BEST IN TEXAS

Austin and its neighbors earn top nods from 2023 Texas Travel Awards

Austin's Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park was named the Best Park in the state.

Courtesy of Pease Park Conservancy

Austinites and Cedar Park residents have some of the best attractions in the state, according to the 2023 Texas Travel Awards. The winners of these prestigious awards offer some of the most unique experiences that every traveler should see for themselves.

The Texas Travel Awards were created by Austin Monthly, San Antonio Magazine, and Texas Music publishers, and the winners are decided by a panel of industry professional judges, travel journalists, and a musician. 60 categories were chosen and split between statewide best attractions, and best attractions by population into three groups: small market, mid market, and big market.

Austin took home one award in both the population and statewide categories. The city's Hotel Viata was deemed the Best "Big Market" Hotel, and Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park was named the Best Park in the state.

In Cedar Park, the locally-owned Black Sugar Caffe took home the award for the Best "Mid Market" Restaurant. The cafe has two other locations in Round Rock and Georgetown.

Additionally, several surrounding cities in the Hill Country took home awards in three other categories. The winner of the Best “Mid Market” Outdoor Activity is Glow Kayak Tours in San Marcos, which is located just between San Antonio and Austin. As for the Best "Mid Market" Destination Marketing Campaign, that award went to Temple's local digital mag The Temple Ticket. And William Chris Vineyards in Hye won the award for the Best Winery statewide. Considering the popularity of the winery's new wine school, we totally understand why they deserve the recognition.

For the second consecutive year, the Texas Travel Awards created People's Choice awards for the public to vote on the best destinations in four categories: arts and culture, families, foodies, and outdoor adventures.

Unfortunately for Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth-area cities swept in the People's Choice category. Dallas won the award for Best Destination for Arts and Culture, and Grapevine won the Best Destination for Families award. The outlying towns of Granbury and Mineral Wells took home the awards for Best Destinations for Foodies and Outdoor Adventures, respectively.

Elsewhere in Texas, the Hill Country city of New Braunfels just outside San Antonio took home 12 awards, the most out of any Texas city in this year's rankings. Two Houston neighbors, Baytown and The Woodlands, took home five awards total.

The full list of winners in the 2023 Texas Travel Awards can be found on their website.

travel vacations awards texas hill country austin cedar park hye san marcos

A New Frontier

Ultra-low cost airline adds 4 new nonstop flights from Austin in 2025

Photo courtesy of Frontier Airlines

undefined

New low-cost, nonstop flights are on the horizon for Austin travelers. Budget-friendly carrier Frontier Airlines will double its nonstop routes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) in 2025 by adding four new destinations to its docket.

According to a release, Frontier will launch nonstop service from Austin to Orlando (MCO), Chicago (ORD), Cincinnati (CVG), and Phoenix (PHX) in March 2025. The four new routes join its existing nonstop service from Austin to Atlanta (ATL), Cleveland (CLE), Denver (DEN), and Las Vegas (LAS).

Service to Orlando and Chicago begins March 6, 2025, and will operate three times a week. Service to Cincinnati and Phoenix follows on March 7, 2025, and will be available twice a week.

In conjunction with the announcement, the discount airline is promoting fares as low as $49 each way for the new routes on select travel dates. The special rates are available for Frontier's Discount Den members through November 25 only.

A review of standard fares for March travel on the new routes shows prices ranging from $253-$289 round trip per person.

“It’s fantastic to see our partners at Frontier expand their offerings to AUS customers,” said AUS CEO Ghizlane Badawi in the release. “Providing ultra-low cost nonstop flights to our community plays an important role in giving options to travelers and making air travel accessible for Central Texans.”

A reminder for future Frontier travelers: The low-cost airline currently operates out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's South Terminal, along with Allegiant Airlines. In 2026, both airlines will relocate to the main Barbara Jordan Terminal, as the South Terminal is slated to close amid airport expansion plans.

abia frontier austin airport nonstop flights