Top Austin How to Get Around

Avoid traffic and swap busy city sightseeing tours for something a bit more peaceful—a relaxing sunset cruise on Lake Austin. This tour showcases views of Mount Bonnell, Mr “Alright, Alright, Alright’s” Lake House, and a place nicknamed “Little Venice” with luxurious mansions. Ride in a comfortable pontoon boat equipped with a cooler and ice, so you can BYOB and enjoy a laid-back ride on the lake.

Get a comprehensive overview of Austin on this sightseeing tour. See famous landmarks along with hidden gems, real neighborhoods, and food trucks. Learn about Austin's history and culture with commentary from your guide and hear fun facts about the city that even the locals don't know. Plus, choose a morning or afternoon departure to easily fit this tour into your schedule.

Getting out on Lake Austin doesn’t require booking a private boat. This shared BYOB cruise offers a more budget-friendly way to enjoy the water, with a captain to handle the navigation. Glide through the Texas Hill Country, passing waterfront homes and green shoreline, while you relax onboard, take in the views, and enjoy the convenience of the onboard coolers.

Austin is filled with stories of the past, which is what makes it a great city. Instead of exploring the city with your nose in a guidebook, book this engaging historical walking tour. Discover Downtown Austin's rich history and its transformation into a vibrant city. Hear intriguing stories of bold Austinites who shaped Texas' capital, while exploring historic sites and architectural treasures.

Most boat tours on Lake Austin are aboard loud, stinky gas-powered pontoons or motorboats—and with summer temperatures easily reaching past 100°F (38°C), they can also be stifling. Treat yourself to a more serene and comfortable experience on this hour-long private cruise in an electric Duffy boat. Enjoy panoramic, floor-to-ceiling views of waterfront mansions from the fully enclosed, climate-controlled glass cabin.

Save time looking up bus schedules and opt for this hassle-free Austin sightseeing bus tour instead. Travel on a loop around the city that passes by top landmarks in Austin’s downtown area. Along the way, listen to commentary from a guide, get great photos from the top deck, or sit in the climate-controlled lower deck. Highlights include 6th Street, The Driskill hotel, Texas State Capitol, and the Texas Governor’s Mansion.

Escape busy local buses and see Austin in style, with this private highlights tour. Enjoy the thrill of traveling in an open-top Ford Bronco, and check off lots of key landmarks—such as Lady Bird Lake, the grounds of the Texas Capitol, and Mount Bonnell. Also, as it’s a private trip, you can ask questions throughout and get a more personalized service.

Cover more ground during this Austin Small-Group E-Bike Tour than if you booked a walking tour of the city. This bike tour provides you with an e-bike and helmet so you can explore Austin’s most popular attractions and sights as you pass by them with a guide leading the way. Plus, your guide tells you about the city and ideas that go far beyond just the normal tourist path.

Hear the historical tales of murder and mayhem that helped make Austin weird on this haunted history tour of Texas's capital city. Join an acclaimed storyteller guide for a group walking tour through Austin's supernatural nooks and creepy crannies, including a tour of the famous Driskill Hotel. The short tour takes place in the evening so you can easily fit it into busy schedules.

Head off the usual tourist trail to uncover Austin’s sinister side on this guided walking tour through the city's most haunted and historic sites, covering about 2 miles (3.2 km) of the downtown area. Begin at The Tavern, once a Prohibition-era hotspot and now home to ghosts, before visiting eerie landmarks like the Texas Capitol, Paramount Theatre, and the Driskill Hotel, famous for its haunted bridal suite and lingering spirits. Along the way, hear chilling accounts of the "Servant Girl Annihilator", the UT Tower shooting, and whispers of the modern-day “Rainey Street Ripper.”

Many of the bat tours that set out on Lady Bird Lake in Austin are filled with so many people, it can be hard to see where your guide is leading you, but not with this Austin Bats Sunset Small-Group Kayak Tour. This tour sets out at sunset with just 12 for a more intimate experience. Take in views from your kayak of the Mexican free-tailed bats as they fly above Congress Avenue Bridge.

If you want to see the hordes of bats that fly through Austin each night but don’t want to do so from the Congress Avenue Bridge, book this Downtown Austin Sunset and Bats Kayak Tour that lets you view the bats and the beautiful sunset from the water. A guide leads you and others out in your kayaks and knows the best areas to stop for viewing. Plus, all necessary equipment is provided for you.

Hear stories about Austin’s Old West history and spooky unexplained happenings—and discover many of its most atmospheric drinking dens—on this two-in-one Old West ghost tour and pub crawl. Meet your guide in the evening in central Austin and get ready to explore. Visit multiple bars and historical landmarks over the course of the tour, with a dose of storytelling—and chances to buy drinks—at each stop.

