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Austin City Limits Music Festival: 2018 Survival Guide

Did you get a ticket to Austin City Limits 2018? Well...good job, because this is one of the best festivals in the country. And if it weren't for us, you would have to spend a ton of your valuable time figuring out what hotels are best to stay at and how you should pack for the best weekend of your life.

But we are here for you – so we've already gotten a guide together about all this important stuff. This is your ACL Fest survival guide, with all the info you need to stay safe and have a great time. You’re welcome for that, Internet.

First things first: If you haven't gotten tickets yet, they're available on the ACL Festival website. The festival is two weekends long (Oct. 2-7 and Oct. 12-14), so you've got two opportunities to get out to Texas for this one.

GETTING THERE

Take A Plane
Check out the major discount sites – Kayak will compare results to a few others like Priceline and usually has a good rundown of prices – and make sure you get to it on the double! We're getting perilously close to the festival and prices will only skyrocket from here.

You Should Use the Free Shuttle
Starting at 10am each day, you can catch a shuttle to Zilker Park (that's where the festival is, guys) from Republic Square (the ACL Fest site says you board at the corner of 4th & Guadalupe) in Austin's downtown area. There will also be shuttles to take you back to Republic Square at the end of the night, but don't dilly-dally too long – the last shuttle leaves the festival grounds at 11 pm.

You Shouldn't Use Your Car
There’s no parking at Zilker Park during ACL Fest and parking is discouraged in neighborhoods close by out of respect for residents. In fast, they're even closing down some of the streets near the park because of residential concerns.

If you really need to take a car, though, there is designated parking at One Texas Center; it'll run you $10 on Saturday and Sunday and is almost a mile and a half away from the festival. There's also parking at the Palmer Event Center, which is about a mile away from Zilker Park. Check out a map over here. The shuttle will not stop at either of these locations, so be ready to walk – both before and after your long day.

Taxis
There's a special area for taxis to drop people off near ACL Festival's entrance and exit. There are going to be tons of people there, though – obviously – so be prepared to fight off the masses to actually hail a cab. You can't use Uber or Lyft in Austin, but Ride Austin is the go-to an alternative for hailing down rides.

Walking
Depending on exactly where you're staying, you're probably over a mile away from Zilker Park. If you're in downtown, you might be up to 2.5 miles away. It might not be that bad in the morning, but you'll want to plan ahead to avoid a long walk back after an exhausting day of watching awesome music. The ACL Fest website notes a "hike and bike" trail meant for festival-goers which will have extra lighting for maximum safety.

Biking
ACL Festival recommends biking; and we think it's a good idea too. The festival grounds have plenty of bike racks, so just bring a lock. It'll be quicker to move around when you're near the festival grounds compared to being locked in traffic in a car or taxi, so that's a big plus. Here are a few bike rental places near Zilker Park: