Austin

Austin holds the Texas State Capitol, where guided tours are free, and a colony of about 1.5 million bats under a downtown bridge. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts 140,000 people a year who come to watch them fly out at dusk.

The sections below follow a first visit from the airport bus to the day trips west. We checked the figures on 30 October 2026 on the pages of CapMetro, the City of Austin, the airport, the State Preservation Board, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Comptroller.

We also read the LBJ Library's and the Bullock museum's own sites, the National Park Service and NOAA. No official page we read suggests how many days to spend, or which part of the city to stay in.

How do you get from Austin-Bergstrom airport to downtown on Route 20?

CapMetro Route 20 runs from the airport to downtown in 35 minutes for $1.25, by CapMetro's airport page. Buses leave every 15 to 30 minutes, seven days a week. The stop is on the lower level just outside baggage claim, marked by a neon guitar.

The route continues along Riverside Drive to downtown, the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas. CapMetro split Route 20 at the university in June 2026; the airport half kept its number. The route's timetable PDF printed no times, so we cannot give the first or last bus.

After midnight, Route 483 Night Owl Riverside takes over until 4 a.m. It runs from the airport along Riverside Drive and ends downtown on 6th Street, at the local fare. The airport has no train, and CapMetro's rail line needs a dearer Commuter fare.

The airport's page names two taxi firms and puts rideshare pickup under the Consolidated Rental Car Facility, behind the Red Garage. It prints no fares. Our guide to tipping in the USA covers what a driver expects on top.

What will a CapMetro ride cost after the fare rise of 10 January 2027?

CapMetro's single local fare rises from $1.25 to $1.50 on 10 January 2027, and the daily cap from $2.50 to $3.00. CapMetro calls it the first system-wide increase since 2015. A second rise follows in January 2029, to $2.00 a ride.

A visitor needs no app or card for the bus. Tap a contactless bank card, phone or watch on the reader, and after two paid rides the rest of that service day is free. A service day runs from 4 a.m. to 3:59 a.m. Tap to pay works only on buses, not on rail or express services.

Cash still buys a single ride at the farebox, but cash rides do not count towards the daily cap. CapMetro is removing its ticket machines from bus stations and transit centres. Riders under 18 travel free.

MetroBike, the city's bike share, charges $2.50 to unlock plus 25¢ a minute, or $10 for a day pass. It takes credit cards only, not debit cards, and places a temporary $24 hold on the card.

When do the bats leave the Congress Avenue Bridge, and where do you watch them?

The Congress Avenue Bridge bats fly out at dusk from about March to October, and watching them costs nothing. Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates the colony at 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats and calls it the largest urban bat colony in the world. The bridge is a maternity roost, and Bat Conservation International says the pups are born in early June.

The sources do not agree on the season's edges. Texas Parks and Wildlife runs boat viewing from March through October. Austin Bat Refuge, a local nonprofit that logs every flight, says every evening from March to October. Bat Conservation International says the bats roost "from March through late September". The airport's own blog says nightly between March and November.

Late October is the tail of the season. On 27 October 2026 Austin Bat Refuge counted only about 5% of the summer colony in flight, and on 28 October a snapshot of 73,256 bats. The same log shows a flight of 728,965 bats on 22 October. The refuge said partial migrations had started, and that 80,000 to 100,000 bats stayed at the bridge over the winter of 2025 to 2026.

Free viewing is on the Austin American-Statesman's Bat Observation Area, the lawn on the southeast side of Congress Avenue. The nearby car park charges a fee, and no reservation is needed to watch. Bat Conservation International volunteers explain the colony on one or two weekend evenings from May through September.

Arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the refuge's predicted start, and bring insect repellent. Bats usually stay in on cold or rainy nights. Temperatures under 60°F, winds over 10 mph or a bright moon can thin the flight, and bright lights stop it. An emergence can last up to 45 minutes. Other free spots are the railing on the bridge's south side and the lake itself, by kayak. Boat tours charge, and we read no operator's current price.

What does Barton Springs Pool charge, and why is it shut on Thursdays?

Barton Springs Pool charges an adult non-resident $9 and a resident $5, by the City of Austin's pool page. The City charges entry from the school spring break through the end of October. Its pages print no rule for the winter months, so we cannot say what entry costs from November.

The pool closes for cleaning every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. On other days it opens from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., with lifeguards from 8 a.m. Before 8 a.m., and on Thursdays from 5 to 9 a.m., you swim at your own risk.

The pool covers three acres, runs from 0 to 18 feet deep and is home to the Barton Springs salamander. A child aged 1 to 11 pays $4 as a non-resident and a junior aged 12 to 17 pays $5. Infants and honourably discharged veterans enter free. Tickets last until the end of the day and are sold through the ATXSwims app, at a card kiosk or at the cash window.

Coolers, food, pets, glass, alcohol, speakers and tobacco are not allowed in. Parking is free from Monday to Friday. From 1 March to Labor Day it costs $3 an hour at weekends and on holidays. Without a car, take CapMetro bus 30 to the Barton Springs (Zilker Park) stop and walk five minutes.

Can you swim in Lady Bird Lake, or only walk the 10-mile Butler trail?

Lady Bird Lake is closed to swimmers at all times: city ordinance 8-5-48 bans swimming in it, and 8-5-44 bans jumping from its bridges. The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail runs a 10-mile loop around the water instead. The Austin Police Lake Patrol requires a life jacket within reach on a paddleboard, kayak or canoe.

