Austin, Texas Guide
Austin has been a city that has been on my radar for thepast few years. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this Texas city(although everyone says it’s like a blueberry in a bunch of strawberries) Sowhen my Senior Year spring break came around the corner, I knew I wanted tofinally see the city for myself.
My best friend, Gaby, and I spent a week exploring every inch of Austin – seriously, I think we did, saw, and ate everything. Austin would be great for a long weekend but I wouldn’t visit for longer than a week. Aside from the delicious food and eating tacos every single day, my favorite thing about Austin was, the people. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. We had multiple people take the time to write down their favorite spots (recommendations from locals below!) and express how happy they were to have us visit.
Trip Details:
Duration: 5 full days + 2 travel days
Accommodation: AirBnb in South Lamar (amazing location and great value for price! Frances was an amazing host and gave us a huuuuge google doc with things to do)
Transporation: 7-Day bus pass for $12 (download CapMetro app and buy the Local 7-Day unlimited pass – such a good value) & Lyft/Uber but the city is fairly walkable!
Night 1
We got to Austin around 10PM and took a 15 minute uber straight to our AirBnb. Our host, Frances, told us about a 24-hour diner down the road called Kerbey Lane Cafe and we were feeling hungry after our 3-hour flight so we opted for a midnight snack. We went to Kerbey Lane twice during our trip. Amazing vegan options and amazing pancakes–like the best I’ve ever had. It’s definitely a diner but a cool, hipster diner with vegan and gluten-free options which I quickly learned is definitely a norm in Austin.
Day 1
- Run around Lady Bird Lake (we did 5 miles but the whole thing is 10 and it’s great for walking, running, and evening biking)
- Check out the first-ever Whole Foods (525 N Lamar Blvd)
- Lunch at Papalote Taco House (the al pastor and hongos are amazing!)
- Vintage Shopping at Stardust Vintage right next to Papalote
- Coffee Break at Patika
- Take the bus to South Congress (great for shopping!)
- Dinner at Opa!; an all-day Mediterranean café with amazing Greek food
- Vegan ice cream at NadaMoo! Scoop Shop (you can buy the pints throughout the country but the scoop shop is absolutely incredible)
Day 2
- Brunch at Bouldin Creek Café (amazing vegetarian food; the best tofu scramble I’ve ever had)
- Pictures at the Greetings from Austin! sign (Google Map 'Roadhouse Relics')
- Souvenir shopping at Art for the People
- Walk downtown to East Austin
- Lunch at Veracruz Tacos (my favorite! We went twice! The fish tacos and migas tacos are amazing)
- Walk around East Austin and back to Downtown – stop by Wright Bros Brew & Brew for an afternoon pick-me-up (it’s a coffee and beer café; sooo hipster but I loved it)
- Visit the Mexic-Arte Museum
- Dinner at Loro – Asian Smokehouse
Day 3
- Smoothies and juice from Soup Peddler (we went three days in a row hahaha)
- Yoga at Sanctuary Yoga – an amazing non-profit yoga studio
- Coffee at Merit Coffee (coffee was amazing and if they have them, the hippie bars are so good)
- Vegan tacos from ATXFOODCO food truck (the BBQ tempeh brisket is incredible)
- Uber to Blanton Museum of Art (contemporary art)
- Afternoon snack and drink at Easy Tiger downtown (get the breadbasket; it’s so good.)
- Dinner at Veracruz Tacos at Radio Coffee & Beer (this location is better, IMO)
- Two-stepping at the Broken Spoke – one of the oldest honky-tonk bars in Austin!
Day 4
- Juice from Soup Peddler
- The best and most indulgent donuts from Gourdoughs – they are deep-fried and really heavy so I’d def split one but they were so good
- Coffee from Seventh Flag – this and Merit were my favorite coffees of the trip!
- Mozart Coffee Roasters – if you have a car, this is a bit out of the city but is really tranquil and has a great view of the lake
- More shopping on South Congress
- Late lunch at June’s All Day – great French-inspired bistro with amazing fries and cocktails
- Then we went back to Lady Bird Lake and laid in the grass for like an hour #goldenhour
- Dinner at Cosmic Coffee & Beer Garden (Pueblo Viejo Tacos – tbh I was really disappointed by these and didn’t like them at all :/)
- Met up with some friends on Rainey Street; the bars we went to were: Lustre Pearl, Container Bar, & Unbarlievable (this place had a slide, I loved it)
- Kerbey Lane Café at midnight yet again because those pancakes are too damn good
Day 5
- Smoothie from Soup Peddler
- 8-mile hike on the Barton Greenbelt; we had our Uber drop us off at the Tacodeli on Spyglass Rd (also had a breakfast taco bc YOLO) and then started there. It was a beautiful hike and fairly flat until the end. It’s a little confusing at the beginning because it isn’t marked so we sorta got lost but made our way and finished in about 3 hours.)
- After the hike, we went back to Whole Foods, got some food for a picnic and went back to the Lady Bird Lake park to lay in the sun and have a picnic. It was probably my favorite thing we did all week!!
- We had dinner at Buzzmill Shady which is really far East Austin and kinda out of the way but there two vegan food trucks (one with vegan BBQ and the other with Asian food) that I wanted to try. They were really good! I wouldn’t make the trek out there unless you reeeeeally want to try the vegan BBQ
- Final vegan ice cream at NadaMoo! Yum :)
We left early Saturday morning and ended up getting an Uberto the airport and eating breakfast at the gate. Overall, the trip to Austinwas so much fun. The city is so vibrant and I love the focus on health andcommunity. While I’m not sure it’s a place I could see myself living, I woulddefinitely visit again. I’m going to dream about the Veracruz Tacos, KerbeyLane pancakes, and NadaMoo ice cream!!
For another look into my time in Austin, be sure to checkout my travel vlog and food vlog of the city.
Where to next?
PS – Here are the recommendations we got from the locals of Austin ;)
