Austin in 2 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Austin in 2 Days: The Tight Version
Two days is enough for the Capitol, the bats, one legendary barbecue line, and one honest verdict on whether that line is worth it. It’s not enough for the Hill Country too, that’s what the 4-day version is for. Here’s how to spend a tight weekend without wasting half a day figuring out parking.
Book these before you go:
- Franklin Barbecue: preorder at least a week out at preorder.franklinbbq.com if you don’t want to queue before dawn.
- Hotels: check rates on Booking.com early if either day lands near SXSW, ACL, or F1 week.
- Continental Club: it’s general admission and fills up for a well-known act, so show up early rather than assuming a walk-in spot.
| Day | Focus | Rough cost per person |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Capitol, SoCo, barbecue decision | 60-90 USD |
| Day 2 | Art, the lake, the bats | 75-110 USD |
Where to Stay
- Budget: Firehouse Hostel downtown, roughly 25-45 USD a night.
- Mid-range: The Driskill, a genuine 1886 historic building rather than just a marketing claim, from about 150 USD; Hotel Van Zandt from about 180 USD.
- Splurge: JW Marriott Austin from around 300 USD, or the Four Seasons on Lady Bird Lake from about 450 USD.
Add 17 percent combined hotel occupancy tax on top of whatever rate you’re quoted, it’s not usually baked into the number you see while booking.
Getting Around
Downtown is walkable, and BCycle stations cover most of the central area if you want two wheels. Uber and Lyft are everywhere. Skip renting a car for this trip entirely, everything on this itinerary sits within downtown, SoCo, or a short rideshare away, and downtown parking runs 15-30 USD a day for a car you won’t need. Check current fares on CapMetro’s official site , and for the full guide to airport pickup and getting around, see our Austin guide .
Before You Go
Summer here is no joke, June through August regularly hits mid-90s to low-100s Fahrenheit, so plan outdoor time for morning. Live music venues post their own schedules, check ahead if there’s a specific act you want to catch. And don’t assume every outdoor sight is free, Barton Springs Pool charges a fee every day of the year now, more on that below.
Day 1: Capitol, SoCo, and a Real Barbecue Decision
Morning starts with breakfast tacos at Veracruz All Natural, a food truck in East Austin and the migas taco is the one to order, running about 4-6 USD. From there head to the Texas Capitol at 1100 Congress Ave: free entry, free guided tours, self-guided Monday-Friday 7am-8pm and weekends 9am-8pm, guided tours run Monday-Saturday roughly 9am-4:15pm and Sunday noon-4:15pm. No reason to skip a free tour of a building taller than the actual US Capitol. After that, walk South Congress Avenue for the boutiques, vintage shops, and galleries, it’s about a mile end to end and gets hot fast in summer.
For lunch, grab a burger at Hopdoddy on SoCo, about 12-15 USD, then decide on barbecue for the afternoon. Franklin Barbecue is the famous one, but it’s closed Mondays, open Tuesday-Sunday from 11am until sold out, usually early-to-mid afternoon, with a 3-4-plus hour line and brisket running roughly 34 USD a pound. Honest opinion: it’s worth doing once if barbecue matters to you, but La Barbecue or Terry Black’s flagship on Barton Springs Rd gets you most of the quality with a fraction of the wait. Pick one, don’t try to queue for both, you only have two days.
Evening, head to The Oasis on Lake Travis for Tex-Mex with a sunset view over the water, then catch a set at the Continental Club, a genuine honky-tonk institution since 1955 rather than a tourist-trap version of one, cover usually 10-20 USD. Rough cost for the day outside your hotel: 60-90 USD a person.
Day 2: Art, the Lake, and the Bats
Start with brunch at Odd Duck, farm-to-table and consistently good, 15-20 USD. Then hit the Blanton Museum of Art, 15 USD adult, 8 USD youth ages 6-17, free under 6, and free every Tuesday if your dates line up. From there, Zilker Park is free to enter, book a kayak or paddleboard rental on Lady Bird Lake or just sit under the trees, but note parking at Zilker fills fast on weekends.
For lunch, Torchy’s Tacos is the reliable, no-line option if you already did your barbecue queue yesterday, 10-12 USD. Spend the afternoon wandering East Austin for street art and galleries, self-guided is fine, you don’t need to pay for a formal tour.
Dinner at Uchi delivers excellent sushi, not Southern comfort food, don’t go in expecting biscuits, 50-80 USD a person. Cap the night on Sixth Street, but know what you’re walking into: east of Congress is “Dirty Sixth,” loud bar-crawl chaos after dark, while west of Congress runs calmer and more upscale.
Timing note if your dates overlap with bat season: the Congress Avenue Bridge colony is present roughly mid-March through early November, not year-round, with emergence 30-60 minutes before sunset. If you’re here outside that window, swap the bat walk for Mount Bonnell instead, free, about 102 steps up to a sunset view over Lake Austin, and open regardless of season, though you’ll want a rideshare or car to get there and back. Rough cost for the day: 75-110 USD a person.
Quick Tips
Book accommodations early, especially anywhere near a festival date. Download the CapMetro app before you land, it covers bus schedules and fares even if you’re mostly walking and rideshare-ing this trip. Carry a refillable water bottle, Texas heat adds up fast even in spring and fall.