do we need a rental car if we go to austin texas?
Hotel Rates
the Bruja is back asked:
we’re also thinking about going to san antonio, or houston. in january. is it best to get a rental car or try out some public transportation?
we’re also thinking about going to san antonio, or houston. in january. is it best to get a rental car or try out some public transportation?
also recommend good hotels ( moderately prices please ) to stay in?
Bruce
March 11th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Dennis
If you are planning on going ot multiple cities i suggest getting a rental car. At the end, it would be cheaper than having to use public transportation and charter busses to take you from city to city…to get great hotel rate go to
March 13th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Claudia
Yes, get a rental car. You need a car in all three of those places. Try
for hotels in Austin and San Antonio.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Don
You will need a rental car as there is really no public transportation . Public transportation is not something taken very serious in Texas.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Bertha
Actually, Austin has one of the best public transportation system that I know of. ( have those saying otherwise ever experienced public transportation in other areas?) The main bus routes run every 30 mins and the rest run hourly. The route and pick up times for each bus is listed at the bus stop.You can take Amtrack from Austin to San Antonio daily, and the bus route in San Antonio is great. Renting a car makes everything easier, but you’ll meet more people walking around and riding on the bus. Austin is very proud of the number of people who choose to park their cars and ride the bus to help keep the air clean.As for Houston, I have never felt comfortable in that city at all, let alone walking around and taking the buses. As for hotels, try the north east side of Austin. Years ago, they moved the Airport from that part of town, and the hotels lost a lot of money. The ones that survived have reasonable prices.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Ruth
regardless of how good or bad our public transportation system is in comparison with other cities. I say.
RENT A CAR
You can get a cheap one. and by the way, Capital Metro just raised prices.. it’s not that much…but get a car so that you can get to the out of the way places. Austin is very spread out.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Teresa
I would suggest getting a rental car. You might be able to manage in Austin without one, IF you stayed downtown (I’d suggest the San Jose on South Congress Ave. or the Radisson on Town Lake - or of course if you’re made of money you could stay at the Driskill) and if you didn’t want to go anywhere that would take you outside of the downtown area. Now, Austin certainly has stuff to do downtown — there’s lots of music, restaurants, shopping etc. on South Congress, 6th Street etc. and you can enjoy the hike and bike trail around Town Lake, walk to Zilker Park etc. — and the University and other things like the Texas State History Museum are very nearby and accessible by a short bus ride — but you may well want to also go to some other places that you’d need a car to get to. You might want to go explore the Hill Country, or go to a restaurant that’s not downtown, or something.
With San Antonio, I guess you could stay down by the Riverwalk and visit the Alamo, the 17th-century Governor’s Palace, and some other interesting stuff without a car — but I think some of the cooler stuff in SA that’s not so touristy, you would need a car to get to. The outlying missions (like Mission San Jose) are peaceful and non-touristy, and you have to have a car to get there. The art museum in the old brewery (no, I don’t recall its name right now) is probably a little far from downtown to walk to. The King William district is pretty cool and I don’t think you can walk there from downtown. Actually I’ve heard that there’s a really nice bed and breakfast in the King William district. That would be much more peaceful and authentic than doing the really commercial stuff like the market.
My limited experience of Houston is as follows: I wouldn’t even try to deal with Houston without a car.
March 21st, 2009 at 12:24 am
Lillian
yes rental car, traffic is horrible and if you want to ride the bus you will be on one forever
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Catherine
Rental car. And you don’t want to walk anywhere at night. There is a serial killer on the loose and it’s not safe. Some say it is the guy that works at the State School in Lubbock, but they just don’t have enough proof yet, but juding by the women’s bodies piling up, I’d venture to guess there are more than one out there.