Austin Skyline Kayak Tour

Recommended by 93% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Austin, USA

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

2 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.7

· Bridgette_B ·

Jun 2025

It was a spectacularly pleasant day to kayak. Niko was knowledgeable, patient and kind. He assisted us in & out of the kayak. He provide d helpful suggestions about places to eat and sites to visit. Overall it was a great tour..sweet guy!

· Anna_K ·

Jun 2025

I went kayaking for the first time yesterday and it was an awesome experience! Our guide, Austin, was amazing — very friendly and talkative. He kept the conversation going the whole time and shared a lot of interesting facts. I really enjoyed it and had a great time on the water!

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Overview

Downtown Austin is full of awesome architectural sights but exploring the city on foot can be crowded. Instead, prebook this Austin Skyline Kayak Tour on Lady Bird Lake and see the same sights of downtown from the water. A guide knows the best spots on the lake to go to see the skyscrapers and buildings without foot traffic holding you back.

Kayak on Austin's Lady Bird Lake in a fun-but-safe group setting
Cruise by downtown Austin skyscrapers and architectural must-sees
A paddle lesson, safety instructions, and a life jacket rental are included
Choose from multiple tour times to find what best suits your schedule

What's Included

Life jacket
Paddle lesson and safety instructions
Professional guide

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

200 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78704, USA
The parking lot at 200 E Riverside Dr on the fenceline of 300 E Riverside Dr! Look out for our colorful trailer.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Lone Star Kayak Tour and and PaddleBoard Tours

Austin

Congress Avenue Bridge Bat Watching

Austin Central Library, Austin Public Library

Rainey Street

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Bring sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, waterproof camera, bottle water, bug repellent, towel, and extra change of clothes
Operates in most weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Stroller accessible
Recommend you wear swimsuit, windbreaker jacket, or lightly layered synthetic clothing

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Anna_K

Reviews

4.7

based on 81 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

We had a tour guide name...

Amanda_R, Mar 2026

We had a tour guide name Conner and his wife very helpful and friendly! Very knowledgeable and made this experience easy and enjoyable.

View from the water

Marcia_B, Nov 2025

It was a great experience and a fun way to get a little more history of the city and see it from a different perspective.

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Thanks so much for the kind review and for coming out with us!

Great way to view skyline

Frank_D, Nov 2025

Greta way to spend the afternoon. Guide was knowledgeable about the city history, skyline and had great recommendations on other things to do.

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Thanks so much for the amazing review! Hope to see you again in the future!

I went kayaking for the...

Anna_K, Jun 2025

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Thanks so much another fun fact about Austin is he is a bilingual guide who is fully fluent in Spanish. He is by far our friendliest guide out on the water.

Wonderful Tour

Bridgette_B, Jun 2025

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Thanks so much for the amazing review! Hope he made the trip a bit more memorable and a bit more delicious.

Ducks outta/ in da water

Shirley_H, Apr 2025

Although windy, it was a beautiful trip. Great workout. Tour guide was super friendly and all his "ducks " together. We have never kayaked. Enjoyed this adventure

Response from Host, May 2025

Thanks for coming out on the adventure with us!

Never book with this...

alfredorossi70yahooc, Mar 2025

Never book with this outfit,not responsible, I had a booking for 10 am they never show up. Them I was told it will take up to seven day to get a refund

Response from Host, May 2025

Hi so we are responsible we unfortunately had a guide who had been with us for about 9 months without incident who slept past an alarm. We repeatedly called him when we heard from you and were unable to find a replacement on short notice.

Fun and active!

Lauren_T, Oct 2024

A great, active way to see Austin! Great photos, the guides were entertaining and fun to listen to and travel with

Response from Host, Nov 2024

We hope you'll upload these pics and tag us in them! We love to see the smiling faces and beautiful Austin Skyline pics!

Great daytime activity to...

Seema_M, Aug 2024

Great daytime activity to enjoy on a warm day in Austin! I brought my parents out in the Lake and they had no problem keeping up. Highly recommend.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thanks so much for coming out and joining us on the water! Hope to see you comeback again sometime soon!

Fun on the water.

Amy_A, May 2024

Marshall was great! Very easy going and excellent trip. Beautiful scenery and good exercise. Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Thanks so much for the amazing review! We will let Marshall know he did a great job with y'all out on the water.

Lovely weather and JT was...

Carrie_N, Apr 2024

Lovely weather and JT was an excellent guide. Love learning about the ecosystem! The bats are amazing and valuable creatures.

Response from Host, May 2024

We will let JT know that you had a great time out on the water with him!

Andrew was an exceptional...

Rachel_H, Mar 2024

Andrew was an exceptional guide! He was very knowledgeable about the lake and downtown area. We had a great time and will definitely do this again! Thank you for an awesome experience!

Response from Host, May 2024

Thanks for the amazingly kind review! We hope you'll come back and join us the next time you visit Austin!

Family Fun

DONNA_C, Dec 2023

Perfect day to be on the lake. Our guide Marshall was knowledgeable and fun. Everyone had a great time.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thanks so much for the awesome review! We will let him know you had a good time and hope you'll come check us out again in the future!

