Visiting Dallas and Austin on the Fourth of July

[volcanicweather]

If you're into the club scene, get a hotel in Downtown Dallas. If you're more into dive bars and a younger, more "down to earth" vibe with douche hipsters sprinkled in, stay near uptown. I recommend the Days Inn near the CityPlace light rail station, it's cheap and surprisingly decent quality and you can use the light rail to go downtown and just take a cab back when you're done (since I assume you'll be drinking and out late). It's also close to Uptown if you're planning on renting a car. Just be aware that the Rangers ballpark is in the middle of nowhere basically (right next to the new Cowboys stadium) so there's plenty parking but don't plan on bar-hopping before or after.

[killerx]

Psshhh if yah'll want a good hotel get a room here. http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-texan/

[Mellema]

Psshhh if yah'll want a good hotel get a room here. http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-texan/

Gaylord is nice, but the biggest problem is it's in Grapevine. Not too far to get to the stadium, but a good distance from Dallas. Granted, Grapevine has grown a ton since my high school days, but still not a great place for the night scene.

[Zansho]

Depending on the time of the year, I'd make an excursion over to San Marcos and just go tubing in the San Marcos River. San Marcos is 30 mins outside of Austin, and it can be a real blast - tons of chicks, you can drink your booze with a ice chest floating next to you, all kinds of stuff goes on. It's really fun.

There's also Zilker Park Swimming hole - good place to hang out, and the water is cold as hell during the summer - awesome place to cool off because Austin gets FUCKING hot - about 105-110ish depending on the time of the day.

Omni hotel is indeed sex. It's good, fairly upscale and stuff. You could stay at the Doubletree hotel also off of I-35. Stephen F. Austin hotel is nice too - but could be pricey - check out deals online to see if you can't get it for cheap.

If you happen to come during the right time, you can't be SXSW (South by Southwest) for music venue - TONS of music, of every genre you can think of, right in one spot. Not sure if they're going to host it again this year - it got pretty fucked up last year with all the rains and shit.

There's a facebook page for all of this, actually. It's called 365 things to do in Austin - and it's pretty neat. Check it out! It has the bars, and stuff - pretty cool too :

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/...3342821?ref=nf

[Mizango]

There are tons of Texans here on bg (eat shit and die, miz) and we'll all be glad to point you to a good time.

Curses, foiled again! I was damn sure coming in here to hate.

[Mizango]

But seriously, why Texas? Why not visit present day Haiti or Mogadishu or something? Same quality of life and you can tell your grandkids that you actually left the states for once? Or if this is woman driven trip check out the American Samoan islands, the girth is about equal if that's your thing.

[volcanicweather]

I can't speak for the entire state of texas, but dallas is a very solid city

[Nyx]

Stiker has the best advice in this thread. He pretty much already covered everything I was going say.

What kind of nightlife scene are you into? That'll help narrow down where you should go in DFW. Sundance Square in Ft. Worth is definitely great. Avoid the W and Sky Bar unless you want to pick up some bitches by pretending to be a 30k millionaire. Addison isn't too bad, but it's a longer drive to/from Arlington than Dallas and Ft. Worth.

You can't go wrong with 6th street in Austin.

[Talus]

Where to go in Austin kind of depends on how old you are too.

Sixth St. is great in general, lots of music venues and bars, but also IMO more geared to the college set (lots of UT students here).

The Warehouse District is great for a slightly older crowd - more bars, but also less likely to smell like puke.

[Edit: Stay somewhere downtown if you're going to be bar hopping, so you can be within walking distance to your hotel. I think the W is opening soon, it's usually top notch.]

[GeneJackit]

Stiker has the best advice in this thread. He pretty much already covered everything I was going say.

What kind of nightlife scene are you into? That'll help narrow down where you should go in DFW. Sundance Square in Ft. Worth is definitely great. Avoid the W and Sky Bar unless you want to pick up some bitches by pretending to be a 30k millionaire. Addison isn't too bad, but it's a longer drive to/from Arlington than Dallas and Ft. Worth.

You can't go wrong with 6th street in Austin.

Was away for a few days, but thanks for all the information. That facebook page was really helpful. Anyways, we are all in the mid 20s, and for the night life we usually just go to bars...no clubs really, but also we are down to do anything interesting. Also, we all agreed that we are definately gonna buy our western wear and hit up a cowboy bar.

[Serra]

In terms of Austin fireworks, there's always a show over town lake. Last year I was crossing the Congress bridge when they started, and people being dumb as ever just put their cars in park, completely blocking traffic. If you can time it right, any of the bridges over town lake will give you a pretty good view.

I imagine you'll probably want some restaurant recommendations too, so what types of food are you guys into? Personally, whenever anyone comes to Austin, I recommend the Salt Lick. It's this amazing BBQ place that's about 30 minutes out of town. There's one in Round Rock and one in Driftwood. I prefer the Driftwood location because it's BYOB, but it's also busier and you'll probably have to wait to be seated (so just bring a lot of beer~). I can add some more recommendations if you give me a few types of food you guys would like to eat while here.

If you go to 6th, most of what you find are gonna be clubs. East 6th (just west of the highway) is where most of the college crowd hangs out. It's also where you'll get the cheapest drinks if you just wanna get drunk off your ass. West 6th is where more of the older crowd hangs out. Honestly though, whenever I go there, it feels like it's just people who think they're too mature to hang out with college kids, but still act the same. East-East 6th (east of the highway, and that's just what we've been calling it, dunno if it has an actual designation yet) is where a lot of newer bars have started opening up. They're pricier, but the bartenders make better quality drinks, and they haven't become as popular/busy yet. The bar I frequent the most is Clive on Rainey St (can give you directions if you want to go there) as its a good atmosphere and is just down the street from me. On weekends it gets busier, but during the week it's a really relaxed bar.

[Electro]

What kind of stuff are you into? I'm in Austin a lot. Got a lot of friends that throw parties, local shows and stuff. Could possibly see if you could get let in to a few places free if they are running some events.

No offense Serra; but I hated the Salt Lick. I'd rather eat at Stubb's (primarily because of the live entertainment). Also Hyde Park Restaurant #1 is pretty good. #2 is not the greatest. Also if you like seafood and what not head down to the boiling pot. Good shit right there.

[Zansho]

What kind of stuff are you into? I'm in Austin a lot. Got a lot of friends that throw parties, local shows and stuff. Could possibly see if you could get let in to a few places free if they are running some events.

No offense Serra; but I hated the Salt Lick. I'd rather eat at Stubb's (primarily because of the live entertainment). Also Hyde Park Restaurant #1 is pretty good. #2 is not the greatest. Also if you like seafood and what not head down to the boiling pot. Good shit right there.

I second this. The food for bbq is amazing at Stubbs. The Boiling Pot will roxxors your boxxors - I love that place. Also, head down to Juan in a Million for a REAL mexican breakfast - you won't be sorry.