If your first thought as you steel yourself to make the harrowing drive up I-35 to Austin is, “There’s got to be a better way,” have faith. There are ways to get there from here other than by private automobile.
Granted, all of these options have their drawbacks, whether it’s time, money, inconvenience or, in the case of cycling, the terror of riding on the narrow shoulder while large trucks zoom by mere inches away.
For most, grinning and bearing it and driving to Austin likely will be the only reasonable choice. But for those a bit more adventuresome, here are several alternatives to consider:
Germany-based Flixbus runs 15 to 19 nonstop buses daily from San Antonio to Austin for as little as $12.
FlixBusBus
Benefits: Someone else does the driving, so you can work, sleep, watch a movie or otherwise multitask while getting to your destination; probably cheaper than driving once gas and wear and tear on your car are taken into account.
Drawbacks: You’re on someone else’s schedule; likely will take longer than driving; pick-up and drop-off points may be inconvenient.
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Megabus runs up to four nonstops a day from San Antonio to Austin with fares about $22.50, although book early enough and you can still snag one of the company’s fabled $1 tickets.
Megabus
Options:
Flixbus (flixbus.com). The Germany-based company runs 15 to 19 nonstop buses daily between the two cities and will get you there for as little as $12, although you’ll pay extra to pick your own seat or check more than one bag. The company’s modern, energy-efficient coaches are equipped with comfy seats, an onboard restroom, Wi-Fi and power outlets. You can even pay to buy carbon offsets to make your ride greener.
Megabus (us.megabus.com). Perhaps the original cheap way to Austin, Megabus runs up to four nonstops a day with fares about $22.50, although book early enough and you can still snag one of the company’s fabled $1 tickets. Buses are equipped with an onboard restroom, free Wi-Fi and power outlets, although you’ll pay extra for a reserved seat.
Turimex (turimex.com/en). This Monterrey-based bus company primarily serves Mexico, but it also runs routes in the United States, including between San Antonio and Austin. Makes one to four trips a day, with one-way fares of $40 ($36 if you book online). Buses have onboard restrooms, power outlets and screens.
Take the plush bus: How does this luxury motorcoach compare to flying from San Antonio to Dallas?
Southwest Airlines is the sole commercial carrier to fly nonstop between San Antonio International and Austin-Bergstrom airports with fares starting at $114 when booked far enough in advance.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-NewsFlying
Benefits: Usually faster than driving.
Drawbacks: All the hassles of modern-day air travel. including security lines, delays and cancelations and crowded airports and planes; more expensive than driving — in some cases, as you’ll see below, much more expensive.
Options:
Southwest Airlines (southwest.com). The sole commercial carrier flying nonstop between San Antonio International and Austin-Bergstrom airports. Depending on the day of the week, the Wanna Get Away carrier offers three to nine nonstops daily, each scheduled to take about an hour. Fares start at $114 when booked in advance but these come with plenty of restrictions. Southwest’s planes are often compared to sardine cans, but the cheapest alternatives, which are on American Airlines, start at $281, connect through DFW and take four hours or more to get you to Austin. Sometimes it’s worth it to fly with the fishes.
Blade (blade.com). For a true bespoke travel experience that lets you go where you want, when you want, Blade operates a fleet of helicopters, jets, and prop planes available for charter. The company runs scheduled flights to the expected high-dollar destinations: Manhattan, the Hamptons, Nice and Monaco. But for routes less in demand (say, San Antonio-to-Austin), you can also crowdsource a trip, paying the full freight — $3,700 for the entire aircraft, according to the company website — and then earning back credits when, or if, others buy seats on the same flight.
Passengers ride Amtrak’s train from San Antonio to Austin, scheduled to take about 2 1/2 hours.
William Luther/StaffTrain
Benefits: Surprisingly inexpensive; plenty of room to work, read, etc.
Drawbacks: Abysmal on-time performance; takes much longer than driving; inconvenient schedule.
Option:
Amtrak (amtrak.com). Part of the railroad’s Texas Eagle route, which connects San Antonio and Chicago, the San Antonio to Austin leg is scheduled to take about 2 1/2 hours, although delays are common, with reduced amenities and on-time performance at just over 50 percent. Fares start as low as $8 for a nonrefundable ticket, with the single daily train leaving the downtown station at 7 a.m. Amenities include onboard restrooms and a cafe.
A gift for cyclists: Man creates map of the city’s creekside hike-and-bike trails
Slowly, surely, Texas is becoming a friendlier place to bike, and no where is that promise greater than in the Great Springs Project, a proposed 100-mile trail system from San Antonio to Austin. Until then, there are local trails like this one along the Leon Creek Greenway.
William Luther/Staff photographerBike
Benefits: Free. Unless you’ve got a lot of time and, for now, nerves of steel, there aren’t many others.
Drawbacks: The ride takes more than seven hours, according to Google Maps, most of that well traveled surface roads.
Options:
Great Springs Project (greatspringsproject.org). Slowly, surely, Texas is becoming a friendlier place to bike, and no where is that promise greater than this proposed 100-mile trail system linking San Antonio and Austin. Intended to establish a safe, contiguous and green hike and bike corridor between the two cities, the project will also protect several environmentally sensitive underground spring systems. Parts of the proposed system are already in place, with much of the rest to be built in phases. Target date for completion is 2036, just in time for the Texas Bicentennial.
Until that project is completed, you can always pretend to be a car and drive to Austin via the I-35 frontage roads, but why would you? Instead, the website Bicycle Austin offers step-by-step directions for wheeling it to the capitol, sticking to a route that, while generally parallels I-35, sticks to back roads only. According to the website, the route is only about five miles longer than the highway.
[email protected] | Twitter: @RichardMarini
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