lone star riverboat bat cruise review

Lone Star Riverboat

Review Highlights

“ My husband and I went on that bat tour with DJ and it was one of our favorite date nights ever. ” in 20 reviews

“ We loved the guide giving the tour - such detailed (and entertaining) history and descriptions of the Austin skyline . ” in 17 reviews

“ Captain Shelby and her coworker (I think Mike) the bat expert were really great and entertaining as well! ” in 9 reviews

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Location & Hours

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208 Barton Springs Rd

Austin, TX 78704

Serving Austin Area

Upcoming Special Hours

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About the Business

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Business Owner

Established in 1987. Purchased the original "Lone Star" riverboat in 1987. Lone Star Riverboat, Inc. has grown the business into a full-time operation, now featuring four boats that are all environmentally-friendly battery powered vessels. We added the Little Star in 2000 and the Southern Star in 2007 and now the Northern Star in 2017 to be used for nightly sunset/bat watching cruises or 1 hour private parties. We use the Lone Star for our weekend sightseeing cruises at 12:30 and 3 pm and our Friday night moonlight cruise at 10:30 pm and private charters for up to 100 guests. We are the original sunset/bat watching cruise on Lake Lady Bird. Our Bat Watching public cruises are from March-October, other cruises from March - December and January to March. We offer private charters on the Lone Star, any time year -round. …

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Do they give life jackets for toddlers (2yr old)?

It is not requires because the lake is shallow but there is a life jacket for everyone on the boat if you choose to wear one!

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Overall rating

379 reviews

We had a great time. Good way to see the skyline and learn about some of the history. The particular night was an amazing sunset and the bats were very active. Captain Melissa was great and very informative. Highly recommended!

Jun 6, 2024

So glad you all enjoyed the cruise and Captain Melissa, she is awesome! Hope to see you again!

Fantastic experience! We are locals that wanted to celebrate my son's HS graduation night in a special way. This was one of the coolest outings we've had around town. Our tour guide was entertaining and thoughtful and even got us to cover from the rain shower that decided to hit just as we got started. We saw some great bats, our beautiful Austin skyline as a backdrop and learned some cool facts about our buildings and the cool bats! We already have plans to book another trip over the summer!

See all photos from Ginger W. for Lone Star Riverboat

May 31, 2024

Thank you for your review! So glad you enjoyed your cruise, we hope to see you again soon- and yes, we are very cool and fun!

Very good! Garrett was nice. Stood up for us against those who did not pay for the bat tour. Made experience great.. magical even! 5 out of 5 stars!

bridge with the bats

May 22, 2024

So happy you all had a magical time, thank you and hope to see you again!

We enjoyed our excursion here. We had not seen Austin's famous bat colony before, and this is a nice way to do it. It's BYOB if your want to bring a beer cooler. But it's a family friendly event, not a party boat, so keep that in mind, too. They made bottled water, Sprite and Coke available for $3 each. They start boarding 45 minutes before they depart. Show up early to sit together if you're a larger party. We spent two hours on the boat, in total, as we arrived just as they opened the doors to start boarding (we were in the boat from 7:30 to 9:30 but on the actual tour from 8:20 to 9:20). You sit in a plastic chair on the deck. We weren't pooped on, but that can happen, so be prepared for that. Maybe bring wet wipes just in case? But it didn't seem to be a problem for anyone on our trip. Bats are not 100% predictable. They don't do the exact same thing at the exact same time every evening. They're small and you won't see them up close. But there were 750,000 of them there when we visited and they definitely started swarming. Pretty cool. The video I took came out pretty good but I didn't get a good photograph of the bats. I tried, but the 2.5x optical zoom in my iPhone wasn't quite enough for a photo but somehow did pretty well in the video. The reason is (and you can probably configure this), shutter speed slows when it's darker, and with a longer exposure, you won't capture anything that's moving. The boat captain is entertaining and informative, and you'll learn a few things about Austin, which we enjoyed. The pictures I took that came out well were of the Austin skyline. You may not feel a need to do this again after you've done it once. But it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours and the price is right :-)

Jun 29, 2023

Thank you for coming out on our bat watching/sunset cruise this week! It is a great value and family friendly as you mentioned. Appreciate your fun-facts and helpful hints for our guests, thank you again.

