100 Creative Date Ideas In Austin
You’ve done dinner and a movie a hundred times..…but what about some other fun date ideas in Austin? There are so many amazing things to do in Austin, and with just a bit of planning you can get out of your normal date rut and try something that bonds you closer as a couple.
100 Creative Date Ideas in Austin
Browse through these Austin date night ideas until something sparks an interest! (Of course, if you just want a classic dinner night, one of the best ways to spend a night in Austin is to head to a cocktail bar followed by one of the best Austin restaurants.)
BUT..if you've done dinner + drinks a hundred times and you want to spice things up, go ahead and get creative!
1. Play a round at Peter Pan Mini Golf. It’s been operating since 1948 and it’s an Austin classic. If you haven’t been lately, mini golf is a fun (and often hysterical) date idea. |WEBSITE|
2. Painting With a Twist is always fun because you get to do something (paint), drink something, and enjoy conversation and make some memories. |WEBSITE|
3. Hiking. There are so many great places to hike in Austin, but the River Place Trail is an especially good one if you want something a bit challenging. It’s a 5.5-mile out-and-back trail with some nice hill work.
4. Couples Massage at Viva Day Spa or one of the other amazing day spas in Austin.
5. See a drive-in movie on a rooftop garage. Did you know there's a drive-in movie theater on the rooftop of a downtown Austin parking garage? |WEBSITE|
6. Wine tasting at Wanderlust Wine Co. in downtown Austin, where you get to pour your own wine from dozens of taps to create your own personalized tasting. 610 N Interstate Hwy 35 |WEBSITE|
7. Reserve a pair of daybeds at a rooftop hotel pool in Austin. The Fairmont, South Congress Hotel, and Hotel Van Zandt are solid options.
8. Visit a new (to you) brewery. Here are all the Austin breweries that also serve full food menus.
9. See a show at Moody Amphitheater. There are seat up front and a big grassy area in the back. Here's a line up of all their concerts.
10. Get tickets to a concert at ACL live. That's about as Austin-y as it gets!
11. See a comedy show at Cap City Comedy. |WEBSITE|
12. Cheese tasting class at Antonelli's. They're Austin's most beloved cheese shop, located in a hundred-year-old house in Hyde Park (central Austin.) There are all sorts of classes offered, like cheese + jam pairings, cheese + beer tastings, raclette social nights, and more. |WEBSITE| Photo from Antonelli's Facebook
13. Swim some laps at Deep Eddy Pool. And then lounge on the grassy banks and take a nap together.
14. Go roller skating at Austin Roller Rink. |WEBSITE|
15. Listen to live jazz music at the Elephant Room, Austin's most well-known jazz bar. It's tucked into the downstairs floor of a downtown Austin building on Congress Ave. Or check out another iconic Austin music venue.
16. Take a glass blowing class at Ghost Pepper Glass, Austin's foremost glass blowing studio located in east Austin. |WEBSITE|
17. See a performance by the Austin Opera.
18. Go antiquing at Pavement Austin
19. Go gaming at Cidercade. Bonus points if you’re not a gamer because then it’s really funny. |WEBSITE|
20. Go grocery shopping (and eating) at Hmart, the most amazing Asian grocery store that's stocked with ingredients that are hard to find elsewhere + premade food.
21. Take a pilates class together. TLSATX is a beloved pilates studio among local Austinites. Photo via Classpass.
22. Go window shopping for furniture at Blu Dot in downtown Austin. There are only a few locations of this modern furniture store around the country, and Austin has one of them!
23. Go to the “beach” at Emma Long park. Located at 1600 City Park Rd. This is typically crowded on weekends, but if you can take a day off work and do a weekday morning date, it's quiet and relaxing.
24. Rent jet skis on Lake Travis. Lake Travis Boat Rentals is a great company! |WEBSITE|
25. Bring a board game to a brewery, like St Elmo, Meanwhile Brewing, or Hop Squad.
26. Go out for milkshakes at The Yard. These milkshakes are NO JOKE so either plan on splitting one (aww, romantic!) or possibly going into a sugar coma. |WEBSITE|
27. Get your bikes out of the garage and do a few laps at the Veloway. 4900 La Crosse Ave
28. Go to a coffee shop and read a magazine.
29. Go to Bookpeople and look for a new cookbook to use that week at home.
30. Volunteer at Austin pets Alive. |WEBSITE|
31. Visit the Blanton Museum of Art. Psst: check out their website for info on free days!
32. Book tickets to the Austin Symphony. Performances are on Friday and Saturday nights.
33. See an IMAX showing at the Bob Bullock museum. I mean, when was the last time you saw an IMAX? 6th grade?
34. Visit a farmers market. Mueller has an amazing one on Sunday mornings.
35. Take a day trip to Wimberley, Round Top, or Gruene
36. Picnic at the top of Mount Bonnell.
37. Go to a book signing at Bookpeople. Check out their calendar, because they have some incredible authors coming through on a weekly basis to give talks, shake hands, and sign books.
38. Go ice skating at Chaparrel ice center. Rent some ice skates and channel your inner Tara Lipinski. |WEBSITE|
39. Watch an Austin FC soccer game. They're the largest professional sports team in Austin and the brand new Q2 Stadium is beautiful and full of lots of local food vendors. Listos!
40. Go bowling at Highland Lanes. It's an iconic bowling alley in ATX.
41. Go to a trivia night. There are so many local bars and breweries that offer weekly trivia nights (typically on Tue/Wed/Thur nights.) A quick google search will help you find one near you!
42. Book a food tour. The Austin Eats Food Tours are amazing and show you the REAL Austin.
43. Take an aerial yoga class at Lache Movement Co. |WEBSITE|
44. Go on a trail run together. The Austin greenbelt is a beautiful trail with a trailhead right by Tacodeli on Spyglass.
