Charter Bus Rentals in Austin, Texas

Why Rent a Charter Bus in Austin?

Although Austin isn’t as big as Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio, Texas’ capital city is still relatively spread out. Unless you’re located in the heart of Downtown Austin, getting around without a personal vehicle can be tricky. If you’re with a large group, traveling can be even more challenging. A charter bus rental can be an effective way to get around the area for large groups who’re dreading organizing a multi-car caravan. But we do understand that groups need to fully explore all of their transportation options, so check out the most common ways you can get around Austin:

• Capital Metro Public Transit: Austin has a great public transportation system that includes light rail, bus, and express bus services with fares starting at $1.25 a ride. These services are widespread throughout Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, making them great for guests like solo business travelers. Keep in mind, though, that fees can quickly rack up for big groups and nabbing a seat on public transport isn’t guaranteed. If you’re planning to travel outside of the city (particularly farther west and east), getting a private ride is a better bet.
• Rideshare Services: Popular rideshare services have seen quite a pushback from Austin city officials for a few years. Services like Uber and Lyft were banned from the city in 2016 but made a swift comeback in 2017. Now, you can use these popular services or choose a local option like nonprofit Ride Austin. Solo travelers and groups of up to 6 people can simply catch a rideshare, but large groups will need to hail several vehicles. These services can also become a bit scarce during big events, and nobody enjoys having to pay surge rates.
• Taxis: Along with rideshares, traditional cabs are another form of transportation you can hail in Austin. Yellow Cab is Austin’s most widespread taxi company, and you can easily find their vehicles at busy locations like Austin-Bergstrom International Airport or call ahead for scheduled service. Supporting local taxi drivers is always a wonderful gesture, but fares can become a big portion of your travel budget. You’ll also need to hail a cab from each and every location on your Austin itinerary, which is far from convenient.
• Charter bus: Renting a charter bus is a way for large groups to travel around Austin while staying together the entire time. If you’re just a few travelers, a charter bus might be overkill. But if your passenger list includes 10 or more people, it’s highly recommended you snag a convenient group transportation option. Choosing a bus company like Shofur will give you a private driver and a designated ride from stop to stop. Best of all, your charter bus will be sized to accommodate your number of passengers. So medium-sized groups won’t have to worry about paying for more space than needed. Instead, you can choose from a few compact minibus models.

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Wedding Shuttle Bus Rentals in Austin

For many couples, planning a wedding takes months of hard work. From picking a venue and catering service to making a guest list and organizing seating arrangements, your plate will be filled with things to do. Shofur can help take one thing off your to-do list—the transportation!

Booking an Austin charter bus for your wedding is an excellent option to simplify the event for both you and your guests. Couples planning large ceremonies in busy areas like Downtown Austin can quickly run into some traffic concerns. The area is already known for its gridlock, and having a long list of guests arriving and departing an event isn’t ideal. Rather than having guests struggle to find parking, consolidate everyone’s travel efforts with a shuttle bus service from Shofur. Rent a bus with WiFi and a PA system so guests can play music and get excited for your wonderful wedding service.

Is your reception taking place at a separate venue from your ceremony? Shuttle your guests from a beautiful waterfront ceremony at Lady Bird Lake to reception venues like Green Pastures to celebrate your union.

If you need a group ride for other wedding-related events, don’t worry! We provide minibus and charter bus services for the following events as well:

• Bachelor and bachelorette parties
• Bridal showers
• Rehearsal dinners

Austin Charter Buses for Corporate Events

Texas’ capital city is a major center for big business events like national conferences, conventions, and trade shows. Large venues like the Austin Convention Center and the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center host hundreds of corporate events every year. If you need a bus company to provide shuttle services for attendees, Shofur can leverage a nationwide network of transportation partners for your event.

Rent a charter bus or even a fleet of buses to pick up event guests at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and shuttle them between hotels, business centers, and local hotspots. Business guests will travel in complete comfort with amenities (provided upon request) like WiFi to complete work on the road and power outlets to charge up electronic devices before a long day of seminars and workshops. Out-of-town visitors also won’t need to worry about getting lost on Austin roads (let’s be honest, GPS services have failed all of us at least once). They’ll have a professional driver who’s familiar with the area taking care of navigation.

