Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) hosts a few flights from Mexico and Canada, but you're more likely be flying into this convenient terminal on a domestic hop (Houston and Dallas are Texas' major international hubs). The Airport Flyer bus, hotel shuttles, taxis or car rental get you into town and back.

The main Greyhound depot is on E Koenig Lane at the northern end of the city, convenient to nothing but itself; take bus 7/Duval to downtown. Travel to Dallas takes from 3.5 to 5 hours by bus, to Houston around 3 hours, to San Antonio about 90 minutes. Note that service to most Hill Country destinations is limited to one bus a day. The Amtrak station is on N Lamar Blvd, less than 1km (1.6mi) west of downtown. Austin is served by the Texas Eagle, between San Antonio and Chicago. Austin is at the crossroads of several interstate highways, so finding your way there shouldn't prove difficult. To get to Dallas/Fort Worth and Waco, take I-35 N; to San Antonio, take I-35 S. I-10 heads east to Houston and west to El Paso. Driving is on the right-hand side.

Getting around

Capital Metro is the city's public bus network, with a solid system of inexpensive neighborhood, express and downtown routes. The latter, known as 'Dillos (short for Armadillo Express), are free. Parking downtown is difficult; look for municipal parking garages, as officers will ticket you in the blink of an eye.

Bikes Not Bombs runs Austin's Yellow Bike Program, which repairs old bicycles, paints them yellow and makes them available free for public use. When you see a yellow bike you can pick it up, ride where you're going and leave it there for the next rider. There are about 1,200 yellow bikes at present.

The Texas Steam Train Association has several regional rail tours. The Hill Country Flyer steam train departs weekends in March through to December from Cedar Park, 32km (20mi) northeast of town.