Austin and/or San Antonio, Texas? What's driving like?

[HundredMilesAnHour]

Has anyone been to Austin and San Antonio in Texas? Looking for tips on reasonably priced (i.e. not more than £200/night) places to stay that are central but also thoughts/experiences on driving between the two and just driving there in general.

I've got flights booked next June/July for 5 nights. It will be just be me. (Yes, I know it will be hot, I've been to Texas in July before with work. I'm happy with hot). Originally I booked because I wanted to see the bats in Austin I have a BA upgrade voucher that expires in July so planned to spend the 5 days all in Austin staying in SoCO and just relaxing with no plans to hire a car. I'm not into live music and will be a lone female so Austin's nightlife will be lost on me and I'm more likely to have a glass of wine and then an early night. As I've done more research, San Antonio sounds much more interesting so now I'm contemplating hiring a car and driving there for 2-3 nights. I've never driven in the US or anywhere on the other side of the road (if we ignore once in Tuscany that I hated every second of) and the thought freaks me out. Especially alone. The combination of different side of the road and huge cars, and then parking huge cars! None of this is rational as I've driven for years and merrily drive in rush hour in central London without a second thought and I happily drive in Australia (where I love to drive and actively seek out road trips). But the driving in the US is putting me off! So I'd love to get people's experiences of US driving please! Texas especially.

Also any tips on hotels or AirBNBS in both cities will be much appreciated. In Austin I'm looking at SoCo and have 2 different AirBNBs that I like the look of as downtown hotels seem to be very pricey (£300+/night). San Antonio seems to have less selection (and is more basic) but is cheaper. I want to be near the riverwalk, and ideally the Alamo (but this is mainly to avoid driving!).

Really appreciated anyone's experiences of anything related to Austin and/or San Antonio please!! At the moment, I'm thinking fly to Austin, spend 2 nights there, drive to San Antonio (via hill country or outlet shopping on I35) for 3 nights and then drive back to Austin airport straight from San Antonio. Or do I just bottle it and stay in Austin for 5 nights and not bother hiring a car?

Visited NC in May/June for half-term. Rented a car and drove lots. Roads are wider so it's probably less scary than for Americans coming to UK/EU. Most US cars have automatic transmissions. You can hire a smaller car - no need for a behemoth.

It's been many years, but I don't remember driving in Tx to be much different from other parts of the US. I spent a summer in Austin and definitely recommend going to San Antonio for a few days.

Top tips:

• don't think too hard - just do what the cars around you are doing.
• yellow line = centre of road

Thank you! I think I'll be fine on the interstate, it's once I get into the actual city that I'm a bit 😳 It's just that horrible combination of a car I'm not familiar with (for the first day at least) and feeling like I don't know road etiquette. I'm probably over-thinking it and it's becoming a bigger thing than it needs to be! Had a minor freak-out moment in Australia recently when I picked up a huge SUV (7 seater) - needed it as I was going off road into the bush - and couldn't figure out how to even reposition the driver's seat. I nearly burst into tears in the airport carpark. 🙄Once I got used to it I was fine (I actually really love driving) but that first half an hour is always spent thinking WTF?!!

San Antonio and the hills around sounds increasingly fabulous so I think it has to be done.

I love that area and visit it to see my mother who lives up in the Hill Country - was there last August. Bats are brilliant - really enjoyed that experience and a lovely way to cool down. Didn't stay in SoCo but explored it a bit - fantastic food trucks and restaurants and yes you can walk from there back into the city but there was a distinct lack of sidewalks at times. We also went San Antonio which is a super fun place to visit - the Riverwalk is quite the scene and I've always enjoyed the Alamo. Used a hotel rather than Air BnB and they can get pricey if there is a conference in town. The Hill Country is lovely and we usually visit places like Fredericksburg, which is cute to wander around for a day apparently has lovely small hotels that my Mother enjoys. Then there is Enchanted Rock - Enchanted Rock State Park, which is brilliant to walk up and we also enjoyed LBJ’s Birthplace and Ranch - really lovely to drive through. Driving is super easy - honestly go for it. The roads are so big and so straight in these areas and with sat nav super easy to get around - parking is a dream :) so much space. I also didn't find the traffic too bad except at usual times but in general it flowed. However they are super strict on speed limits - I was caught speeding down a hill (without realising) and there was a patrol car hidden in the dip - was let off but they are much more present than in the UK.

That's really encouraging, thank you so much @zazas I'm super excited now. Wish I had longer than 5 nights as it looks like there's tons I'd like to see and do. Did you try Texan wine?? I usually do some wine tasting wherever I go but I'm not sure I want to lose half a day wine tasting in the hills if the wine is a bit grim?? But at the same time I'm curious!

Certainly did - the wine there is amazing and so are vineyard experiences - we really enjoyed both of these ones - Torr Na Lochs Vineyard & Winery and Perissos Vineyard and Winery - although there are many

Fab, thank you! I'll definitely explore then. Now just to work out logistics as a lone driver grr. Looking at wine tours from San Antonio so someone else does the driving but they seem to be quite limited. There must be a way dammit!