Comal River, New Braunfels, TX

The Comal River is located in New Braunfels, TX, about an hour south of Austin! The Comal is famous for its tube chutes! One of the biggest things to remember is on the Comal, there is a can ban, meaning you can not have canned beverages on the water! There are police on the river and if they see the cans, they’ll confiscate all of them. When it comes to renting tubes on the Comal, we always recommend renting from Texas Tubes! The Comal River definitely offers the most exciting river tubing in Texas!

The Guadalupe River, New Braunfels, TX

The Guadalupe River, also in New Braunfels, TX is the other of the two New Braunfels tubing spots. Unlike the Comal river, there is no can ban here – bring all the canned beverages your heart desires! When it comes to renting tubes on the Guadalupe River, we always recommend renting from Tube Haus, you can drop in to the river right from their location!

What to take to the river

Now, I don’t know about the rest of the country, but in Texas, as soon as temps start to rise, Texans get this overwhelming urge to head South and float the river. Now, it sounds a little goofy when you think about it, but don’t knock it till you try it! River tubing in Texas is so much more than sitting in a tube and drifting around. You add in a few friends, some alcohol and the gorgeous Texas scenery and you have the makings of a fabulous river floating day. But aside from all of the obvious, there are some things you just can not forget when hitting the river.

Coolers for the river

Now, one may think this is obvious. It’s not. You’re about to spend 4+ hours in the Texas sun, DON’T FORGET YOUR COOLER! What kind of cooler and what you put in your cooler is totally up to you, just don’t forget it!

Waterproof speaker

Invest in a cool waterproof speaker or a cooler with speakers. It’s not only a great way to add a little sound to your float, but you’re sure to attract other floaters with your music. We invested in this awesome waterproof speaker and it has definitely become not only one of our river trip essentials but also a great addition for any outdoor activity.

Snacks

Now, I know your cooler may be filled to the brim with beer and other fabulous alcoholic beverages while you’re floating the river, but stick some food in there! For longer floats on the Guadalupe River we usually pack picnic style with meats and cheese and if we’re doing a shorter float on the Comal River, we like things like beef jerky, candy and trail mix. Consuming tons of alcohol in the heat, with nothing in your stomach is never a good idea!

You need something to save your sunglasses! Losing your sunglasses in 12 feet of water is not something you want to happen while floating. Most of the tube rental places and even Walgreens locations close to the river sell floating croakies. They may not be the cutest, but they work damn well! If being fashionable while floating is more your game, check out some of the ones above! Get them, you won’t regret it!

Croakies/Sunglasses

Ways to keep your valuables dry & safe

I don’t even think this one needs an explanation… Keeping your phone safe when you’re near water is a no brainer. We used these awesome waterproof phone pouches anytime we are around water and they are perfect for keeping your phone dry… AND they float! Another great tool in our arsenal is a dry bag! We love this backpack dry bag – it keeps our phone, keys, clothes and anything else, dry!

Sunscreen

This is the biggest and most important one. The only moving you’re going to be doing is re-adjusting yourself in your tube, lack of movement + lots of sun= extreme sun exposure. I’m all for getting a good tan, but when floating the river, you really need the strongest sunscreen you can have! Bring it with you to put more on every few hours, you can thank me later!

Floating the river has always been something we really enjoy doing in late spring and summer. Whether we have 10 friends with us, or it’s just us two, we always have a great time floating the river as long as we bring along all of these river essentials.

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Where to eat in Fredericksburg

Twisted Sisters Bake Shop

Rachel (the bride) loves a good iced coffee and I’d say this place has a pretty darn good one. Twisted Sisters Bake Shop was just a short walk over the river from our hotel (like two minutes). The decor in the little shop was absolutely adorable – definitely a great place to start your day.

Hye Market

We skipped out on a big breakfast on Saturday so we could do a bit of exploring before we hit the first winery, but after that, we were pretty darn hungry. The super sweet girl we did our tasting with at Calais recommended we stop here for some food. It was oddly reminiscent of our trip to V. Sattui when we were in Napa a few years ago, but the Texas version. Definitely worth a stop if you head out that way.

Auslander Restaurant

Once we caught on to the fact a lot of places were still closed for the “winter,” we had to change some of our dining plans. One of those changes led us to the Auslander Restaurant. It was the perfect spot, right on Main Street, with a delicious Ruben sandwich. And I have to mention, you can get your frozen sangria to go…. Which is exactly what we did! Even though it was a little chilly that night, we enjoyed sipping our frozen sangrias while we sat in the hot tub!

