SAT Lawyer

No. That is too ambitious. You might be able to hit three of the aforementioned cities, but even that would be very rushed.

Stick to Austin, San Antonio, and parts in between (Lockhart and New Braunfels) given the duration of your trip so you don’t squander too much of it on the roads.

If you absolutely must hit one of Houston or Dallas, pick Houston, but if that is the plan, you would have been better served by an open jaw itinerary into AUS and out of IAH or vice versa.

As for COVID, Texas has some of the fewest restrictions in the country. Masks are generally not required even indoors.

In addition to barbeque, you should try some Tex-Mex. If you make it to San Antonio, I highly recommend Paloma Blanca (https://www.palomablanca.net) and Rosario’s Southtown (https://rosariossa.com). Both of them have excellent margaritas. Paloma Blanca’s enchiladas verdes and tres leches are the standouts and Rosario’s has the best salsa in San Antonio, which means it has some of the best salsa anywhere.

wakesetter93

I'm getting ready to move to Austin and will be there next weekend (1/13-16) house hunting and the weekend after (1/22-23) to run the Austin Half-Marathon. Let me know if you want to grab a beer.

EDIT: For those discussing weather, it's 1:00am and 61 degrees farenheight right now

ezefllying

Regardless of legal requirements, what is the "feel" in Texas (or, if you can't speak to that, in San Antonio) right now? If you go out, do most people behave as if the pandemic is nonexistent? Is it a "normal" environment that just happens to have a tenth of the city bedridden for the next week? Or has the current surge in infections led some significant share (I'm sure not all) of the city/state to take notice and wear masks or reduce dining out?

wakesetter93

If you choose to wear a mask here or not, nobody would mind either way. Its been very much "to each their own"

SAT Lawyer

I can certainly speak to San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas.

It’s all very laissez faire. If you want to wear a mask in public, you’ll almost certainly be in the minority, but you can and nobody will give you a hard time. Most Texans don’t wear masks these days except in airports and on planes, where federal requirements apply, and in medical facilities.

I go out and dine out regularly and feel comfortable doing so [I am vaccinated and boosted].

SAT Lawyer

Not really. Fares in January/February with a little bit of advance purchase from Texas to Hawaii have been readily available between $300 to $400. I see DL offering AUS-HNL for as low as $286 RT beginning at the end of January. Meanwhile, lodging in Hawaii is stupidly expensive at the moment (and recently).

subsonic001

I’ve heard plenty of good things about Austin, hence why I have booked a trip for the 1st of Feb.

Please let us know how it goes.

From my research, it’s well worth the drive down to San Antonio.
If you’re brave, head to Barton Creek for a swim. Lake Travis is meant to be nice too.

corporate-wage-slave

WTP. If it's a cash ticket with Avios used to reduce the cost then you could be offered a POUG on that. It's also possible on a redemption ticket too but less so.

It is actually quite normal to get a seat allocated at booking if using BA.com and often a good one, so I'm surprised you haven't seen that before. Ironically it doesn't work if you are 3 days to departure and you've been moved to the FLY system, ironic because Theoretical Seating then kicks in, so you get a seat down the back and no-one next to you. Row 30 has masses of leg space but has partly fixed seat arms, and you best be slim for them. THe rest of 789 seating is fairly cramped, it is WT. The other option perhaps is 43H, and hope that 43J stays empty for you. If the loads look low and you are looking for 3 empty seats it's difficult to second guess that, so it may be easier to board late and scout out the options.

DYKWIA

As above, forget about Houston or Dallas. And stick to Austin & San Antonio.

Maybe to a triangular trip with a stop in Fredericksburg? An old "German" town in the heart of Texas with breweries, wineries and plenty of places to eat. We rented a log cabin which was about 10 minutes walk from the Main Street (https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.co...creekside/318/). Lovely place.

And of course, you must visit Buc-ees

orbitmic

In my view, that is at least one too many and you will spend a lot of time in the car (bear in mind that you will be spending a lot of time in the car even within places like Houston or Dallas which are extremely spread out) and won't really have time to enjoy anything. At the very least, I'd drop Dallas (or Houston, but in my view, Houston is a bit more interesting than Dallas). If it were me, however, I'd just do Austin and San Antonio, or Austin and a night or two in a ranch in the country somewhere (there are a few around).

Jon Baker

As several have already said - Terry Black's Barbecue.

Beef Rib.

I'll say no more.

TTmex

I religiously buy the yogurt cinnamon pretzels at buc-ees

1P

Agreeing that trying to do Dallas and Houston is quite unrealistic. You'd be spending all your time on the road. Concentrate on San Antonio.

But for those who say Dallas is the most boring place ever, you clearly haven't found the arboretum, the varied cultural life in Fort Worth, and charming towns such as Granbury. Even downtown Dallas has a lot going for it, but you need to look for it.

Stripe

Nonsense. Apart from the breathless headlines you would have no idea there was a pandemic going on here. Life on the streets, in restaurants, etc is normal. One does see a bit more mask usage in the last week or two than has been the norm in recent months but mask mandates are illegal in Texas, except for perhaps things like medical settings.
Spot on. Common sense should prevail. Just stay stay out of crowded bars, etc. Enjoy your visit.

enviroian

Cool city but I won’t go there anymore as it’s not safe.

the police department was de-funded so there are less cops patrolling. Good luck trying to get a cop to assist there.