin has great people and that it is a fun place for music and night life but is it a good idea for me to relocate there given all the drawbacks I have mentioned in addition to the obvious ones? (traffic, heat) The biggest things that concern me are not having safe places to cool off and swim and not being able to get a good job. Please offer me a balanced opinion. Thank you.

Has anyone been on the Austin ghost tour?? My friends and I went on the Warehouse district ghost tour last week and at the very last spot we visited, The Bitter End, something weird happened - someone (or something?!) started pounding on the doors of the supposedly empty building. We're curious to know if this was staged or if it was a prank, has anyone else been on this tour and had the same experience?