Ten days a year, downtown New Braunfels turns into a town that was never built for the crowd it draws. Landa Street shuts down to cars, Elizabeth Avenue goes to permitted traffic only, and the streets around the Wurstfest Grounds fill with more oompah fans than the old river town has parking spaces. If you're bringing a group, the question that actually matters isn't "should we drive" — it's where does the vehicle go once we get there, and where does it wait while we're inside?
Here's the short version: the City of New Braunfels routes charter buses, party buses and limos onto one specific path into the festival — off Loop 337 at Common Street, through Union Street to West Torrey, then Torrey to Elizabeth Avenue and Hinman Island Drive, which is reserved for buses at drop-off and pickup. Everyone else is left to sort out the Comal County Fairgrounds park-and-ride, a paid church lot, or a rideshare zone tucked into Landa Park. Below is how each of those pieces actually works, what New Braunfels' own event advisories say about the closures, and what size vehicle makes sense for your crowd.
Why Rent a Party Bus or Charter Bus to Wurstfest?
Wurstfest runs ten straight days every November, and it's built around beer tents, polka bands, and a Marktplatz packed shoulder to shoulder — which means somebody in your group is always stuck nursing a soda so the rest of you can enjoy a stein. A New Braunfels party bus rental removes that trade entirely. One vehicle drops your whole group at the bus-only entrance on Hinman Island Drive, waits nearby while the wurst and the dancing happen, and is there again when everyone's ready to leave.
It also solves the math problem nobody wants to do at 9 p.m. after a few Schweinshaxe plates and a stein or two: how does a group of 20 or 30 get back to a hotel in New Braunfels, Gruene, or San Antonio without splitting into rideshares that can take twenty minutes to arrive once the grounds start emptying. A single New Braunfels charter bus turns that into one pickup, one text, one ride home.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at Wurstfest
Wurstfest happens at the Wurstfest Grounds, 178 Landa Park Drive, right along the Comal River near Landa Park, according to Community Impact's Wurstfest parking and road closure guide. It's a dense, historic pocket of downtown — narrow blocks, a golf course on one side, the river on the other — which is exactly why the city doesn't let oversized vehicles pick their own way in.
The Official Route: Loop 337 to Hinman Island Drive
Charter buses, motorcoaches, party buses and limos are funneled onto a single approach: from Loop 337 onto Common Street, Common Street to Union Street, Union Street to West Torrey Street, and West Torrey to Elizabeth Avenue, ending at Hinman Island Drive for drop-off and pickup — confirmed by both the Community Impact guide and the Herald-Zeitung's Wurstfest parking coverage. Hinman Island Drive itself is restricted to buses during the festival, which keeps your group's drop-off clear of the general foot and car traffic clogging the blocks around the Marktplatz.
That routing matters because Elizabeth Avenue between Landa Park Drive and Torrey is closed to general traffic during festival hours and open only to permitted vehicles and emergency access, per the same Herald-Zeitung reporting. A vehicle that hasn't been routed correctly can get stopped cold a block from the grounds. Since Newbraunfelsminibuscompany.com connects you to vehicles through a network of bus companies serving New Braunfels, confirming the correct approach and Hinman Island Drive access for your date is handled as part of getting your quote.
Road Closures That Reshape the Approach Every Festival
Westbound Landa Street between Zink Street and Landa Park Drive closes to vehicles for most of each festival day while staying open to foot traffic, and in recent years the closure has started as early as 9 a.m. on weekends and mid-afternoon on weekdays, according to the Community Impact and Herald-Zeitung reporting above. That single closure is why so many first-time visitors end up circling: the street they'd normally cut through simply isn't there anymore.
Because the exact closure hours shift slightly with the festival's day-of-week calendar each year, the current schedule is worth a look before you finalize a pickup time — the city typically posts it under its Transportation and Traffic pages in the weeks before Wurstfest opens. What doesn't change is the bus route itself: Loop 337, Common, Union, West Torrey, Elizabeth, Hinman Island.