Lone Star Riverboat Cruises was mostly a good experience. It was a company funded outing in the evening after Day 1 of our sales meeting (Sure was a nice looong walk to there from the Austin Hilton...but as they say "Everything is bigger in Texas!") LOL! The food was pretty good - Chicken and Beef Burritos wraps with rice and the bar was pretty well stocked considering the somewhat small size of the boat. The bartender was cool as well. The bat tour under the bridge was pretty cool....outside of a Batman movie, I've never seen such a large swarm! They kinda circled from the bottom of the bridge over the top where people were walking across! No one on the bridge ran or freaked out...guess they're used to it? LOL!!! The only thing I really didn't care for was narrow and steep steps to go up and down to and from the Lower and Upper Levels. Definitely advise to hold the railings with BOTH hands while ascending or descending the stairs and walk slowly!

Dec 13, 2023

Thank you, David, for your review, yes, our big boat the Lone Star is a wonderful venue, very unique and seeing the bat emergence is something special too. Glad you enjoyed the food and our service from our awesome captains, they are very entertaining as well. Our stairs are a bit steep to the upper deck, glad you enjoyed the view from up top. We are there for any assistance needed. Hope to see you at another time, best to you and hope you have a wonderful holiday season! Lone Star Riverboat

Was visiting Austin and wanted to have a nice boat cruise. I was super sad that I booked this boat a week after the bats were supposed to leave (apparently Austin tourist spot is watching bats at night). BUT to my surprise I was able to still see the bats, albeit it being November and a lot of them migrating. But now to the experience. The booking was super simple, about $13 per person. I showed up early and got a nice spot. The boat is BYOB so bring a drink or a snack. The tour lasts an hour and we got to see a lot of different buildings, the nearby park, and the bridge with the bats. The captain, Melissa, was super corny and it was so silly and hilarious . Definitely would recommend to anyone coming here

Nov 13, 2023

Thank you for your nice review and happy to you got to see some bats too! They seem to be hanging around a bit later this year with the nicer and warmer than usually weather - bet we will see some next weekend as well. Our captain Melissa is great, and she is funny, glad you enjoyed the narration. See you the next time you visit and thank you again!

Captain Toby is the best! He ensured everyone had a great time and gave us a little extra time to see the bats.

May 14, 2024

Thank you for your wonderful review, our Captain Toby is awesome as our other captains are too! Hope to see you again!

Christy was great, loved her sense of humor. Great way to explore Austin (and learn some history).

Jun 10, 2024

Thank you for your review, our captains are the best!!! Hope you can join us again soon!

Excellent choice. We did the bat tour our last night and wish we did earlier. So much more than about bats. Great overview of Austin. Captain Mike did a great job.

May 6, 2024

Thank you for coming out and enjoying the cruise- hope to see you again and yes, our Captain Mike is awesome with his funny narration and facts about the city and bats! See you the next time!

What a delightful experience, on the bat/sunset cruise. I will start by saying we and other customers felt a little deceived, as this tour is promoted often with photos on their double decker boat. That boat is only for private hires, so you're on a small one floor boat. Also they place chairs very close together so it does feel a bit tight. As far as the experience goes, it was great. You need to arrive 45 mins prior to departing because a. there's not much parking in the area and b. The seats fill up so if you want to be seated together get there first. We found 45 mins was just in time for us, as people were already lined up ahead. Pour guide/captain was very knowledgeable and had some fun things to say to keep us entertained. You get to see the sunset, skyline, and bats. The only part I didn't enjoy was when we went into an area with a lot of small flies.

See all photos from Poonam P. for Lone Star Riverboat

Jul 26, 2023

Thank you for your review, glad you had a nice time and please note, our flagship boat is the Lone Star used in some of our photos; however, if you click on the tour of the bats, it does show the one-story pontoon boats used and they are a bit more personable with you getting to hear the narration and ask questions too. We do use the Lone Star for other public cruises - our weekend afternoon cruises and our late-night Friday night cruises and even some bat cruises when not being used. You are very correct about arriving early, seats do fill up quickly and bring a drink, it is warm this summer. Thank you for riding with us, hope to see you again soon!

48 other reviews that are not currently recommended

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Lone star riverboat cruise: best way to see the bats in austin.

Please note that this article was written before the pandemic. For full details about limited capacity boat tours and safety precautions due to COVID-19, please visit lonestarriverboat.com .

We all know that Austin is batty for bats. Austin is home to the largest Mexican free-tail bat colony in North America, and we love to celebrate these winged creatures that dwell underneath the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. Seeing the bats swoop out from under the bridge is quite an amazing site!

But what’s the best way to see the bats? And when?

“Bat Season” takes place every year from March to November, and bats emerge around sunset to feed on a variety of flying insects such as mosquitoes and moths. Typically, late July and early August is considered “peak season” to see a spectacular show.

