BELIEVE THE HYPE: Texas’s “Keep it weird” city is prime for winter travel, whether that’s group fitness in the great outdoors or honky-tonk dancing.
Here are five ways to crank up the fun.
1. Set Up Base Camp
The Hotel San José has a pool, live music, chili cook-offs, and yoga. It’s on South Congress, which is studded with western outfitters, karaoke bars, and so many restaurants.
2. Cruise the Streets
Rent a bike at Mellow Johnny’s and hit Festival Beach by 7:00 p.m. to meet 250 or so other riders for Thursday Night Social Ride. The route always stops at a park and ends at
a restaurant or bar.
3. Paddle!
Texas Rowing Center has the gear to kayak or paddleboard Lady Bird Lake. Make hundreds of new friends at Party Island, a flotilla of cooler-toting revelers at the inlet of Barton Creek.
4. Two-Step for Tacos
The White Horse, a honky-tonk in East Austin, has country music and free dance lessons. Outside, the Bomb Tacos food truck will help you recoup your calories.
5. Go Full Tiki
Tiki Tatsu-Ya is wild. The decor is thickets of plants, a two-story waterfall, and skulls. Order a group cocktail like the Skeleton Cruise and brace for a thunder-and-lightning show.
A version of this article originally appeared in the January/February 2023 issue of Men’s Health.
