Austin to Orlando road trip: Best stops, drive time & distance

Austin to Orlando distance and driving time

The Austin to Orlando drive connects the capital of Texas to Florida’s theme parks.

By car, the distance from Austin to Orlando is 1,127 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 16 hours and 35 minutes. The quickest route is along the TX-71, I-10, I-75 and Florida’s Turnpike.

The best stops to add to an Austin to Orlando road trip itinerary are Houston, New Orleans and Tallahassee. For more suggestions, check out the guides to the individual legs of the Austin to Orlando road trip:

Things to do in Austin, Texas

Austin is renowned for its live music scene, although it has plenty of more conventional attractions too. These include Austin Zoo, the Museum of Ice Cream and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Top Austin experiences include ebike tours taking in the city highlights, haunted pub crawl walks and segway tours.

You can also try highly-rated downtown food tours, half day wine shuttles in the Hill Country, brewery-hopping beer tours and sightseeing on a boat cruise.

For Austin hotel recommendations, try band crashpad chic meets rainbow bathrobes at the Hotel San Jose and the unashamed rock star swagger of the W.

Things to do in Orlando, Florida

Orlando is known worldwide as the home of Disney World, but there’s far more to it than Mickey and Co. You can get crazy selfies at the Museum of Illusions or WonderWorks, learn how chocolate is made at Chocolate Kingdom and ride the Wheel at ICON Park or Orlando StarFlyer. Alternatively, visit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, play adventure golf at Pirates’ Cove and say hi to the stingrays at Sea Life.

In the evenings, there’s the Polynesian Fire Luau and Dinner Show, Cirque du Soleil’s Drawn To Life and the Outta Control magic comedy show.

Other Orlando experiences include glow-in-the-dark kayaking, foodie walking tours and kayaking through Cypress forest.

Austin to Orlando drive: Houston, Texas

The top Houston attraction is unquestionably the NASA Space Center, which takes you behind the scenes of the Johnson Space Center. This includes the Mission Briefing Center, and a vast array of high tech exhibitions.

Other attractions include the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Children’s Museum

For more Houston experiences, try hip hop party bike tours, foodie walks in the Montrose neighbourhood and quirky tours of Houston’s tunnel system.

Top Houston accommodation options include the superb value Club Quarters Houston Downtown and the upscale but boutique Magnolia.

Best stops between Austin and Orlando: New Orleans

New Orleans resolutely refuses to feel like any other American city. From the raucous hedonism of Bourbon Street to the European-influenced charm of the French Quarter, New Orleans is mesmerizingly unusual to hang out in.

Top New Orleans experiences include French Quarter food tours, haunted pub crawls, jazz cruises aboard the steamboat Natchez and cemetery walking tours.

For other attractions, try the National WWII Museum, the Vue Orleans observation deck and the urban enslavement tours at Hermann Grima House.

Austin to Orlando road trip attractions: Tallahassee, Florida

Top Tallahassee experiences include the Museum of Florida History, which tells the tale of the Sunshine State. That covers everything from prehistoric mastodons to the Spanish conquest and Disney.

The Tallahassee Museum, meanwhile, flits all over the place, from sculpture to birds of prey. For natural beauty, head to the Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park.

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Photo by stinne24/ Pixabay.

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