Austin is home to corporate headquarters for everything from large multinational businesses to thriving startups. If you need a regular corporate transportation service, you can count on Shofur for employee shuttle services around the Austin area. We’re able to easily book recurring shuttle services to your company’s campus for hardworking employees who need efficient transportation.

Sporting Event Transportation in Austin

Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium at University of Texas Austin. Image Credit: Jason Mowry on Unsplash

Sports are a way of life for many Texans. From high school athletics to the professional leagues, sports fans have plenty of teams to choose from and support. But if you know anything about sports in Austin, you know the Texas capital is college football country (UT Austin territory, to be exact).

UT Austin Longhorns fans can book a motorcoach to shuttle everyone to campus for big tailgates and games. Traffic and parking at the Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium can be notoriously hectic on game day. A bus rental will help eliminate the stress of game-day travel for your campus organization, an alumni association, or any other group of Longhorns fans.

Shofur also has the transportation covered for groups in need of a shuttle to professional games. Take your Austin charter bus to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a Cowboys game, or shuttle down to San Antonio to cheer on the Spurs.

Are you organizing long-distance travel for an upcoming away game? Don’t sweat the transportation, Coach. Shofur will have that handled for your games in El Paso, Oklahoma City, and beyond. A charter bus rental from Austin will ensure your players have more than enough space to stretch out and catch up on rest before the big game.

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Field Trip Bus Rentals in Austin

School classes, scout troops, and local youth groups have a variety of educational destinations to visit around Austin. Small children can get hands-on with exhibits at the Thinkery, science classes can learn about native fauna at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and history students can immerse themselves in Texas’ past at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. No matter where your academic travels take you and your students, make sure everyone has the best field trip ride possible.

You can request that your Austin charter bus rental is equipped with TVs and DVD players, WiFi, and power outlets. Students and chaperones alike can pass the time watching educational movies, playing online games, or catching up on social media while on the road.

Austin educators looking for a safe and reliable bus company can feel confident when booking services with Shofur. Each and every transportation partner in our network includes vetted professionals and thoroughly-inspected bus rentals, meaning your students will have the safest field trip possible.

Build your educational itinerary and ride to one of these top field trip spots around Austin:

Thinkery

Address:1830 Simond Ave, Austin, TX 78723

Phone: (512) 469-6200

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Address: 4801 La Crosse Ave, Austin, TX 78739

Phone: (512) 232-0100

Bullock Texas State History Museum

Address:1800 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701

Phone: (512) 936-8746

Austin Zoo

Address: 10808 Rawhide Trail, Austin, TX 78736

Phone: (512) 288-1490

College Tours in Austin

The Austin area is home to one of the state’s largest schools—The University of Texas at Austin. If you’re a local educator planning a group tour of the UT Austin campus, call Shofur to book a comfortable campus shuttle for your Longhorn hopefuls. Having a comfortable ride is especially important if you’re planning to visit several local schools in one day. Beat the Texas heat after a long day of tours in a climate-controlled charter bus with reclining seats. Whether you’re traveling with a high school group, community organization, or junior college students, Shofur will pair you with a bus rental to perfectly meet your needs.

Are your Austin students wanting to tour campuses a little farther from home? Easily shuttle to nearby schools like TSU in San Marcos, Texas A&M in College Station, and Baylor in Waco.

The University of Texas at Austin

Address:110 Inner Campus Drive, Austin, TX 78705

Phone: (512) 471-3434

St. Edward's University

Address: 3001 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704

Phone: (512) 448-8400

Huston-Tillotson University

Address: 900 Chicon St, Austin, TX 78702

Phone: (512) 505-3000

Texas State University

Address: 601 University Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666

Phone: (512) 245-2111

Distance from Austin: ~30 miles or 45 minutes

Texas A&M University

Address: 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843

Phone: (979) 845-3211

Distance from Austin: ~105 miles or 1.5 hours

Baylor University

Address: 1311 S 5th St, Waco, TX 76706

Phone: (800) 229-5678

Distance from Austin: ~110 miles or 1.5 hours

Current university students can also book a charter bus or minibus for upcoming campus events. Although we don’t rent party buses, we can easily find your group a minibus to suit your event needs. From Greek life formals to volunteer events for the community, a bus rental will keep your campus organization traveling safely and smoothly.