Wurstfest Parking, Park-and-Ride & Rideshare Options Compared
A charter bus rental for Wurstfest isn't automatically the right call for a party of two — but once you're coordinating more than a couple of cars, it usually wins on every measure that matters. Here's an honest comparison of how groups actually get to the grounds.
| Option | Cost shape | Where it drops you | Group of 20+? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private charter bus / party bus | One flat rate, split by the group | Hinman Island Drive, steps from the grounds | Best fit — one arrival, one pickup |
| Comal County Fairgrounds park-and-ride | $10 per person round trip (13+), free 12 and under | Shuttle drop near the gate | Workable, but everyone needs to reach the fairgrounds first |
| Church & club paid lots (Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, Sts. Peter & Paul) | Flat lot fee, cash typical | A short walk across Landa Street or from N. Castell Ave | Fine for a couple cars, not a coordinated group |
| Rideshare | Per trip, plus a wait once the grounds start emptying | Mill Race Run in Landa Park | Poor — multiple cars, multiple pickups |
| Driving & parking downtown | Free lots fill fast; nothing guaranteed close | Wherever you can find it | Poor — a caravan splits up immediately |
Free and Paid Lots Near the Grounds
Free parking exists at the Comal County Fairgrounds (701 Common St.) and at Landa Park Golf Course, though on-site parking directly at Landa Park itself is limited once the festival gets going, per the Herald-Zeitung's parking rundown. Paid lots fill in the gaps: the Knights of Columbus and Lions Club both run paid parking at 111 Landa St., directly across the street from the festival grounds, with reserved handicap spaces at each. Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church (386 N. Castell Ave.) offers paid parking within a short walk of the grounds, and a lot run by NBTX Young Life covers the stretch from West Torrey Street to Elizabeth Avenue, with proceeds supporting the group's teen programs.
The catch with every one of those lots: they're built for cars, not motorcoaches, and none of them are set up to hold a 35-passenger bus for eight or ten hours. That's the whole reason the city built a separate bus route in the first place — your group's vehicle isn't hunting for a car-sized space on Landa Street, it's using the route built for it.
The Comal County Fairgrounds Park-and-Ride
For groups arriving in their own cars, the fairgrounds shuttle is the most organized fallback: park free at 701 Common St. and ride a shuttle to the gate for $10 per person round trip (ages 13 and up), with kids 12 and under riding free, running daily throughout the festival. A separate shuttle service, the Wurst Wagen, runs from Rockin' R in Gruene on Fridays and Saturdays, with its own park-and-ride available all ten days.
That shuttle works fine if your group is two or three couples. It gets messier once you're 20 or 30 people deep, because now you're also coordinating a shuttle queue on both ends. A charter bus or minibus skips the fairgrounds altogether and takes your group straight to Hinman Island Drive.
Rideshare and Accessible Drop-Off
Rideshare and taxi pickup for Wurstfest is designated at Mill Race Run in Landa Park, per the Herald-Zeitung's coverage of the festival's transportation plan — not at the grounds' main entrance. Accessible parking with its own bus service is available through the Comal County Senior Citizens Center, Knights of Columbus, and Lions Club lots for $10 for non-members or $8 for members, and Gate 2 serves as the accessible drop-off point at the grounds themselves.
What Size Bus Fits Your Wurstfest Group?
Wurstfest groups run everywhere from a dozen coworkers doing a Friday-night beer tent crawl to a 40-person family reunion claiming a long table in the Bräu Halle. Matching the vehicle to the headcount keeps the price sensible and keeps nobody standing in the aisle on the way home.
| Vehicle | Typical seats | Best for | Notable features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprinter van | Up to ~14 | Small friend groups, a work team | Leather seating, USB charging, tinted windows |
| 18-passenger minibus | Up to 18 | Mid-size gatherings, hotel-to-grounds runs | Reclining seats, strong A/C for a Texas fall afternoon |
| Party bus | 15–35 | Groups that want the polka party to start early | Built-in bar, color-changing lighting, Bluetooth sound |
| 30-passenger minibus | Up to 30 | Corporate outings, larger family groups | Overhead storage, climate control |
| Charter bus | Up to 56 | Large clubs, church groups, multi-generation reunions | Onboard restroom, undercarriage storage, WiFi |
For a crowd that wants the celebration to start the second the vehicle leaves the curb, a New Braunfels party bus rental brings the bar, the lighting, and the sound system along for the ride. For a bigger, mixed-age group headed to Wurstfest for the food and the bands rather than the ride itself, a charter bus with an onboard restroom is the more practical call, especially on the drive back from a Gruene or San Antonio hotel. Browse the full vehicle lineup to compare every option side by side.
Wurstfest Charter Bus & Party Bus Rental Prices
What a New Braunfels charter bus or party bus rental runs for Wurstfest depends on a few clear factors: vehicle size, how many hours you need it (including the wait while your group is inside the grounds), the specific festival date, and how far the pickup is from New Braunfels. A Friday during Opening Weekend prices differently than a Tuesday night mid-run.
