Austin With Kids: Bats, Swimming Holes and Tacos
Things to do in Austin with kids: the Congress Avenue bats by season, Barton Springs and Hamilton Pool, Thinkery, a free nature center, and where to stay.
By Maya Bennett · October 23, 2026
Where to go, by age
All 34 places, with the reasonsThe best places to travel with kids depend almost entirely on the age you're traveling with.
| Traveling with | What works | In the US · 18 | Worth the passport · 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babies Ages 0–1 | Warm, close, and low-effort |
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| Toddlers Ages 1–4 | Space to run, short transfers |
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| Ages 5–6 | The first year they can do a whole day |
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| Ages 7–9 | The ambition ceiling lifts |
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| Tweens and up | Bring the big ideas |
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Underlined places have their own guide.
The itinerary
All Where to Go guides
Japan With Kids: First-Timer Family Itinerary
Japan with kids, first-timer edition: a 10-day Tokyo–Kyoto itinerary, bullet-train and stroller logistics, food picky eaters accept and jet-lag math.
Read the guideJapanTokyo · Kyoto · Nara
- Best age
- Five-plus
- Flight
- 14 hours
- Time change
- 13–16 time zones
- When to go
- Spring and fall
- Budget
- Less than its reputation
- Days 1–5
Tokyo
land, surrender to jet lag (more below), and work in one anchor per day: a morning at a big park or the teamLab-style digital art spaces, the Ueno Zoo or the Harajuku–Yoyogi combination, a Shibuya-crossing-and-toy-store afternoon, and one “weird Japan” wildcard your kids will talk about for years. My full Tokyo with kids guide breaks the city into toddler-paced neighborhoods so you’re never commuting more than you’re doing.
- Day 6
the shinkansen to Kyoto
book reserved seats, buy the famous train-station bento boxes on the platform, and let the Mount Fuji side (right side heading to Kyoto — seats D and E) do the entertaining. The bullet train is not transit; it is an attraction, and kids treat it as such.
- Days 7–10
Kyoto + Nara
Fushimi Inari’s orange gates first thing in the morning before crowds (kids can walk just the lower loop and get the full effect), the Arashiyama bamboo grove with the riverside park, a temple-a-day maximum — one, not four — and the Nara day trip, where bowing deer roam a giant park and no child in history has been bored.
Traveling With Baby
Connecting Hotel Rooms With a Toddler: A Dark Room for Naps Connecting hotel rooms give a napping toddler their own dark room on vacation. How to book them, which room your child gets, and how to set up the door. November 7, 2026 - Ski Trip Naps With a Toddler: Plan the Week Around Them November 3, 2026
- Christmas Market With a Toddler: Cold, Crowds and Bedtime October 27, 2026
- Sharing a Bed With Your Kid on Vacation, Then Undoing It October 23, 2026
Flights & Road Trips
Overnight Layover With a Toddler: Hotel Night, 5am Flight An overnight layover with a toddler: when an airport hotel is worth it, what to pack in one carry-on, how to get five hours of sleep and survive the 5am wake. October 31, 2026 - Flying With a 3-Year-Old: Own Seat, Own Bag, New Problems October 19, 2026
- Your Toddler's First Flight: A Realistic Walkthrough August 19, 2026
- Road Trip Sleep Reset: Getting Back on Schedule August 15, 2026
Packing & Gear
A Family Packing Checklist That Makes the Last-Minute Handoff Easier Use a free personal-bag checklist to assign packing jobs, track last-minute items and make family travel handoffs clearer before departure. October 30, 2026 - Best Kids Luggage: Suitcases They'll Actually Pull October 11, 2026
- Disney World Packing List for Families With Kids October 7, 2026
- Beach Packing List With Kids: Everything for the Day September 27, 2026
Your guide
Maya Bennett
I'm Maya, a mom of two with a chronic passport habit — 30+ countries so far, most of them with a stroller in tow. Every guide here comes from a trip we actually took, jet lag, meltdowns and all. If it made traveling with little kids easier, it earns a page on this blog.
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