Austin to Port A

October 16, 2008 4:53 PM

The best route to drive from Austin to Port Aransas, Texas?

If you know a faster way and a slower, more scenic one, plus something in between, bonus points to you!

posted by rleamon to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

35 to 37 in San Antonio's probably the quickest, although getting out of Austin is always slow, and can take 45 minutes if the traffic's bad.

You can also go 183 to Refugio and cut over on 77 to Corpus Christi. You can stop in Lockhart for barbecue.

Or you can catch 123 from San Marcos, switch to 181 in Kenedy, then take 77 from Sinton to Corpus and go on to the island.

There's really not a terrible lot to do on the way AFAIK, except for the afore-mentioned BBQ.
posted by Addlepated at 5:19 PM on October 16, 2008

My family has this insanely complicated, and easy to get lost, but allegedly fastest way to get there (my family is based in Austin, but one of my relatives lives in Port A and goes back and forth a lot). I don't have it memorized, and my family doesn't have it on the computer, otherwise I'd share it here. But really, just doing the 35 way is not too slow, and easy to navigate without hassle.
posted by fructose at 6:43 PM on October 16, 2008

fructose: you tease me! If you'll find out a couple of the towns they pass through, and/or road numbers/names I bet we can figure it out. TIA.
posted by rleamon at 7:36 PM on October 16, 2008

There is nothing good to say about the 35/37 route from Austin to Corpus.

The 183/77 and 123/181/77 routes mentioned by Addlepated take about the same amount of time as 35/37 and are much more pleasant. You'll see more trees, more quaint small towns, and, of course, more barbecue. You'll have to do a lot more passing on two-lane highways, though.
posted by cobra libre at 9:34 PM on October 16, 2008

The nice thing about driving in South Texas is that generally, slower drivers will pull over and drive on the shoulder to let you pass if you're on a two lane highway. That's not always the case, but it happens more often than not.

Generally speaking I'd say that if you're leaving Austin after 3:30 or so on a weekday, start out taking 183. If you're in the middle of rush hour, all bets are off for 183 moving, but that's the case with all the highways.

If you do take 35, get on it earlier rather than later. Especially don't try to get on at Ben White, because that intersection is UGLY with no flyover. Most traffic on the south Austin access roads is heavy though, hence my advice to get on 35 by at least downtown.

And if you're planning a Thanksgiving trip, my most earnest advice to you is to get the hell out of Dodge by at least 6 am on Wednesday morning so as to avoid the 50,000 UT students going home for the weekend.
posted by Addlepated at 10:11 PM on October 16, 2008

Thank you cobra libre and addlepated! Looks like we have a choice of winners. For the record, a relative writes:

- I-35--with a choice in Corpus of going over the Padre Island bridge and then heading north on 361 0r turning north on 181 to Aransas Pass and taking the oh-so-romantic ferry ride to Port A.

- 183 south to Lockhart and Luling, then 80 to "The Presidents" (Nixon and Kenedy), and then 181 to Aransas Pass and the afore-mentioned ferry.

Which sync somewhat with the best answers. See ya at the beach!
posted by rleamon at 6:17 AM on October 17, 2008