One Perfect Day in Austin With Teens Itinerary (From a Travel Expert)

Are you spending one day in Austin with teens and need an itinerary? Discover fun things to do, from vintage shopping to a dip in a spring-fed pool to SEEING a huge bat colony.

For spring break this year, I took my family to Texas to see relatives and escape the cold weather in Michigan. On our Texas trip, my husband and I spent one day in Austin with our teens with an itinerary I created that combined classic sites with off-the-beaten-path stops.

As a professional travel writer with 10 years of experience exploring this country’s best destinations, I always research the places I plan to visit and put together an itinerary of fun things to do.

Having a plan is especially important when your time is so limited in a destination. Read on to learn how to have an awesome day in Austin with teens by using my itinerary.

Is Visiting Austin Worth It?

Even though we only had a day to explore, visiting Austin was worth it. It lived up to its reputation of being fun and funky. 

One day in Austin is plenty to get a feel for the city as long as you have at least a loose plan for how you want to spend your time—with your teens weighing in, of course!

In our case, we wanted our Austin itinerary to include hitting up unique shops, eateries, seeing bluebonnets (the Texas state flower that blooms in spring), and watching the world’s largest bat colony come flying out at dusk.  

We weren’t able to tackle everything on our wish list thanks to a storm that rolled in. But we still had a blast! If I had to do it all over again—on a day with better weather—I’d make a few changes to get our Austin itinerary just right.  

My Itinerary: One Day in Austin With Teens

Below is my ideal Austin itinerary for a day exploring the city with my teens. It starts with a unique take on donuts for breakfast and ends with dinner and a movie at an offbeat theater, with lots of fun in between!

Breakfast at Gourdough’s donut trailer

Austin is full of food trucks. But perhaps one of the best is Gourdough’s Big Fat Donuts and Coffee. Slide up to the airstream’s window to order chunky donuts slathered in toppings (grilled strawberries! caramelized bananas! spiced glazed cherries!), some stuffed with fillings (cheesecake! coconut cream!), others covered in sugary icing.

Pick up souvenirs on the most fun street in Austin

It can be a little difficult to find a parking spot on South Congress Avenue, but for good reason. This popular Austin street has fun murals that teens love to pose in front of and an eclectic collection of shops and eateries.

One must-stop shop is Allens Boots, an iconic store that sells hundreds of different cowboy boots as well as hats, jeans, belts, buckles, and all the trimmings that a wannabe cowboy could need.

Another favorite is Paper Work, which features all kinds of gift items—from t-shirts to jewelry to posters—made by local artists.

South Congress Avenue is also home to a Kendra Scott flagship store, with a café inside, and several other shops on the street. Stop in to see what souvenirs your teens like best. Who knows, your kiddo may choose a real scorpion in resin necklace like one of mine did, eww!

Lunch at Torchy’s Tacos

What started as a single food truck in Austin has turned into chain of eateries with a reputation for serving unique tacos and stellar queso.

At Torchy’s Tacos on South Congress Avenue, order the chips and queso and choose from a wide variety of tacos with homemade tortillas.

During spring in Austin, see the bluebonnets.

People, myself included, go crazy over Texas bluebonnets. The beloved state flower blooms wherever patches of grass grow. But they are truly impressive when they take over an entire field.

My teens were not as enthused about getting a picture with these pretty little flowers as I was. So, I contented myself with seeing them on the side of the road on our drive to Austin.

But after our trip, I heard about the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center near downtown Austin. If I had known about it before, you can bet your bottom dollar that me and my crew would have strolled through the gardens there to get close-up photos of the famous flowers.

During summer in Austin, swim at Barton Springs Public Pool.

One of the most surprising things about Austin is that there’s a three-acre, outdoor, spring-fed pool in the heart of downtown. Barton Springs Public Pool is filled by the natural springs in the area with water that’s usually around 70 degrees, surrounded by grassy park lawns.

So if it’s hot out, bring your swimsuit on your day trip to Austin so you and your teens can take a dip. Depending on when you go, there can be a small fee for entrance to the pool area (which is part of the larger Zilker Park) as well as parking fees.

During fall or winter in Austin, go vintage shopping.

When it’s too chilly to enjoy the outdoors, head inside. Austin’s North Loop is a mecca for lovers of vintage clothing and home goods.

Pop into Blue Velvet Vintage for clothes, Room Service Vintage for knick-knacks, and Breakaway Records for old-school finds your teens will love (because everything old is new again). 

Watch the bats fly at sunset.

Did you know that Austin is home to North America’s largest bat colony?

You would think they’re at the zoo, right? But no, these migrating, Mexican free-tailed bats hang out under the Congress Avenue Bridge from March through early fall.

Every evening at dusk, thousands of the 1.5 million resident bats pour out into the sky putting on a one-of-a-kind show. The best place to see them is from the water.

Book a sunset, bat-viewing boat cruise of Ladybird Lake with either Lone Star Riverboat or Capital Cruises. Be sure to make your reservations in advance because they sell out!

Catch dinner and a movie at Alamo Drafthouse.

You may be thinking that you could go to movies anywhere, so why in Austin? Because the Alamo Drafthouse is a theater unlike any you’ve ever been to.

Besides being able to see the latest blockbuster, with free refills on popcorn and soda, you can also order off a full menu of food — often themed to the movie you’re seeing. So if you’re there to see the movie “Bob’s Burgers,” expect to see a burger shop menu. You can also order cocktails and every Alamo Drafthouse location offers local craft beers too.

Even better? The theater has a zero-tolerance rule for talking and cell phone use and doesn’t allow young children. Exceptions are made for their interactive film events when movie fans gather together to cheer and shout and enjoy older movies in a totally new way.

The South Lamar location is closest to downtown Austin.

Fun Itinerary for One Day in Austin With Teens

As you can see, this Austin itinerary is designed to be fun for you and your kids too. That’s my goal with every trip I plan—whether it’s for my family or someone else’s—because vacation days are too precious to not make the most of them for everybody.

I hope you have some super-sized fun on your trip to Texas!

P.S. If you want more trip inspiration, check out my page with family vacation ideas. Want to stay in the southern states? Consider an affordable beach stay in Gulf Shores, Alabama, celebrate a family-friendly Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama, or go on a Kentucky road trip through horse country.