Half a day or the whole one
Decide this first. A half-day outing leaves after lunch and is back by six, or leaves at ten-thirty and is back by three; it costs the company an afternoon and asks nothing of anyone's evening. A full day leaves in the morning, has lunch in it, and ends when the light does. Full days are better outings. Half days get better attendance. Know which you are planning.
Half-day outing ideas
6 to 40 · Any season but August
One winery, done well
Leave at two, be at a Dripping Springs or Driftwood winery by three, a seated tasting, the patio at golden hour, back downtown by seven. One stop instead of three, which means the group actually settles in. The simplest good outing in Austin.
6 to 20 · Any season
The BBQ lunch run
A van to The Salt Lick in Driftwood at eleven-thirty, long tables, family style, a glass of Salt Lick Cellars across the lot, back by three. Nobody has ever regretted it.
8 to 30 · May to September
A boat for the afternoon
Three hours on Lake Travis or Lake Austin with a captain. The only sensible place to be outside in July. Arrange the vehicle to the marina or the outing starts with a parking problem.
Any size · In season
A match or a show
Austin FC at Q2 Stadium, the Round Rock Express on a summer evening, a comedy night downtown. Tickets and a meeting point; the least planning on this list.
10 to 60 · Any season
The activity afternoon
Bowling, a driving range with a bar, pickleball, axe throwing. Indoors, scalable, loud. A fine three hours; do not expect the conversation to happen there.
Full-day outing ideas
Any size · Spring and fall especially
The Hill Country wine day
The full version: pickup at the office, three wineries reserved and seated, lunch at the pit, a blind tasting challenge at the second stop, golden hour at the third, home by five-thirty. Dripping Springs keeps it inside working hours; Fredericksburg makes it a proper trip. Teams past about forty ride in coaches and usually reserve a winery whole, at which point it is an event.
8 to 24 · May to September
Swimming hole and a winery
A morning at Hamilton Pool (reserve well ahead) or Krause Springs in Spicewood, lunch, and one winery on the way home with everyone pleasantly worn out. The out-of-town colleagues will talk about this one for years.
6 to 15 · Any season
The BBQ crawl
Two or three of the best pits in a day, with a van so nobody is circling for parking on East Eleventh. Pace it: a plate at the first, a sampler at the second, dessert at the third.
Any size · Any season
Volunteering and lunch
A morning shift at the food bank or a Greenbelt cleanup, then a long lunch together. Meaningful without being heavy, and it works for every team.
10 to 60 · Any season
Fredericksburg for the day
Ninety minutes out, two estates, lunch at Junebug's or a biergarten, an hour on Main Street, home after dark. A full day that feels like a short trip.
How to plan it so it holds together
- 1Pick the one thing the day is about. A wine day, a boat, a match. Everything else is in service of it.
- 2Get a real headcount, with the people who do not drink and the dietary needs noted. "Around thirty" is not a headcount.
- 3Choose the date against the calendar: not during SXSW, not on an ACL or Formula 1 weekend, not in a late-August afternoon outdoors.
- 4Decide transportation at the same time as the activity. One pickup point, one departure time, vehicles sized so the group moves together.
- 5Put a meal in the middle. Reserve it. Order for the table where you can.
- 6Build the day backward from the time people genuinely need to be back.
- 7Name a point person for the day who is not the executive sponsor and not the planner, if the planner wants to enjoy it.
- 8Send one message the day before: where to be, when, what to wear, when you will be back.
Two sample days
A half day, leaving after lunch
- 11:30 — Vans at the office. Cold water on board.
- 22:15 — A Dripping Springs winery, seated tasting, the group together.
- 33:30 — A second glass on the patio, a short walk of the vineyard, the challenge if you want one.
- 44:45 — Golden hour. Nothing on the schedule.
- 55:30 — Back downtown.
A full day, inside working hours
- 110:30 — Pickup at the office.
- 211:15 — First winery, guided tasting before the room fills.
- 312:45 — Lunch at The Salt Lick, long tables, brisket.
- 42:15 — Second winery and the Blind Tasting Challenge.
- 53:45 — Third winery, a patio with a view.
- 65:15 — Dropped back downtown.
Austin Wine Car
An outing the planner gets to enjoy
We pick the team up, make every reservation, run the day and bring everyone back. Tell us the date, the headcount, and half day or full.