Charter Bus Rentals to SXSW and Top Austin Events

Traveling in Austin during South by Southwest can be a nightmare. The massive event brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city along with a plethora of changes to the local road systems. Event organizers and attendees alike should consider booking a charter bus service to shuttle groups around the Austin area. Shofur’s large network allows event organizers to build a motorcoach fleet of any size to shuttle guests between venues, hotels, and off-site parking areas.

Shofur can provide efficient transportation services to any and every major event in Austin. Rent your bus or fleet of buses to these top events:

• SXSW - March
• Austin City Limits Festival - October
• Formula 1 United States Grand Prix - October
• Trail of Lights - December

If you need recurring shuttle transportation for a multi-week event, let your reservation specialist know and we can draw up a short- or long-term contract for you. 

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Bus Trips from Austin to Houston

The drive from Austin to Houston is only about 2.5 hours and can be an easy trip for small groups. Everyone can pile into one car and drive to each destination on their Houston itinerary. But organizing a big group trip to Houston will require a bit more planning. Make your next friends’ trip or family vacation to Houston as easy as possible with a bus rental and professional driver.

Most routes take you through relatively small towns with few attractions. Groups of ice cream lovers taking Highway 290 to Houston should consider stopping in Brenham to visit the original Blue Bell Creamery. Grab some tasty sweets, check out the Blue Bell Visitor Center, and learn how ice cream is made from the creamery’s observation deck.

If you’d rather skip the pit stops, bring your favorite movies to play on your bus’s TVs, download a few podcasts with onboard WiFi, or get some shut eye in reclining seats. Once you make it to Houston, have your driver shuttle you to Space Center Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, or anywhere else across the city.

Bus Trips from Austin to Dallas

Making the 3-hour trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth area is well worth it for thrill seekers and sports lovers. The DFW Metroplex is home to Six Flags Over Texas, top professional sports teams, and several educational attractions perfect for kids. Cheer on the Cowboys with your Austin-based fan club, ride Six Flags’ 13 roller coasters during a family reunion, or explore major historic events with your educational group at the Sixth Floor Museum. You’ll have plenty to fill your itinerary during a weekend trip to Dallas, and you’ll have Shofur to help you travel from stop to stop.

On your trip from Austin to Dallas, make a pit stop in Waco to visit small attractions like the Dr Pepper Museum, the Waco Mammoth National Monument, or even the beautiful Baylor University campus. The remainder of your trip will take you through pretty small towns where you can make stops for bites to eat.

Our Favorite Group-Friendly Destinations in Austin

Austin has a lot to see and do—so much so that you might have a problem narrowing down what to add to your itinerary. While building your trip schedule, add these stops to your trip and let your driver handle how you’ll get there:

Texas State Capitol

Great for: School classes and private groups of tourists

Visiting a capitol building may sound a bit dry, but if you’re a major history, politics, or architecture buff, you’ll want to make a stop here. Located in Downtown Austin, the Texas Capitol is the heart of the state’s government. Constructed in 1888, it’s the 6th-tallest capitol building in the country and is actually taller than the US Capitol in Washington D.C. (everything's bigger in Texas, right?) The capitol is hailed as one of the most beautiful buildings in the state, boasting amazing Italian Renaissance Revival architecture. Free guided tours and field trips can be scheduled by phone or online.

Bus Tip: Most visitor parking around the capitol building is in a nearby garage. If you’re traveling by charter bus, you won’t be able to park in the garage. Have your driver unload everyone at a designated zone on Brazos Street before parking along Trinity Street at Waterloo Park.

Address: 1100 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704-1728

Phone: (512) 463-0063

Zilker Botanical Garden and Zilker Park

Great for: Senior outings and groups of nature lovers

Zilker Park is the most popular metro park in the city. It’s a hotspot for sunbathing, exercising, and water activities at Barton Springs Municipal Pool and along the Colorado River. On a warm Texas day, there's no better way to beat the heat than by paddleboarding or kayaking through part of the city.

Groups with older travelers or those who aren’t too keen on water sports should take a trip to the park’s neighboring botanical garden. The Zilker Botanical Garden houses thousands of flower displays, including a serene Japanese garden, a fragrant rose garden, and a unique prehistoric garden that replicates the habitats of some Cretaceous-era dinosaurs. Guided group tours can be scheduled for a fee of $75 per group of 15 people.

