News, Tips & Bargains : Going to Bat in Austin

Batting around some ideas for a last-minute trip? How about Austin, Tex., for the annual migration of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats. The migration is at its peak in August, when the number of bats reaches 1.5 million and they have their young and roost under the Congress Avenue Bridge, which spans Town Lake. They fly out at dusk in mile-long columns to feast on up to 30,000 pounds of insects. See them from a special observation area at the bridge’s southeast corner, or from the water on a nightly one-hour bat cruise, with guano shields ($8 per person), or a romantic bat-watching cruise for two ($32 per person, with dinner). Information: Bat Conservation International, (512) 327-9721; Capital Cruises, (512) 480-9264.