The City's watershed office has found blue-green algae at most of its monitoring sites on Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin. It attributes the deaths of six dogs to the algae's toxins since 2019. The office's current-status note carries no date, so read it on the day before letting a dog near the water. Poison control answers on 1-800-222-1222.

The Boardwalk, finished in June 2014, carries the trail over the water for 7,250 feet. Drivers can park at Festival Beach or on South Lakeshore Boulevard. Six City-contracted outfits rent boats and paddleboards on the lake, and the City's page prints none of their prices.

Zilker Park covers more than 350 acres on Barton Creek and Lady Bird Lake, and the City prints no admission fee for it. The park holds Barton Springs Pool, the Botanical Garden, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and the Hillside Theater. City parks open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. unless signs say otherwise.

Parking in Zilker costs $3 an hour on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from the first Saturday of spring break through Labor Day. CapMetro buses 30, 3 and 803 serve the park. In an emergency call 911; for non-emergency city services, 311.

What do the Capitol, the LBJ Library and the Bullock museum charge?

The Texas State Capitol charges nothing to enter, and its guided tours are free too. The LBJ Presidential Library charges an adult $16, half price on Tuesdays. The Bullock Texas State History Museum charges $22.

The Capitol's guided tours leave the South Foyer every 15 to 30 minutes and last about 40 minutes. They run from 9 a.m. to the last departure at 4:15 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and from noon to 4:15 p.m. on Sundays. For a tour in another language, call (512) 463-0063 in advance. The building closes on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

The Bullock charges $18 for students, the military and over-65s, and $16 for ages 6 to 17. Children aged five and under enter free, and IMAX films cost extra. Online tickets add $1 per ticket and $2 per order and cannot be refunded. The museum's garage charges $15 for a full day.

The LBJ Library charges $12 for over-62s and $6 for college students and ages 13 to 18, and children under 12 enter free. The library suggests two to four hours and has free visitor parking in lot 38. It inspects every bag and warns of heavy traffic on University of Texas home football days. Neither museum says whether its price includes tax.

When is SXSW 2027, and has Austin City Limits named its 2027 dates?

SXSW 2027 runs from 15 to 21 March 2027, by the festival's own site. We did not read its badge or wristband prices.

The Austin City Limits Music Festival is held in Zilker Park, by the City's park page. On 30 October 2026 its site printed only the 2026 dates, two weekends in early October, and nothing for 2027. The park also hosts the Trail of Lights, whose 2026 dates we did not find.

Why does an Austin hotel bill carry 17% tax?

A hotel room in the city carries 17% tax: the state's 6% hotel occupancy tax plus the City's 11%. The City splits its share into a 9% occupancy tax and a 2% venue project tax. The total is our arithmetic from the Comptroller's page and the City's page; neither prints it as one figure.

By that arithmetic a $200 room carries $34 of tax a night, and a $300 room $51. The state tax applies to rooms costing $15 or more a day, including bed-and-breakfasts, condominiums, apartments and houses. Since 1 April 2025 short-term rental platforms have collected the City's tax for their hosts.

Hotels with over 100 rooms also pay a 2% assessment to the Austin Tourism Public Improvement District, in force since 1 January 2025. The City describes it as a levy on hotels, and no page we read says whether it appears on a guest's bill.

Shops and restaurants add 8.25% sales tax: the state's 6.25%, the City's 1% and 1% for Austin's transit authority. A $100 purchase therefore costs $108.25 at the till. Texas has no tax refund scheme for tourists, as our page about Texas explains. Our guide to sales tax in the USA covers why shelf prices leave the tax out.

How many days a year does Austin reach 100°F?

Camp Mabry, the city's long-term weather station 3.4 miles northwest of the Capitol, averages 28.7 days a year at 100°F or more. The airport's station, Austin-Bergstrom, averages 24.2. Both figures are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, and August alone brings 13.3 such days at Camp Mabry.

Camp Mabry reaches 90°F or more on 122.8 days a year, from May well into September. Its 36.25 inches of rain a year peak in May, with 5.04 inches, and February is the driest month. The airport station is colder at night: 33 nights a year at or below freezing, against 11.9 at Camp Mabry.

The City's flood-safety page tells drivers to turn around at water over a road. About 75% of flood-related deaths in Texas occur in vehicles, the page says. Driving around a barricade at a flooded road is a Class B misdemeanour in Texas.

The city is on Central time. Clocks went back an hour on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 2 a.m., from UTC−5 to UTC−6.

How far are Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains from Austin, and what is closer?

Big Bend National Park is about 460 miles from the Capitol, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park about 490 miles, on our own routing. The National Park Service prints no distance from the city to either park. Our router ran 4 to 5% short of the Park Service on other long legs, so the real drives may be a little longer.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park charges no entrance fee, and its visitor centre is in Johnson City, west along Highway 290. A free permit to drive through the LBJ Ranch comes from the State Park visitor centre. No public transport reaches Johnson City or Stonewall, though commercial tours run from the city.

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is covered on our page about Texas. Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains are each a full day's drive from the city without stops. The Park Service warns that no fuel is sold for 35 miles either side of the Guadalupe Mountains visitor centre. That park also keeps Mountain Time, an hour behind the city.

Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains are not on the 2026 list of parks that add $100 for visitors from abroad. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains where that surcharge applies.