What are Texas Excursions?
While in the city, you hop on the bus or grab a share bike, but how do you plan to visit the rest of the state? You may have noticed that Texas is a pretty car-oriented place. There is even a magazine dedicated to our roadways called Texas Highways, and a show on our local public television station all about mini-roadtrips, the Day-Tripper. While we may not all have access to our own private transportation there are some things you can do to try to get out of Austin and see the rest of the state.
- Megabus is a coachline that can take you to nearby cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.
- You can get together with friends and share the cost of a rental car.
- For the outdoorsy type, you can try out an Adventure Trip with Recsports!
- Finally, you can join the Intercultural Programs Team’s Texas Excursions which are open to any member of UT’s international community: visiting researchers & scholars, international & exchange students, ESL students and the families thereof.
Where are we going?
Natural Bridge Caverns & Shopping at the San Marcos Premium Outlets
This one is coming up fast–we are heading out this Saturday morning (September 14)! Please register by Thursday, September 12 if you wish to join. Two Texas Global Staff-ers and fellow international students & scholars head South to visit the Natural Bridge Caverns and enjoy a guided tourin the morning. The caverns are usually around 21 degrees Celcius year-round, making it a welcome relief as the summer lingers on into September. In the afternoon, everyone hops back on the bus to engage in some retail therapy and shop at the San Marcos Premium Outlets. This is the time to do a little holiday shopping or fill in the gaps of what you forgot to bring from your home country.
Houston Zoo & Museum District
Attendees of this excursion on Saturday, October 5 start their day together at the Houston Zoo, located in Hermann Park in the heart of the city’s Museum District. Afterwards, you are free to explore the rest of the district. We recommend you spend a little time enjoying the cooler weather by taking a walk through the park and then choose another museum to visit before reconvening at the bus and heading back to Austin that evening. Make sure you bring your UT ID to take advantage of student discounts.
Scream Hollow: Wicked Halloween Park
Do Stephen King novels dominate your bookshelf? Are you someone who suggests Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, It, and The Ring when you get together with friends for a movie night? Then Halloween season is your time to shine! You’ll notice that Halloween is a big deal in the U.S.; we love to get hyper on too much sugar, cover our houses in fake skeletons and cheery pumpkin lanterns, all while forcing our children to wear a spooky (or silly) disguise and parade them around the neighborhood.
In honor of the season, this is the first time that we are taking an excursion to Scream Hollow, an award-winning Halloween Park in Smithville that boasts 4 elaborate haunted houses, or as they say “18 buildings, 20 acres of screams”. Please join us (there is safety in numbers) on Friday night, October 25, and kick off your Halloween weekend.
San Antonio Spurs NBA Game
Always one of our most popular Excursions, we will once again be venturing down to San Antonio to enjoy a Spurs basketball game Thursday evening on November 7. The Spurs will be taking on the OKC Thunder at 7:30 p.m. International Longhorns are invited to access the arena early. We will get to sit near the court to watch both teams’ players during their pre-game warm up before heading up into the stands to enjoy the game.
What is included?
Each trip varies a little but transportation is always included. Saturday excursions are often planned around a structured activity in the morning with free time in the afternoon. If there is a structured activity for the group planned, then an admission ticket will also be included in the fare. Make sure you take note of what is and isn’t included before you purchase!
Meals are not included in these trips unless specified. Consider bringing bus snacks, breakfast, sack lunches as a way to save money and keep hunger at bay!
What if my friend/family member wants to join?
They are more than welcome to join! You will need to purchase a ticket separately for each friend or family member who wishes to attend with you and enter the appropriate details when registering.
Some activities (like visiting the zoo in Houston) are family friendly, while others (like Scream Hollow) are not appropriate for young children. Please consider the activity when you are thinking of including younger friends and family members. Also, because Texas is large and we want to give you as much time as possible in our destination, please be conscious of your child and the long duration of each trip.
Insurance (It is important-don’t forget it!)
If you are NOT covered by the student health insurance plan because you are covered by an alternative insurance plan, you will need to let us know the name of your insurance plan and your policy number when you purchase your seat.
If a family member or friend is joining you, and he or she is NOT covered by an insurance plan here in the United States, he/she will need to add the $10 insurance charge to their order.
