Circle tour of area - ideas on cool stops??? (San Antonio: to live in, restaurants) - Austin - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

labmom1 · 03-01-2009, 10:13 AM

We are finally making our first trip to Austin and the Hill Country to check things out and get an overall impression of various areas to see if we want to come back and research any of them indepth. Here is our itinerary - if you have any suggestions of cool places to stop along the way, great restaurants in route, fun attractions (we will have a 5 year old along so we'll have to make the occasional play at a park stop). I know it's ambitious, but we found that when we were researching NC as a possible relo our first impressions of an area almost always held true. SO here goes:

Flying into San Antonio:
Day 1 - Comfort (stopping in Kerrville on the way to Day 2)
Day 2 - Fredericksburg
Day 3 - Wimberley (Dripping Springs as well)
Day 4-5 Austin (side trips to Georgetown, Taylor, Bastrop, perhaps Lakeway)
Day 6 - San Antonio

This is phase one of the plan...then a long nap.

Thanks.

centralaustinite · 03-01-2009, 10:48 AM

Day 5, Austin with side trips to Georgetown, Taylor, Bastrop and Lakeway, will be nothing but driving! Try to make that day a weekend. Yikes, how will you see anything?

Good luck! It seems your impressions will mostly be from the car window.

atxcio · 03-01-2009, 11:04 AM

Yeah, be sure you hit the west side of Austin! You've got all east side cities except "perhaps Lakeway"... make sure you at least get out west somewhere, if not Lakeway even better would be Driftwood (Salt Lick and Mandola vineyard), Dripping Springs (see the Ladybird Wildflower center), Wild Basin preserve off 360... etc.

TexasHorseLady · 03-01-2009, 11:12 AM

The Ladybird Wildflower Center is in South Austin, not Dripping Springs, and, yes, well worth a visit.

Austin and environs really does deserve a couple of days, which I see you have penciled in. I would do the towns east of Austin one day, then Austin/Lakeway the second day, heading down through Dripping Springs/Driftwood/Wimberley over to I35 on the way back to San Antonio.

And, yes, you will mostly see all of this from your car window with that kind of schedule. Not quite sure what kind of "first impression" that's going to make.

labmom1 · 03-01-2009, 11:20 AM

I know - kinda crazy - but we are spending the nights in the towns we have done preliminary research and liked. Honestly for us a lot has to do with the feel of a town as you walk down it's Main Street. The sights, sounds, and smells of an area tell us a lot - like do we want to come back and really settle in for a few days to find out more or is it a drive by area. Almost to a tee every place we have liked hit us the first time passing through - that something felt like home. I know we just have 2 + days in Austin - but we are just using it as a base because we don't want to live in the city.

Hopefully if nothing else on this trip we will be able to cross a few places off the list :-)

mego65 · 03-01-2009, 11:49 AM

I think you have a good base plan. As long as you are just looking for first impressions and will be going back to do a more in depth view later. This is similar to what my husband and I did. We are going back in April to actually take a look at the few towns that really interested us.

I would say good luck doing it with a child though. That makes it a lot harder.

ROY DUBOSE · 03-01-2009, 12:16 PM

when you go to fredricksburg you gotta see luchenbach -- partcularly on a saturday or sunday afternoon -- you won't want to leave

while in austin, you almost have to have either lunch or dinner out at the oasis

hound 109 · 03-01-2009, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by labmom1

We are finally making our first trip to Austin and the Hill Country to check things out and get an overall impression of various areas to see if we want to come back and research any of them indepth. Here is our itinerary - if you have any suggestions of cool places to stop along the way, great restaurants in route, fun attractions (we will have a 5 year old along so we'll have to make the occasional play at a park stop). I know it's ambitious, but we found that when we were researching NC as a possible relo our first impressions of an area almost always held true. SO here goes:

Flying into San Antonio:
Day 1 - Comfort (stopping in Kerrville on the way to Day 2)
Day 2 - Fredericksburg
Day 3 - Wimberley (Dripping Springs as well)
Day 4-5 Austin (side trips to Georgetown, Taylor, Bastrop, perhaps Lakeway)
Day 6 - San Antonio

This is phase one of the plan...then a long nap.

Thanks.

Days of week and/or dates? Makes a difference on driving tips & on what to see (or avoid) & when.

(Need to add a day in New Braunfels & a lunch stop in Lockhart to this itinerary...even if you dump Wimberley).

Visit Lakeway after Dripping Springs & before your Austin stop.

What all are you wanting to see?

labmom1 · 03-01-2009, 02:29 PM

We're starting on Wednesday, March 18th - so we'll be in Austin on the weekend.

Honestly there is nothing that we "need" to see on this go around. But if there are somethings that you all think - we'll heck if you're in the area you should check out xy or z -even if it's quirky that's cool. My hubby is a big bike rider so if there are some routes along the way that the biking crowd thinks are great I am sure he would love to see them. We also like hiking - so if there is someplace along our travels in Hill Country that is great - let us know. Food is always good - we love food - so other suggestions about places to grab lunch or dinner are are great.

Thanks everyone!

iceshots · 03-01-2009, 04:16 PM

My suggestion for day 2 would be Wimberley, Dripping Springs, then head north on FM12 out of Dripping Springs out to Hamilton Pool Road. Hang a right there and that will take you all the way down to the 71 very close to 620 up to Lakeway. This route will be about 1/2 hour longer than driving straight down 290 to Austin, but Hamilton Pool Road is a nice drive and will get you out to the Lakeway area.

Unless you are interested in checking out the master planned communities down 290, you will not be missing much taking this route.

While you are in the Dripping Springs area, you should head over to the Salt Lick in Driftwood. FM12 south to 150, then to 1826. Great food, bring your own booze, cash only.

Another thing you should check out on the way back to SA are the outlet malls in San Marcus. It will give you a good indication of the shopping available close by if you live in the south end of Austin.

Enjoy your trip.