Before we had kids, my husband and I had a tradition of traveling for a Gator away game every year. We’ve missed a few years due to pregnancies and babies but now that our kids are getting a little older, we are hoping to get back to our away game vacations. Since University of Texas – Austin joined the SEC in 2024, the Gators played in Austin and we decided we couldn’t miss it! We had such a great time in Austin. There is something special about traveling with other fans to see your favorite team play. Even though we knew the Gators were most likely going to lose to the Longhorns (and they did), we still had a fantastic time enjoying funky Austin together and with our Gator friends.

If you’re heading to Austin this fall for a gameday:

Stay at the Tommie Austin for a trendy, urban experience. The hotel is a 13 minute walk from the Capitol and just a couple of blocks from 6th Street. The rooms are tiny (definitely not for a family) but very comfortable and have everything you need. Each room features a king bed, floor-to-ceiling windows with blackout curtains, smart TVs, minifridges and rainfall showers. The hotel includes a coffee shop, wine bar, indoor/outdoor cantina (Arriba Abajo), gym and rooftop pool. Enjoy happy hour in the lobby on Friday, a drink at the cantina on Saturday, and a post-gameday nap by the pool on Sunday!

Run/Bike the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake. The 10-mile loop trail is an easy, low-grade trail that runs along both sides of the Colorado River and is wide enough to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrian traffic. You can rent bikes at several outfitters, as well as kayaks if you want to explore the river. There are access points and parking all along the route through downtown so you can hop on and off the trail at your convenience. I did a 4 mile run one day and a 3 mile run another. If you finish up by the Congress Street Bridge, pick up a smoothie at Veracruz at the Line Hotel or grab breakfast sandwiches or crepes at La Cafe Crepe.

On your first night, head out to 6th Street for dinner and drinks. Iron Cactus is a great spot for Mexican and margaritas. The Shrimp Enchiladas with lobster cream sauce are to die for! I recommend pairing it with the Iron Cactus Double Barrel Margarita. Continue your night at the Lucky Duck with cocktails, arcade games, and an expansive outdoor patio. If you’re in the mood for late night eats, stop by NADC Burger for a late night wagyu cheeseburger made by a Michelin chef. The NADC burger is a 1/3lb Wagyu Beef burger with American cheese, secret sauce, onions, pickles, and jalapeños. Make sure you order the
twice fried fries to go with it!

Experience Gameday: Tailgating for college football is fun no matter where you are, but it’s especially fun when you visit big football schools. Texas is no exception! Texas Football obviously has an incredible history and the tailgating scene reflects the fans’ excitement. We stopped by the UF Alumni Association Tailgate before heading over to the full-service tailgate area on campus run by RevelXP, where some friends had a tailgate. Don’t forget your boots!

DKR Texas Memorial Stadium is its own experience. It seats over 100,000 fans and you might even spot celebrities like Jessica Simpson and Matthew McConaughey! After the game, we continued the party at Sholz Garten, which is THE SPOT for tailgating. Enjoy pints, German food, and live music on the patio (Gators – this is the Swamp of Austin)!

Enjoy another night out on Rainey Street. 6th Street is fun, but it’s the wilder, drunker place to go out with many bars offering free shots and drink specials. If you’re looking for a more laidback, but still fun and funky vibe, head to Rainey Street. If you’ve been around for awhile, you may remember when we visited Austin back in 2012 and one of our favorite spots was Lustre Pearl on Rainey Street. Things look a bit different these days with lots of development, but it’s still a great area for a night out.

We started at Banger’s for dinner and live country/folk music. Seat yourself at a communal table on the patio and order handcrafted sausage and craft beer. I loved this place and could have spent the whole night there! As described on the website, it’s “not too rowdy, not too laid back, just a good old fashioned good time.”

Our next stop was the Parlor Room, a fun bar located in an original Craftsman house featuring great cocktails and craft beer. Since we were visiting over Veterans’ Day weekend, the bar was still decorated for Halloween. I would love to see it at Christmas!

Before calling it a night, we stopped at Little Lucy’s for a bag of late night mini donuts to enjoy on our scooter back to the Tommie. The donuts are served hot and fresh and come in a variety of delicious flavors with several dipping sauces.

Shop on South Congress. The shops on South Congress have something for everyone. You can browse local vintage shops, customize a cowboy hat at Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott, or buy branded cowboy boots at Tecovas or Allen Boots. When you get tired of shopping, take a break with a cocktail at one of the restaurant patios on South Congress!

Eat Texas BBQ. You can’t leave Austin without trying some of the incredible barbecue. Some of the local favorites are Terry Black’s, Franklin, and Black’s. Go early as the lines can be very long. We opted for The Original Black’s BBQ on our way out of town. Black’s has been operating since 1932 and you can truly feel that this is a family-operated establishment (they are on the 4th generation!!) around you as soon as you walk through the door. There are photos of the Black family through the years cooking up BBQ and working at the restaurant. The food is fantastic – my only comment is that Black’s only has one sauce option. My personal preference is to have different kinds, but I think theirs is so well-loved, why complicate things with more sauces?

Step back in time and try a burger or ice cream at Sandy’s Frozen Custard. If you didn’t just eat a big BBQ meal, you could also get one of their old fashioned hamburgers. I love that Sandy’s has been operated since 1946 and doesn’t seem to have changed much. The menu prices were amazing – you can get a hamburger for $5.39, a cone of frozen custard for $2.79, or a milkshake for $4.29.

BONUS -Stop in Houston: My husband had a work trip after our football weekend so I road tripped with him to Houston to fly out of IAH. We finally got to experience Texas chain, Buc-ees! If Buc-ees is any indication, everything really is bigger in Texas.

If, for some reason, you make it to Houston after visiting Austin, check out the The POST and grab dinner at the market. The Post is the former Houston USPS headquarters that has been transformed into a cultural center hub where you can eat, shop, work, and play. The Post Market has almost 30 international food vendors – essentially, whatever you want, you can find! We really enjoyed the Filipino food at Soy Pinoy (created by Top Chef winner Paul Qui), but everything we saw looked SO good.

When you’re done eating, you can shop in the seasonally rotating micro-retail village or explore the five-acre urban rooftop SkyLawn. If you’re there around the holidays, check out the Christmas lights! There are over a hundred thousand lights and a 25 foot Christmas tree. Tickets were $15 each to see the lights.

And that’s it for our gameday weekend in Austin! Have you ever been to Austin? I’d love if you share some of your favorite spots in the comments below.

RECAP

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Butler Hike and Bike Trail