Bus tip: Expect large crowds and high-volume traffic during spring and summer weekends. Parking at the botanical gardens can be limited on busy days. If there isn’t space for your bus, you may have to organize pick-up/drop-off at the garden and parking at Zilker Park’s public lots.

Botanical Garden Address: 2220 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78746

Phone: (512) 477-8672

Lady Bird Lake

Great for: All types of groups

Austin really is an outdoorsy city, and this spot is another popular place to stretch your legs, enjoy the views, or have a group photo op. Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir of the Colorado River, offers some lovely waterfront views of Downtown Austin and surrounding neighborhoods. You can run, hike, and bike several waterfront trails, take postcard-worthy views from the boardwalk, and bat-watch at the Congress Avenue Bridge (Austin’s colony of Mexican free-tailed bats are pretty famous residents). If you start your paddleboarding or kayaking journey at Zilker Park’s portion of the Colorado River, you’ll inevitably end up at Lady Bird Lake.

Bus tip: Most parking near the lake is available along the street or at public lots located in Zilker Park, Ladybird Lake-Lamar Beach Metro Park, and Town Lake Metropolitan Park. We’d highly recommend taking a stroll around this area to get the most of your visit. If you’re traveling with guests who have mobility concerns, you can have your driver shuttle your group from point A to point B along the lake.

Parking Address near Lady Bird Lake Boardwalk: 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St, Austin, TX 78702

Austin Office of Parks & Recreation Phone: (512) 974-6700

6th Street

Great for: Bachelor and bachelorette party groups and adult birthday bashes

Austin is sometimes referred to as the Live Music Capital of the World due to the many music venues across the city. 6th Street is at the heart of Austin's live music scene, and on any given weekend, you're sure to find music ringing through the streets from nearly every establishment. This popular street, infamously referred to as Dirty Sixth, is the place for groups who want to experience some of the best nightlife in Texas. Along 6th Street, you’ll find dozens of local spots ranging from upscale lounges to classic dive bars. We’d recommend starting your evening at the historic Driskill Hotel (often just called The Driskill) for swanky cocktails and then continuing with your night.

Bus tip: Every Shofur bus rental comes with a private driver, meaning you’ll have built-in DD for every stop on your Sixth Street bar hop. Renting a 56-passenger charter bus will be the most convenient option to easily traverse the busy street. Just be sure to organize parking and pick-up/drop-off options with your driver beforehand.

Driskill Hotel Address: 604 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701

Hotel Phone: (512) 439-1234

Mount Bonnel

Great for: Tourist groups in need of top-quality photo opportunities and local hikers

This 800-foot summit is located in Covert Park just 5 miles outside of Downtown Austin and offers sweeping views of the Colorado River, Lake Asutin, the city skyline, and surrounding Texas Hill Country. The hike to the top of the mountain will take you about 10 minutes (or about 110 steps) and is relatively easy if you’re an active bunch. Unfortunately, the staircase to the top of Mount Bonnell is neither stroller-friendly nor mobility-device-friendly. So if you’re traveling with elderly passengers or those with mobility concerns, you’ll want to skip the hike up Mount Bonnell. Instead, you can explore the beautiful landscape surrounding the base of the mountain in Covert Park.

Visiting Mount Bonnell is a short trip. Most guests spend less than an hour exploring the area. Once you’re done getting your photos from the top of the mountain, shuttle over to nearby Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve or The Contemporary Austin Laguna Gloria.

Bus tip: Parking at Mount Bonnell can get very crowded on busy days. The parking area is located along the road and may not be suitable for full-size models of motorcoach. A sprinter van rental or minibus is one of the best group transportation options around this area.

Address: 3800 Bonnell Dr, Austin, TX 78731-5846

Phone: (512) 974-6700

Book an Austin Charter Bus Today

Transportation should be the least of your worries during your next Austin group trip. From shuttles around town to long-distance travel, Shofur has your Texas travels covered. Call us at 1-800-436-8719 for a free, no-obligation bus rental quote. Our team is available around the clock to discuss your group’s transportation needs. We’ll just need trip information like passenger count and travel dates to pair you with the best bus.