Origin
Bee Cave, TX
Morning in Bee Cave on Tuesday
Local time
8:33 AM
CDT
Current temp
86°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Bee Cave, TX to Austin, TX
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
24m
Distance
14.8 mi
24 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$2
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 22m
★
6 AM
0h 24m
8 AM
0h 28m
10 AM
0h 26m
12 PM
0h 25m
3 PM
0h 26m
5 PM
0h 28m
8 PM
0h 23m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Bee Cave, TX
Wikimedia Commons
Austin, TX
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Bee Cave to Austin is 14.8 miles and takes about 24 minutes via Bee Caves Road, with a fuel budget near $2 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This short drive stays within the Great Plains region, specifically within Texas. It's a quick hop between two nearby towns, perfect for a straightforward trip without much fuss. You'll mainly be on local roads, so expect a more connected-to-the-area feel rather than a high-speed transit. Consider this a simple connection between two points in the same state.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Bee Caves Road | 10.3 mi | 15m |
| West 5th Street | 1.6 mi | 3m |
| Bee Cave Road | 1 mi | 1m |
| South Mopac Expressway | 0.6 mi | <1m |
| West Highway 71 | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| South Mopac Service Road | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Ranch Road 620 South | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| East 5th Street | — | — |
Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.
Longest stretch:
Bee Caves Road
— 10.3 mi, about 15m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Bee Cave, TX and Austin, TX.
1
Start on this road
204 ft
·
14 sec
·
this road
2
Turn sharp left onto RM 620
200 ft
·
9 sec
·
Ranch Road 620 South
3
Turn left onto TX 71
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
West Highway 71
Use the left lane.
4
Turn left onto RM 2244
8.0 mi
·
11 min
·
Bee Caves Road
Use the left lane.
5
Continue on RM 2244
1.0 mi
·
1 min
·
Bee Cave Road
6
Continue on RM 2244
2.3 mi
·
4 min
·
Bee Caves Road
7
Turn left onto South Mopac Service Road
0.2 mi
·
16 sec
·
South Mopac Service Road
Use the left lane.
8
Take the ramp
0.1 mi
·
17 sec
Toward Loop 1 North
9
Merge onto Loop 1
0.6 mi
·
42 sec
·
South Mopac Expressway
10
Take the exit
0.1 mi
·
12 sec
Toward 5th Street, Lake Austin Boulevard, Cesar Chavez Street
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Keep slight left at fork
0.1 mi
·
14 sec
Toward West 5th Street, Lake Austin Boulevard
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
12
Keep slight right at fork
120 ft
·
2 sec
Toward 5th Street
Use the slight right lane.
13
Turn straight onto West 5th Street
1.6 mi
·
3 min
·
West 5th Street
Use the straight lane.
14
Arrive at destination
East 5th Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 105 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 13.1 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
RM 620 / Ranch Road 620 South
Turn sharp left onto RM 620 / Ranch Road 620 South
Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach
6
12 mi into trip
|
~18m in
|
South Mopac Service Road
Turn left onto South Mopac Service Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
7
12.9 mi into trip
|
~20m in
Take the exit toward 5th Street, Lake Austin Boulevard, Cesar Chavez Street
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward 5th Street, Lake Austin Boulevard, Cesar...
9
13 mi into trip
|
~20m in
Keep slight left at fork toward West 5th Street, Lake Austin Boulevard
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
Toward West 5th Street, Lake Austin Boulevard
8
13.1 mi into trip
|
~20m in
Keep slight right at fork toward 5th Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward 5th Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$2.24 one way
$4.47 round trip
$3.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
5 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.20 | $2.45 | $4.90 |
| premium | $4.54 | $2.64 | $5.28 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $3.27 | $6.54 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$2
Estimated CO2 emission: 5.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 60% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 4.4 | 0 | $1.55 | $0.71 |
| Efficient EV | 3.7 | 0 | $1.30 | $0.59 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 5.9 | 0 | $2.07 | $0.95 |
Gas CO2
5 kg
EV CO2
2 kg (60% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Austin, TX
Morning in Austin on Tuesday
Local time
8:33 AM
CDT
Current temp
89°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
3 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
24m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This route is characterized as a 'turn-heavy local drive,' with only an 8% share of highway driving. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 10.3 miles, primarily on Bee Caves Road. Expect a driving experience that keeps you engaged with frequent turns and local road navigation, rather than long stretches of highway cruising. The journey involves navigating through local streets, which means you'll be more aware of your surroundings and less likely to get into a monotonous driving rhythm.
Only 8% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
14 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 10.3 mi on Bee Caves Road.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near RM 620 / Ranch Road 620 South.
Driving Effort
8/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 10 decision points packed into just 14.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 24m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (RM 620 / Ranch Road 620 South): Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach; at 12 miles (South Mopac Service Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 12.9 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from Bee Cave, TX to Austin, TX, road signs begin pointing toward Loop 1 North along the way.
Loop 1 North
12.1 mi in
|
~19m
About the Cities
Starting in Bee Cave, TX
Full guide →Founded 1987
In the past 25 years or so, Bee Cave in Texas has quickly developed from a small rural town into a suburb of the city of Austin. It lies some twelve miles west of Austin, in Central Hill Country. It was the early settlers who gave this place its name, after they found a large cave of wild bees nearby.
Arriving in Austin, TX
Full guide →“City of the Violet Crown” · Founded 1835
Austin is a city of about 1,054,000 (2026) surpassing Fort Worth to become the 4th most populous city in Texas. It is on the southeast edge of the Hill Country region of Texas, making it the fourth-largest city in the state and the 11th-largest in the country. It is the capital of Texas and a college town, and also a center of an alternative culture away from the major cities on the US coasts, though the city is rapidly gentrifying with its rising popularity. Austin's attitude is commonly emblazoned about town on T-shirts and bumper stickers that read: "Keep Austin Weird." Austin is also marketed as the Live Music Capital of the World due to the large number of venues.
Top landmarks
- • Texas State Capitol — capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Texas
- • Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum — presidential library and museum for U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in Austin,...
- • Texas State Cemetery — historic cemetery in Austin, Texas, USA
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 24m. Total distance: 14.8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
24m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 10.3 miles on Bee Caves Road. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Austin, TX before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (RM 620 / Ranch Road 620 South): Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach; at 12 miles (South Mopac Service Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 12.9 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Austin, TX before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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