To give you an idea: a 25-person group booking an 18-passenger minibus for an 8-hour block — pickup from a Gruene hotel at 4 p.m., drop at Hinman Island Drive by 4:30, pickup again at midnight — might run somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,400 to $1,800 for the night. Split across the group, that lands around $56 to $72 a person, covering the ride out, the wait, and the ride back without anyone splitting off into a rideshare line. Figures like this vary by date, vehicle, and hours booked, so the fastest way to get a number for your specific trip is to fill out the quick quote form or call 830-381-7340 — pricing takes about a minute either way.
The New Braunfels bus rental prices page breaks down what shapes the total in more detail.
Getting to New Braunfels for Wurstfest: I-35, San Antonio & Austin
New Braunfels sits directly on I-35, roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio and about 50 miles south of Austin — which is exactly why Wurstfest pulls crowds from both directions every November. Loop 337 branches off I-35 on the west side of town and is the road that feeds directly into the Common Street approach described above, so it's the exit your bus is actually looking for, not the exits closer to the Comal County Fairgrounds.
I-35 through New Braunfels backs up on its own most Friday and Saturday evenings, and Wurstfest adds a second layer of downtown congestion once local streets start closing. Groups riding a charter bus skip the part where somebody has to watch for the Loop 337 exit while also managing four other cars behind them — the group arrives together, on one vehicle, following the route New Braunfels built for it.
San Antonio Airport to Wurstfest: Charter Bus & Party Bus Pickup
For groups flying in from out of state, San Antonio International Airport (SAT) (9800 Airport Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78216) is the closest major airport, about 45 miles and roughly 45 to 60 minutes from the Wurstfest Grounds depending on I-35 traffic. SAT's own ground transportation page lists charter bus pickup alongside rideshare and taxi as standard options at the terminal curb, and also flags a dedicated cell phone waiting lot off Airport Boulevard for anyone coordinating a meet-up before the group heads north.
Instead of a dozen people pulling up rideshare apps in the arrivals lane, one bus gathers the whole group curbside and runs straight up I-35 to a New Braunfels or Gruene hotel, or directly to the festival if flight timing lines up. The same coordinated pickup works in reverse for the trip back to the airport at the end of the weekend. Groups coordinating a bigger trip around SAT can find more detail on the New Braunfels airport transportation page.
Leaving Wurstfest: Pickup After Last Call
Getting out is the part most groups underestimate. When a Saturday crowd pours out of the grounds near midnight, Hinman Island Drive and the streets around it are moving foot traffic, rideshare cars, and departing vehicles all at once — and cell service inside a packed beer tent isn't always reliable enough to coordinate a pickup on the fly.
The fix is deciding the pickup window before the group ever splits up. Because the bus is booked for a block of hours, it can hold near Hinman Island Drive and be waiting at the agreed time rather than getting summoned from across town after last call. Set a specific, visible meeting point — the Hinman Island Drive bus stop itself is about as unambiguous as it gets for a group that's had a few steins — and the ride home is already sorted before anyone starts looking for a phone signal.
Tips for Visiting Wurstfest
A few things worth knowing before your group's Wurstfest weekend:
- Gate admission runs about $10 for ages 13 and up, with a modest discount for buying online ahead of time; children 12 and under get in free, per Tour Texas's Wurstfest hours and ticket price rundown.
- Hours vary by day. Opening weekend and Saturdays tend to run latest, into the evening, while weeknight sessions typically open in the late afternoon and close earlier. Confirm the exact schedule on the festival's own site before setting a pickup time.
- Dress for a Texas November. Afternoons can still run warm, and the grounds are outdoors along the river, so evenings cool off fast once the sun goes down.
- Landa Street won't be a shortcut. Build the closure into any pickup or drop-off time you're planning around, especially on weekend afternoons.
- Save the grounds' general contact in case anyone in your group gets separated: the Wurstfest office can be reached through the festival's official website.
Wurstfest 2026 Dates & What to Expect
Wurstfest 2026 runs November 6 through November 15, 2026, at the Wurstfest Grounds near the headwaters of the Comal River, according to the Visit New Braunfels event listing. The festival's Opening Ceremonies land on the first Friday, and the run stretches across two full weekends plus the weekdays in between, so the road closures and bus routing described above are in effect for all ten days, not just the weekends.
Because Wurstfest is one of the busiest stretches of the year for New Braunfels lodging and group transportation alike, vehicles for opening weekend and the second Saturday — historically the two heaviest attendance days — tend to book up first. Locking in a date early gives your group the better shot at the vehicle size it actually wants.
Booking a New Braunfels Party Bus or Charter Bus for Wurstfest
Lining up transportation for Wurstfest through Newbraunfelsminibuscompany.com comes down to a few steps:
- Request a quote with your group size, pickup location (New Braunfels, Gruene, San Antonio, or wherever your group is staying), festival date, and how many hours you want the vehicle for.
