Austin has been on my list for years, so I was pumped when one of my best friends chose this as her bachelorette destination! We had a great group of girls, a super swanky pad and were on a mission to make the most of a rainy weekend in Texas. 

EXPERIENCE

We packed a lot in in a short time while in Austin. We quickly passed by Barton Springs, which I hear is one of the nicest spots to hang out in the city. If I visit again, I will be sure to add this to my itinerary, but it just wasn’t possible this visit. Aside from spending a lot of time exploring the nightlife and relaxing at the house we did get out and explore the city some. One of our days was spent on Lake Austin cruising on a house boat, this is a really a nice way to take in the scenery and fancy houses. Shopping is also a must do while in Austin. The South Congress area is home to some real gems like Uncommon Goods and Stag. This is also the place to hit if you’re looking to fill that cowboy boot void in your closet. Other shops worth noting in trendy Austin are Kick Pleat, JM Dry Goods and Helm. 

Other great places to check out that I didn’t get a chance to visit this trip are Covet Park at Mount Bonnell. The bluebonnet flowers are Arbor Trails are supposed to be lovely as well. Some iconic places to stop include the You’re My Butter Half sign as well as the Greetings from Austin mural and the Food is Love sign at Pizza Bistro.

STAY

While in Austin, we spent our first night at the Omni Hotel Downtown. This hotel was huge and had a pretty decent rooftop pool which we briefly took advantage of. We enjoyed the room and hotel bar but didn’t stay too long. The trip only went up from here in terms of accomodation, with a stay at an amazing Airbnb called the Peacock Palace. This place was super comfortable for our large group and had a gorgeous pool and patio setup for the weekend. I have also heard good things about Hotel San Jose, which sounds like a hot spot for SXSW, but I haven’t been myself. They are known for having great Micheladas in their courtyard too, which is always a bonus.

EAT

We had a great dinner our first night at a Mexican restuartant called El Alma. Aside from this we did lots of cooking at the house and only went out again one other time, for dinner at Sway. Sway was an impressive high end Thai venue that did a really nice job with our large group dinner. Some other noteworthy restaurants are Lenior for hot weather food, Clark’s Oyster Bar for oysters (duh!), Elizabeth Street Cafe for breakfast bahn mi, and Perla’s Seafood for fried oyster and bloody marys. Other than, that, food trucks seem to be the way to go while in Austin. While on South Congress street we passed by so many amazing and creative looking ones. This would be my first stop on a next visit.