Austin City Limits runs across two weekends in October at Zilker Park, and it fills the city both times. If you are renting a car for it, the practical considerations are different from a normal Austin visit.
It is two weekends, not one
This catches people out. ACL runs consecutive three-day weekends with largely the same lineup. Both fill hotels and both tighten car availability — and the second weekend often has better availability than the first, because most people plan for weekend one.
If your dates are flexible, weekend two is usually easier to book and slightly cheaper.
Do not plan to park at Zilker
There is no meaningful parking at Zilker Park during ACL. The festival runs shuttles, rideshare zones are set back from the gates, and the streets around Barton Springs Road are closed or permit-only.
What this means in practice: the car is for everything except the festival itself. Get to ACL by shuttle or rideshare, and use the rental for the Hill Country, Lake Travis, dinner on South Congress, and the drive out to Fredericksburg on the day between weekends.
What to rent
October in Austin is the best weather of the year, which makes it convertible season. A drop-top on Loop 360 past the Pennybacker Bridge overlook at golden hour is the single best hour you will spend in the car.
The Corvette C8 is our most-booked car for ACL weekends — mid-engine, 495 horsepower, available as a convertible, and starting around $399 a day, which leaves budget for the rest of the trip.
Watch the calendar
ACL sits close to the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in October. If your dates land on both, book far earlier — F1 week is the tightest supply of the year across all of Texas.
Delivery
Curbside at Austin–Bergstrom (AUS) with flight tracking, or to hotels across Downtown, South Congress, Rainey Street, East Austin and Westlake.
Requirements
You must be 21 or older with a valid driver’s licence and a major credit card in your own name.
Call or text 813-921-6973. See the Hill Country drives guide for where to actually take it, or the Austin page for the full service area.
More Austin rental guides
- How much does it cost to rent a luxury car in Austin?
- Renting a supercar for F1 weekend at Circuit of the Americas
- Renting an exotic car for SXSW
- The best Hill Country drives from Austin
Renting in Austin?
Delivery across Austin, the Hill Country and Austin-Bergstrom (AUS).
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