An Austin Bachelor Party Itinerary

While you may find your way to Austin during festival times like Austin City Limits or SXSW, this Texas town has plenty more to offer for a husband-to-be. An Austin bachelor party includes everything from fantastic eats and river tubing to Lake Travis boating and good drinks.

Your Austin bachelor party is sure to be a great time—here’s how to plan the guys’ trip of a lifetime.

What to Do

One of the best parts of an Austin bachelor party is the proximity to water. Turn your party into a Lake Travis bachelor fest by renting a boat to take out on the large, party-forward lake. Party barges on this lake aren’t your standard booze cruise vessels. Along with your boat and bar, they also include water slides and double decker crafts.

If you don’t get enough water time on Lake Travis, consider a visit to Barton Springs, where tubing is on offer. Better yet, head half an hour out of the city for tubing on the San Marcos River, where drinking is a welcome attraction for floaters.

Back on land, if your bachelor party is full of golfers, head to Morris Williams Golf Course for a round of 9 or 18. Or for a different type of shooting, head to Redd’s Shooting Range, the oldest indoor range in Austin.

Once you’ve had your fill of activity, consider checking out the microbreweries and craft beers that make Austin a destination for good suds. The WTF Bus offers brewery tours to local favorites like Adelberts and Austin Beer Works, or the Hill Country tour to Jester King, Twisted X, and Last Stand, among others.

You won’t be wanting in night life on your Austin bachelor party—and each street offers something different. West and East 6th Street will get you out of the college crowd lining “Dirty 6” to more sophisticated (but still plenty of fun) spots. On West Sixth, you’ll find Dogwood, a wood-decked hangout with a patio and craft cocktails, and Kung Fu Saloon, a spot for craft beer on tap, a sake bomb menu, Asian-American fare (think cheeseburger egg rolls), and more than 18 vintage arcade games like Ms. Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Galaga.  On the East side of sixth, take in live music at The White Horse, a honky tonk spot with a taco truck outside, or enjoy a beer on the Violet Crown Social Club’s patio.  

Rainey Street is another great area for a night on the town. The bar-lined street includes Clive—a casual watering hole with local beers and great outdoor patio—and Lustre Pearl, a beer and cocktail spot with a great rooftop overlooking downtown.

For more inspiration, do yourself a favor and download BACH. The app has a whole section dedicated to Austin attractions, which you can browse and then book from your phone. It also lets you share the details with your entourage instantly—score.

Where to Eat

Don’t be fooled by the hot dogs and cold beer signage outside of Frank ATX. This is the spot for a great brunch on your Austin bachelor party. Limited to Sundays, try menu items like pulled pork hash and Makers toast (French Toast with a Maker’s Mark bourbon blueberry sauce), paired with a killer Bloody Mary.

You probably came to Austin for the barbeque, and you won’t be disappointed by your options. The Salt Lick, one of the more famous spots, is about an hour outside of downtown Austin in Driftwood—but you can also try their delicious slow cooked meats at the airport if you don’t feel like making the drive. Back in town you can find Franklin’s, another well-known spot, which you’ll soon find out by the long—and we mean super long—lines that start the minute the doors open. The food is worth standing in line for, but there is always a chance they’ll run out of food before you make it to the front.

For a surer shot, La Barbeque offers equally delicious brisket, pulled pork, and sausage from the Aztec Food Trailer Park to be enjoyed at picnic tables. Or try Lambert’s BBQ, a fancier downtown barbeque spot featuring live music upstairs.

If you like things hot, head to DEE DEE, a food truck offering authentic Northern Thai specialties with market-fresh ingredients like Pad Kaprow, Laab Moo, and Mango Sticky Rice for dessert. The picnic table atmosphere is lively—and crowded—so be prepared for a bit of a wait.

Offering a different set up, Holy Roller is a punk-rock themed diner with comfort fare and craft cocktails. Choose from menu options like brisket fries with queso, sour cream, and jalapeno; the Casbash, a fried chicken sandwich served on a honey-buttered biscuit with comeback sauce and a fried egg; or the west Texas mac and cheese, made with a potato chip and cornflake topper and served with steak, shrimp, chicken, or tofu. All of this paired with drinks like the Black Flag, a cocktail of Nine Banded whiskey, lemon, red wine, and balsamic reduction.

At Banger’s Sausage House + Beer Garden you’ll find 104 beers on tap, 30 varieties of homemade sausage, and a fantastic brunch menu if you want to arrive early featuring a one-of-a-kind sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich and the Banger’s Benny with braised pork belly over eggs benedict. 

For an upscale dinner, head to the farm-to-table Wu Chow, a Chinese spot that doesn’t feature your run-of-the-mill takeout dishes. Here you’ll find Dan Dan Noodles, handmade steamed dumplings, wok-tossed cumin lamb, and honey pecan Gulf prawns.

And if you’re looking for some Tex-Mex, Guero’s is the place to be. The casual taco bar (with options like fish tacos, beef alambres, and enchiladas frescas) also has a great salsa bar and hand-shaken margaritas—all to be enjoyed on an outdoor patio.

Where to Stay

You can always find a fantastic Airbnb or home rental in downtown Austin or along Lake Travis, but for hotel options consider the Austin Motel. The budget-friendly hotel is not just quirky, but historic (established in 1938) and just a four-minute cab ride from downtown. The outdoor pool can have quite the party scene on a good weekend—ideal for an Austin bachelor party.

For a more upscale option, the W Hotel is a hip high-rise in walking distance from the bar scene. It includes a record room packed with vinyl, pool and sundeck, and a tequila bar in the hotel’s lobby.

And in the mid-range is the Hilton on 4th Street, one block over from sixth street. The hotel offers two restaurants—Cannon + Belle restaurant and biergarten and the Austin Taco Project—an 8th floor swimming pool with sundeck overlooking downtown, and comfortable rooms.

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