- Compare vehicles and pricing from a network of bus companies serving New Braunfels — party buses, minibuses, and full charter buses all show up side by side.
- Set your pickup window for the ride home so the vehicle is holding near Hinman Island Drive and ready when your group is done for the night.
Groups extending the weekend with a stop in Gruene can find that covered on the New Braunfels wine tour transportation page, and multi-stop itineraries across the area are easiest to plan through the New Braunfels group transportation services page. Also making a weekend of it at Schlitterbahn or floating the river with Rockin' R River Rides? Those guides cover their own drop-offs and parking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at Wurstfest?
Buses use a dedicated approach — Loop 337 to Common Street, Union Street, West Torrey Street, and Elizabeth Avenue, ending at Hinman Island Drive, which is reserved for buses at drop-off and pickup. That's a different route and a different spot than the fairgrounds park-and-ride or the rideshare zone at Mill Race Run.
Where do buses park while the group is inside the festival?
Buses hold near the Hinman Island Drive drop point rather than searching for street parking, since the lots around the grounds — the church lots, the Knights of Columbus and Lions Club lots, the fairgrounds — are built for cars, not motorcoaches.
How much does it cost to rent a bus to Wurstfest?
Pricing depends on vehicle size, total hours booked, and your festival date — weekend nights price higher than weeknights. A rough example: an 8-hour minibus rental for a 25-person group has run in the neighborhood of $1,400 to $1,800, or roughly $56 to $72 per person. Call 830-381-7340 or use the online quote tool for a number specific to your date.
What roads close around Wurstfest, and when?
Westbound Landa Street between Zink Street and Landa Park Drive closes to vehicle traffic (while staying open to pedestrians) for most of each festival day, and Elizabeth Avenue between Landa Park Drive and Torrey is limited to permitted vehicles and emergency access. Exact hours shift slightly year to year, so it's worth checking the city's current advisory close to your dates.
Is there parking directly at the Wurstfest Grounds?
On-site parking at the grounds themselves is limited. Most groups use the free Comal County Fairgrounds park-and-ride, the paid Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, or Sts. Peter and Paul lots, or arrive by private bus, which avoids the lot search altogether.
How does the Comal County Fairgrounds park-and-ride work?
Parking at the fairgrounds (701 Common St.) is free, and a shuttle to the festival gate runs $10 per person round trip for ages 13 and up, with children 12 and under riding free, daily throughout Wurstfest.
Where does rideshare pick up and drop off at Wurstfest?
Rideshare and taxi pickup is designated at Mill Race Run in Landa Park, not at the festival's main entrance — worth knowing if your group is trying to meet a car after the grounds let out.
How much is Wurstfest admission?
Gate admission runs about $10 for ages 13 and up, with a small discount for buying online in advance. Children 12 and under are free. Confirm current pricing on the festival's own site closer to your visit.
What's the closest airport to Wurstfest?
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is closest, about 45 miles and roughly 45 to 60 minutes up I-35, depending on traffic. A private bus can gather a flying-in group at baggage claim and run straight to New Braunfels or Gruene.
Can the bus wait for our group during the festival?
Yes. The vehicle is booked for a block of hours, so it can hold near the Hinman Island Drive drop point through the group's time at the festival and be ready for an arranged pickup window.
How does pickup work after Wurstfest closes for the night?
Set a pickup time and meeting point before the group splits up for the evening. Because cell coverage inside a packed beer tent isn't reliable, agreeing on the Hinman Island Drive bus stop in advance beats trying to coordinate a pickup by phone once the grounds start emptying.
Is accessible parking available at Wurstfest?
Yes. Accessible parking with dedicated bus service runs through the Comal County Senior Citizens Center, Knights of Columbus, and Lions Club lots, and Gate 2 serves as the accessible drop-off point at the grounds.
How far in advance should we book a bus for Wurstfest?
As soon as your date and group size are set. Opening weekend and the second Saturday are historically the busiest days of the run, and vehicles for those dates go first.
Book Your Wurstfest Bus Today
Whether it's a dozen coworkers claiming a table in the Bräu Halle or a 40-person family reunion working through both weekends, a New Braunfels charter bus or party bus rental gets your group to Hinman Island Drive without a single car circling for parking on Landa Street. Fill out the quick quote form or call 830-381-7340 any time, and Newbraunfelsminibuscompany.com can help you compare vehicles and pricing from a network of bus companies serving New Braunfels for your Wurstfest dates.