You can certainly join the crowds and stand along the sidewalk of the bridge to wait for them to take flight, we we think the BEST way to see them is from the water. So we decided to hop aboard the Lone Star Riverboat Sunset Bat Watching Cruise for a special “true Austin” experience.

The boats available for this Bat Watching Cruise include a large pontoon boat, the Southern Star, that seats up to 60 people and the smaller boat, Little Star, which carries 30. Both are open-air, so you’re sure to get a great view no matter where you’re seated.

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New Years Eve Cruise

Lone Star is having our annual New Years Eve Dinner Cruise! On Friday, December 1st from 8pm to 10:30pm, we will enjoy the lights of downtown plus the City of Austin fireworks show from the best spot in town. We will be serving a deluxe fajita dinner plus unlimited non-alcoholic drinks (bring your own alcohol) on this very special night to start off the celebration. Cruise, dinner, and tips are included in the price of $95.00PP – great for the whole family. Purchase tickets online. Use the button below for more information.

4 th Of July Cruises

Lone Star is hosting our annual 4 th Of July Cruises! Our Dinner cruise has already sold out, but you can still view Austin's bats and annual firework show on one of our pontoon boats. Space is very limited, so get your tickets now!

Austin's Most Popular Tours

Weekend sightseeing cruises, evening bat watching tours, friday night moonlight cruise, optional pretitle -->public tours.

Pick from one of Lone Star Riverboat's public tours down Lady Bird Lake. These tours include commentary by the captain. You are welcome to bring your own beverages on the Little Star, Southern Star, and Lone Star. The Lone Star has a non-alcoholic cash bar available.

Optional pretitle -->Our Boats

Choose from one of three different Lone Star Riverboats to host your next Austin adventure. Lone Star offers a luxurious double-decker paddle-wheel riverboat and three smaller boats ideal for sunsets and bat watching.

Optional pretitle -->Private Charters

Imagine your social occasion on a delightful cruise right through the heart of downtown Austin, Texas aboard a Lone Star Riverboat. Private charters are available year-round for groups of 30 to 100 people.

Lone Star Riverboat About Us

Located on Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) in Austin, Texas. Lone Star Riverboat Cruises and Austin are the two shining stars of Texas!

Join us aboard one of our all environmentally-friendly vessels. Experience the exhilaration of the outdoors, the abundant waterfowl, our ever changing city skyline and the natural beauty that is Austin. We offer public, narrated sightseeing cruises or witness the spectacular emergence of the world famous Mexican free-tailed bats on our sunset/bat watching cruises! Come see the sights and learn about Austin or jazz up your next occasion and have a private party aboard The Lone Star, the largest electric powered paddle wheeler in the nation.

Our staff at Lone Star Riverboat is committed to excellent customer service and making your trips as enjoyable and relaxing as possible. We want to show you Austin in Texas-friendly style.

We are a city concession and a portion of our gross sales goes to support our nationally recognized park system. Fred DuPuy is the new owner of Lone Star Riverboat which has been in business as an Austin icon since 1987.

Reviews Everybody Loves Cruises

"Lone Star Riverboat tours have consistently been one of the most popular tours in Austin. Their sightseeing, moonlight and afternoon cruises are a great way to see the city skyline and Lady Bird Lake. Their bat watching tour lands them consistently at the #1 activity in our Things to do in Austin Guide during bat watching season." ~ Ivan Collins Austin City Guide

"It was so fun, Captain Chris was so interactive and fun. I would recommend coming here if you are in Austin! Make sure to make a reservation so they can secure your spot on the boat!" ~Rachel E. October 2020

"Really enjoyed our boat ride on Lady Bird Lake! The host was funny, the ride was smooth, and the city landscape was BEAUTIFUL! I definitely would recommend and plan on bringing my family next time." ~Sarah M. October 2020

"We rented the boat for our reverse Rehearsal Dinner...The price is very reasonable and then you get to bring your own alcohol and food...The Captain walked me through how the night would go and then walked me through the invoice at the end. He is very kind! Joye was our sales contact and she was very accommodating and helpful through the whole process, answering all of my questions on linens, food, timing, etc." Kristin Davis November 2019

"Great excursion in Austin. Our boat captain was very fun and knowledgeable. Put us in the perfect location for bat viewing." ~Alison August 2020

"Beautiful sunset and Austin skyline. Educational and fun! The captain talked about the buildings in the Austin skyline and another person educated about the biology of the bats." ~Bonnie M. April 2019

"In addition to watching the bats, the boats will take a quick tour down Lady Bird Lake. The captain gave us information on the different landmarks (Stevie Ray's statue, etc.) while downtown Austin moves all around us. It was wonderful!" Kathy Roy November 2019

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