Experience Austin's live music scene on a tour led by a guide. Visit as many as three iconic clubs and up-and-coming venues and enjoy hearing live music with a group of fun fellow travelers. Don't get caught listening to cover bands, listen to authentic music in one of the world's music capitals.

There’s no need to worry about how to get around downtown if you’re drinking when you book this Downtown Austin Pedal Pub Crawl Experience. Ride with your others aboard this fun, electric pedal mobile as you sip drinks as you go. This experience stops at up to three bars where you can also purchase a drink if you choose to do so.

If you’re wanting to save yourself the hassle of planning a night out in Downtown Austin, book this Austin VIP Bar and Club Crawl Experience that’s planned and led by a guide. Visit up to five popular venues, including the Coyote Ugly Saloon and Buck Wild, with shots included and cover charges all covered. Plus, get a chance to ride a mechanical bull, play drinking games, and more.

One of the best ways to see Austin’s famous bat colony is from the water, and this guided kayaking experience makes it easy. Avoid the hassle of sourcing equipment or figuring out where to go, with kayaks, paddles, and life jackets included. Led by a guide, the trip takes you directly to the best spots for watching the bat colony departure—with no research or planning required.

East Austin is brimming with graffiti and street art. Immerse yourself in this world to learn about vibrant unsanctioned murals, constantly revolving tags, motivations, vandal etiquette, and techniques from the most prominent local vandals and muralists. After a lesson in foundational techniques, you'll leave your own mark on the scene and paint with a local graffiti artist on a wall (with permission). You'll leave the tour with a “hi my name is” T-shirt painted by your host! (T-shirt is provided.)

Located right in downtown Austin, we offer the most scenic views of Lady Bird Lake. This paddle on your own adventure allows you to see Austin from a whole new perspective from your single kayak. On your journey you will pass under the famous Congress Avenue Bat Bridge, see the Downtown Austin Skyline, and check out the famous Barton Springs!

Your tour will be led by a foodie. These tours have been validated and enjoyed by your guide and your guide wants to share what is delicious about Austin. Bring an appetite and your walking shoes. This will be a fun experience that will leave you ready to make reservations with each restaurant.

This is our star tour, showing the very best speakeasy bars Austin has to offer—each with its own unique theme. We begin right at sunset at a hidden speakeasy disguised as a travel agency just outside downtown. This tiki-themed venue features vibrant, exotic décor, theatrical drinks, and unmatched creativity. From there, we head to a hidden luxury speakeasy tucked inside a casual Mexican restaurant, where the atmosphere and décor are breathtaking and the aesthetic alone is enough to consider this location one of Austin's best speakeasies! We then journey through the heart of downtown, sharing Austin’s rich history while passing landmarks such as the Texas State Capitol and the famously haunted Driskill Hotel. Then we slip into an exclusive speakeasy—accessible only by invitation—hidden in a back alley behind the Driskill. Intimate and luxurious, it serves some of the most unforgettable cocktails you’ll ever taste. This isn’t just a tour—it’s Austin’s ultimate speakeasy experience.

Six barbecue stops in East Austin — including a MICHELIN One Star joint and two Bib Gourmand smokehouses — with skip-the-line access at every one and an air-conditioned ride between them. No walking in Texas heat, no three-hour queue, and enough food that most guests tap out before the last plate. la Barbecue holds a MICHELIN One Star and a line that wraps the building. Micklethwait Craft Meats is a Bib Gourmand honoree and one of Food Network's 25 Best Food Trucks. KG BBQ is chef Kareem El-Ghayesh, a James Beard semifinalist, smoking lamb with Middle Eastern spice. Mum Foods makes the pastrami Texas Monthly's barbecue editor calls the best in the state. Parish Barbecue brings Louisiana heat from a pitmaster who cooked at Franklin. Then a sixth stop we don't announce. It's sweet. You'll think you're finished eating. You aren't. Between plates, your guide tells you how East Austin was built and why these blocks became America's most argued-about barbecue. Come hungry.

Ideal for foodies and hungry visitors, this Austin food tour lets you explore the city’s culinary scene without hours of research. Join a guide and small group to sample numerous foods—from barbecue brisket to Austin-style breakfast tacos and even an Italian cannoli. Choose from two areas: downtown or South Congress, and discover some of the city’s popular sights and attractions as you stroll the streets.

Experience a ghost tour with a difference on this themed adults-only (16+) tour that focuses on murders and hauntings in Victorian-era Austin. Instead of spending hours researching the city’s ghost stories, this tour takes you to places known for their poltergeists and paranormal activity. Notable locations that the tour passes include the Millett Opera House, the University of Texas Tower, and the Driskill Hotel.