Austin Trip on a Budget
Austin has acclaimed itself to be a “Weird City” and true enough, it has been living up to the name with its strange counterculture and ways to buck the norm. But put your minds at ease as the locals here know how to have cheap fun so you would not have to spend a lot during your Austin visit. You can never run out things to do and festivals to attend in this city. Be enthralled by the town’s live rocking music scene and be amazed with the unique collections of multitudes of galleries and museums. It is certainly a city for budget travelers who simply want to have a blast.
“Food trucks are emerging cheap alternatives to restaurants where one can enjoy full meals at lower prices. It’s a real money-saver.”
Austin has weird but cheap ways to provide entertainment to the domestic and foreign visitors. Below are tips to keep in mind in having a great time while saving on your vacation expenses.
- Finding a good value hotel in the city is not difficult unless Austin is hosting an event or a festival. You might consider avoiding such dates to get usual rates or you can try your luck with budget lodges situated a few miles from the downtown area. One more option is to find Austin hotels that are in close proximity to central mass transit.
- Cost-efficient food trucks are the new trend in the Austin. They are cheap alternatives to restaurants as full meals are served. They charge substantially low prices as they have fewer operational costs. And if you want to delight with barbecues and other Tex-Mex cuisines, just head to any major street and you’ll find cheap eats.
- Austin has lots of cheap attractions. One of which is Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum where you can see his artworks for under $4. You can also swim at Barton Springs Pool located at Zilker Park. You only need to pay $3 for this man-made reservoir and the park charges no admission fee.
- You can also crash into major events like Austin City Limits Music Festival and SXSW or South by Southwest for free. You can hear local bands and see performances of hula hoopers. You can even go in costume and paint the town red.
- Remember that you must be in the central corridor to easily get around the town. You can choose from buses, trains and trolley. A cab will be an expensive option. You can save the money that you would pay for renting a car but you should take some time planning it out.
- Shopping for weird, fun and not to mention cheap souvenirs would not be that hard as there are ample gift shops that sell such items. For instance, buying a shirt from a Lucky Lizard will allow you to see their Museum of the Weird where you can see oddity such as shrunken head.