Wonderful tour, I’d recommend it

Jennifer_K, Nov 2023

Reid was amazing! He was very knowledgeable about the city, Lady Bird Lake, the bat bridge, etc. My husband and I had a wonderful time and highly suggest doing a kayak tour with him. The lake was very smooth the day we went which was nice. We got to see a lot of ducks, birds and turtles.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thanks for the amazing review! We will let Reid know that you had a good time out on the water with him!

Fun!!!

Jorge_C, Nov 2023

Fun activity to view down town Austin. Reid was very nice giving Austin history and its background. Love the amazing weather and vibe as you kayak down the river.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

I think this was meant to be a 5 star review? Not sure why you gave us one star? We gave you a call regarding this and you did promise to change it as it was an admitted mistake.

Great way to spend a Saturday morning in Austin!

Terry_M, Sep 2023

Our guide JT is as super friendly, informative, and fun. It was a relaxed way to see Austin’s beautiful skyline and nature.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Thanks so much for the awesome review! We hope you'll join us again soon!

10 out of 10!

Alfonso_G, Aug 2023

Our Tour Guide Reid was very knowledgeable about the Austin city skyline along the tour. Not just about the tour but about the city of Austin in general, He had so many great recommendations for us to try while we were in Austin. Reid made us feel like we were out on the water with a friend, definitely did not feel like a boring tour. 10 out of 10!

Response from Host, Sep 2023

We love Reid! We will let him know you had a good time!

Unforgettable

Paul_B, Jul 2023

Learning about the history of Austin was awesome and interesting. The tour guide was knowledgeable, personable and fun.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

I'm so happy to hear you had an amazing time!

Not exactly what I expected

Bradley_H, Jul 2023

Was nice to kayak. Seems like it was only 1hr and 30 minutes. A little shorter than the stated 2 hours. Our guide was nice however I would have expected more about the history of Austin and of Lady Bird Lake. It was not much detail from how how I read the description of how this trip would be

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Hi there Tanner looks like you had Ryan on his first solo trip as a tour guide! We've gone ahead and let him know that he needs to make sure guests get their full time out on the water. We take all feedback seriously.

Ended a 2 hours tour after only 1 hour - waste of money

Christina_A, Apr 2023

2 hours tour was what was described, but incl. instruktions and gerning back on the ramp was exactly 1 hour. The guides seemed unmotivated to adjust tour and info to the group. We have the feedback directly to the operator without any reaction. Rent a kayak and enjoy the lake on your own is our recommendation, it is great views from the water.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi there we received no phone call from the phone number you have listed on file. We take all complaints seriously and have shown this review to your two guides and reminded them about policy with late starts and will take them on additional training to ensure the issue does not reoccur.

Great view! The tour gave...

Jasmine_C, Oct 2022

Great view! The tour gave great recommendations for food! It is definitely a workout for those who are new to kayaking.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Please let us know what we can do in the future to earn your 5 stars!

Buy the ticket and go enjoy yourself.

Michael_H, Oct 2022

No story just a family experience. Guide was great and it was lots of fun. I’d definitely recommend it.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Thanks for the review! We love making family memories happen!

Austin fun

Anne_C, Jun 2022

Rives was a great tour guy! Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Fun activity to do with friends or family. Highly recommend.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thanks so much for coming out on the water with us!

Great View and Great Experience

Andrew_P, Jun 2022

Great way to get a view of the city. I believe the kid was Nick (had a USA hat on) did a great job of navigating us to different sides of the lake! Fantastic experience!

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thanks so much for coming out on the water with us we'll let him know you appreciated your time!

Fun paddle!

Jessica_W, May 2022

Had a great time with River! Would definitely recommend this tour to others and be a repeat customer!

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Thanks for coming out with us!

Awesome tour!

Jonathan_R, May 2022

Had a blast! Well worth it for us and Rives did an awesome job. Would recommend to anyone visiting Austin. 10/10!

Response from Host, May 2022

Thanks for coming out with us!

Father and sons vacay

Corey_L, Mar 2022

The boys and I had a great kayak trip up and back Lady Bird Lake with Tim who shared many cool stories of the Austin skyline, entertainment, and food. We had an amazing trip!

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Thanks for joining us out on the water!

Tim was great, very...

Sam_P, Mar 2022

Tim was great, very knowledgeable. It’s an easy kayak along the river one way and back. ………..…..……..

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Thank you so much for coming out with us!

Brilliant 2 hours

blythe_b, Nov 2021

Great guide, Rives (hope I have spelt that correctly) was awesome with cool facts, chilled pace and made everyone at ease. Great trip.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Thanks for the awesome review!

Memorable experience

MariaJ_R, Nov 2021

I had not seen my sister in over 2 years since this pandemic and we wanted to spend 4 memorable days together. No kids no family. I wanted my sister to experience some history and ghost stories and we booked a guided tour with Haunted Austin Walking History Tour. Jim was our tour guide. He made the experience memorable. He took the time to point out all the historical sites of the area while getting to know each one of us in the tour and sharing all his knowledge about the fascinating Austin history. Thank you Jim for making the experience my sister and I had precious.