78624 The Bar

We all agreed, this place very much had a “Friends” feel. Technically, it’s a bar, not a restaurant. The drinks were amazing, but their cheese board was equally as amazing, if not more. They had live music and the cutest set up we could have asked for. This is the perfect spot to stop in before dinner, enjoy a cheeseboard and just relax.

Spots to visit

Main Street

We didn’t spend near enough time on Main Street, but it was such a cute area, with everything you could possibly want. As many main streets do, it had a very quintessential vibe that just can’t be missed.

Magnolia Pearl

This not-so-little shop is just a quick drive east from Main Street. We stopped here on our way out to Calais and loved snapping tons of pics and checking the farmhouse decor and goodies. Magnolia Pearl in Fredericksburg is a must stuff for any farm house decor lover.

Wineries to visit

We tried not to visit many of the big name wineries in Fredericksburg during this trip. We went for more of the boutique wineries that offered somewhat of a boutique experience.

Calais

Calais was our first stop on our day in Fredericksburg. This little winery is easy to miss, after all, it is literally in the side of a hill. This cellar and tasting room doesn’t look like much from the outside, but once you step inside the tasting room, you’ll quickly see why it’s a crowd favorite.

Ab Astris

We stopped in at Ab Astris on a recommendation from the somalier at Calais. She told us how cute the set up was for this spot and she wasn’t kidding. With large Adirondack chairs and backyard feel to their oversized yard, this place was the perfect spot for us to get off our feet and just relax for a bit.

Southold Farm & Cellar

This was our last stop before we headed back to our hotel to drop our car off. We had no idea this place even existed when the day started. Southold Farm & Cellar was recommended to us while we were at Calais and we were sooo glad it was. Getting there might be a little… confusing. You’ll feel a little like you’re winding down roads forever (especially if you’ve had a few glasses at this point) and when we visited, we had to drive up a steep, gravel road. But when you get to the top of the hill you’ll see this adorable little building.

If you’re lucky, Rusty, the wine maker’s dad, will be there and he’ll give you a rundown of how this little spot came to be and if you’re really lucky, he might even pour you a glass of wine! Now don’t get me wrong, the wine was fantastic, but the real show stopper here was these views. I definitely recommend letting this be your last winery of the day – the atmosphere is perfect to watch the sun setting over the hill country. Out of all the things to do in Fredericksburg, this is a definite must. 

Pontotoc Vineyard Weingarten

Once we had retired back to our hotel room after a long day of winery hopping, we knew we weren’t ready to call it quits. We dropped our car off and headed down Main Street for more wine (duh). At the other end of Main Street from our hotel was Pontotoc Vineyard Weingarten. Because we were there in early January, some places weren’t re-opened yet or weren’t open late. Thankfully, this spot was. We met one of the owners of the vineyard, managed to score a seat in the basement/dungeon/underground tasting room, which was so fascinating to three girls who had been sipping wine all day. This place was awesome. Definitely grab a picnic basket, which includes homemade pimento, bread, olives, a brownie and more. And you have to try the tasting – just make sure it includes their frozen sangria, it is delicious!

Where to stay

Fredericksburg Inn & Suites

You guys. I can not even begin to tell you how great this place is. The Fredericksburg Inn & Suites is the perfect place to stay on a weekend getaway to Fredericksburg. We checked in Friday afternoon and spent two nights at the hotel.

We were greeted by the modern entry way to the lobby, but within minutes we were transported to a charming and cozy atmosphere inside the lobby and in our room – this was exactly what we wanted!

Our room had a farmhouse chic vibe to it and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The beds were super comfy and we had plenty of room for the three of us. The hotel offered free breakfast and coffee, which we totally took advantage of. They even had breakfast tacos that we just couldn’t turn down.

Fredericksburg Inn and Suites is located right on Barons Creek, which made for gorgeous views and a super serene atmosphere. The courtyard area had two pools, a hot tub (which we took full advantage of) and some gorgeous areas to just hang out in.

Overall, Fredericksburg was the perfect place for a girls weekend and even more of a perfect place to celebrate our soon-to-be bride!

Thank you to Fredericksburg Inn & Suites for hosting us for the duration of the our trip. All opinions are my own.

The post Things to do in Fredericksburg – Girls Weekend appeared first on Tastebud Travels.