So, you live in Austin and you don’t have a car. While you can survive off of the restaurants and stores in West Campus – Target, Madam Mam’s, and Teji’s – these businesses won’t keep you occupied forever. The city of Austin has a lot to offer when it comes to cool places to shop and eat, and they aren’t hard to get to by bus. So this is how to get to exciting places in Austin without driving a car.
The bus may sound like a menacing and daunting creature – you have to understand how stops work and know which way is north or south – but in reality, the Austin bus system is simple, fast, and safe. I didn’t have a car my freshman year at UT, and I survived by taking a few hours out of a week to explore neat areas of Austin.
I’m here to share a few areas with exciting places in Austin that are easy bus rides away. You won’t have to switch buses or be on a bus for longer than 30 minutes, so it takes very little effort to get to a cool place to eat and shop.
First on the list is perhaps one of my favorite areas in Austin – the area around North Lamar and 6th Street. You take either the 20, 10 or 19 bus, all southbound and you walk a bit from there to reach Whole Foods. Within walking distance, you can visit Amy’s Ice Cream, Book People, as well as Luluemon, Lush, REI, Snap Kitchen, and Anthropologie. If you walk a bit further down North Lamar towards 10th Street, you’ll find the Soup Peddler and Fresa’s.
The next place on this list is very easy and simple to get to by bus. You just hop on the 803 northbound bus and it’ll drop you off on North Lamar. With Central Market across the street from the bus stop, you have all your grocery needs nearby. About a 10-minute walk away is also the Steeping Room has health-oriented dining options and great tea varieties, as well as Tacodeli, Snooze, and the Kolache Factory.
The last area covered on this list is the Triangle, and you take the 801 northbound bus to get to this hub of incredible restaurants. The Triangle has Mandola’s Italian, Snap Kitchen, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, and Mama Fu’s. And for a bonus area, if you keep taking the 801 Northbound bus just two stops further, you reach another area with Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, 85℃ Bakery, and Snowy Village Dessert Café.
This list is just the beginning of exciting places in Austin that are easy to get to. If you’ve had a bad week and need to cheer yourself up, take yourself on an adventure to any of these places and treat yourself. The Austin bus system may be intimidating at first, but don’t deprive yourself of a good time just because moving around Austin isn’t comfortable for you. Go out and have an adventure!