45. Dip in Barton Springs pool. Brrr!! Just like with the other popular tourist activities in Austin, try to go on a weekday morning if possible. It will be quiet and mostly empty.
46. Take a ballroom dance class at Fred Astaire dance studio.
47. See a play at the Zach Theatre. It’s the oldest continually active theatre in the state of Texas. |WEBSITE|
48. Do an escape room at The Austin Panic Room
49. Check out an Austin speakeasy. Here nor there is a really fun one in Austin. |WEBSITE|
50. Hike to Sculpture Falls and then take a dip. The trail entrance is at 3900 Mopac Frontage Road (you'll see a bunch of cars parked there) and from there it's about a 1.5 mile hike to the falls.
51. Go rock climbing at The Austin Bouldering Project. |WEBSITE|
52. Go on a beautiful walk through the Zilker Botanical Gardens.
53. Rent a double kayak and head out on Lady Bird lake.
54. Go to Uptown Cheapskate and pick out the most ridiculous thrift outfit you can find for each other. You have to wear it for the rest of hte date.
55. Get a tarot reading done at Austin Tarot Reader. |WEBSITE|
56. Take a trip to Ikea in Round Rock to buy some new furniture for your place. Spend the next 4 weeks trying to put together said furniture.
57. Go to a festival in Austin - there are TONs of them year-round! BBQ, music, film, beer, fermented foods, hot sauce, and more.
58. Shop for new local art for your home at Austin Art Garage, which features 100% local Austin artists. |WEBSITE|
59. Visit a CBD shop and buy something fun. RESTART is a fun one that's owned by local Austin sisters. The storefront in north Austin has knowledgable staff who will help you find what you need.
60. Go skinny dipping at Hippie Hollow. Every Austinite has to try it at least once. |WEBSITE|
61. Celebrate christmas in July at Lala’s Little Nugget, a year-round Christmas-themed bar in north Austin.
62. Pick out a fancy recipe to make, then go on a leisurely shopping trip to Whole Foods together for the ingredients. Sip some wine while you shop
63. If you’ve lived in Austin for a long time, go to Dirty Sixth street.
64. See a drag show at Cheer Up Charlies. |WEBSITE|
65. Catch a standup comedy show at Fallout Theater. |WEBSITE|
66. Do one of the most touristy things you can find, like taking a tour with Austin Duck Adventures.
67. Go to a rooftop patio bar.
68. If you haven’t toured the Texas State Capitol since grade school, try that out for a day date.
69. See a magic show at Magic’s Theater in southwest Austin. |WEBSITE|
70. Go on a daredevil date and check out Lake Travis Zip Lines. They offer 3-hour zip line tours on the longest and fastest zip lines in Texas. |WEBSITE|
71. Visit The Range and get a shooting package for your date. |WEBSITE|
72. Bring a hammock to the Greenbelt and take a nap together in the woods
73. Drive out to the Hill Country and visit one of the many distilleries. Desert Door Sotol is really cool! |WEBSITE|
74. Get a workout in by renting a pair of stand up paddle boards for an hour.
75. Get a cooler of beer and go down to San Marcos to float the river. Texas State Tubes is a popular tube rental company for this. |WEBSITE|
76. Spend a day shopping on SOCO.
77. Play a round at Top Golf Austin.
78. Head to The Domain for an afternoon of shopping
79. Lay in the hammock at Pease Park
80. See a performance at The Vortex and eat at Patrizi’s (kiiiinda like dinner and a movie, but way different.) |WEBSITE|
81. Play some classic arcade games at The Original Pinballz Arcade. |WEBSITE|
82. Go hiking at the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve. Pack a picnic to enjoy at the halfway point.
83. Play a round of golf at the Omni Barton Creek Resort (and then get a massage at their amazing spa!)
84. Go shopping for a pair of cowboy boots, and then take them to the Broken Spoke for a night of two-stepping.
85. Cheer on the Longhorns at a UT college football game.
86. Ditto for any other sport at UT…check out the men or women’s teams for basketball, soccer, swimming, etc. Those tickets are incredibly inexpensive.
87. See a show at the 100-year-old Paramount Theater in downtown Austin. |WEBSITE|
88. Experience Broadway in Austin at the Bass Performance Hall
89. See Austin from above with a helicopter ride with ATX Heli Tours. |WEBSITE|
90. See a ballet at Austin Ballet
91. Let out your angst and throw some Axes at Austin Urban Axe. |WEBSITE|
92. Watch a race at Circuit of the Americas.
93. Go to the Thinkery21. Yep, The Thinkery is a children's museum, but once a month they open it for their adults-only happy hour. |WEBSITE|
94. Race each other at K1 Speed Indoor Kart Racing. |WEBSITE|
95. Wander through The Contemporary Art Museum in downtown Austin
96. See the peacocks at Mayfield Park. It’s free, a little bit unique, and a great Austin space to wander and walk and talk.
97. Catch a yoga class together at Black Swan Yoga. |WEBSITE|
98. Do a DIY project at Upstairs Circus. It’s a bar + studio where you can enjoy a cocktail while you do a DIY project like leather stamping, jewelry, and more. |WEBSITE|
99. Book an overnight stay at a fun Austin hotel. Check out The Carpenter Hotel. It’s a south Austin hotel that’s nestled in a pecan tree grove. It has an amazing pool, an award-winning restaurant, and a fantastic coffee shop.
100. Soak up the benefits of Austin Salt Cave. It incorporates 11 tons of himalayan salt, which has all sorts of health benefits. |WEBSITE|
