Best of Austin Small-Group Driving Tour with Local Guide
Description
Austin’s favorite “bucket list tour” offers an excellent city overview in just 2 hours. Visit major landmarks, lesser-known gems that only a local would know about, real neighborhoods, and even a sweet treat! Your guide’s in-the-know commentary provides more insight than you could get elsewhere. You’ll learn all about Austin’s art, music, culture, food, history, parks, famous residents, and how the locals “Keep Austin Weird." By the end of your tour, there is no doubt that you will know why people love Austin. Come as strangers, leave as friends!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Popular Austin spot with bungalows converted to bars and restaurants.
Check out the live music venues and popular nightlife spots on 6th Street, better known as "Dirty 6th."
Learn a little about Texas history and when your guide takes you on a brief tour inside the Texas State Capitol building. Enjoy the beautiful architecture and take a moment to snap a few photos!
See the home of the Longhorns.
Great photo opportunity with this iconic piece of street art.
Cruise down South Congress Avenue --the gem of the South Austin neighborhood-- with its many unique local shops, restaurants, and live music venues.
Cross over the Ann W. Richards Bridge on Congress Ave (also known as the “bat bridge”) which is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Tour departs from the AUSTIN VISITOR CENTER located at 103 East 5th Street, Austin, TX 78701, USA
- Please arrive 15 minutes prior to start time for check in. We are unable to delay the tour for guests who arrive late.
- Guests with young children must provide their own car seats and arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of the tour to install them in the van as our guides are not permitted to handle car seats.
- The tour runs rain or shine, however we reserve the right to cancel the tour in the event of extreme weather and/or hazardous road conditions that would potentially affect the safety of our guides and guests.
- Guests with limited mobility are welcome to bring a wheelchair or portable scooter on board to be folded and placed in the rear of the van. The vans are not equipped with a ramp or wheelchair lift however, so all guests must be able to step up into the vehicle (about 12 inches).
- We do not permit animals or pets of any kind. Guests with a service dog MUST contact the tour operator in advance to request approval.
- If you have cold or flu-like symptoms or if you are feeling ill in any way, please do not join the tour.
Reviews(2,387)
Great fun.! Joey was very enter and knowledgeable. Lots of fun facts along the way & also lots of laughs. Great tour. Highly recommend!!
This was a great little tour of Austin. Our tour guide, Trace, was amazing and very knowledgeable about the history, geography, music and food spots!! You meet at the Visitors Center where you can get coffee and drinks and use the restroom before you head out. The van ride was very comfortable.
This was an extremely good overview of Austin. Trace Holt, our tour guide, was engaging, friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about the various neighborhoods, eating establishments (can you say barbeque?!) and the live music scene. This tour was slightly more than 2 hours and packed so much into that time, including a stop inside the state capitol. Also, it's easy to join as the tour starts and ends at the Austin Visitor Center on 5th. Would most definitely recommend this tour!
Great overview of city! Evan is fantastic as a guide, historian and driver! Evan offers many suggestions of places to visit, things to do and possible eateries. Excellent way to spend 2 hours in Austin. Suggest you take the tour the first day in Austin so you can visit some of the suggestions.
Luke was awesome! Very interactive with the group and really encouraged questions. Very knowledgeable about Austin.
Really good way to see Austin highlights. Ike was amazing, he is entertaining. The statehouse is so interesting.
Ike was great and I formative. AAA+++
We were three senior couples from Louisiana who took this tour. It was advertised as the "Best of Austin . . ." I can't imagine we were shown the best. We were disappointed in the end. First the positive elements: The vehicle was a very nice Mercedes vehicle that held about 14 people. The tour guide, Conner, was very friendly, professional, and did a good job. He cared about each of us as individuals and even remembered many of our names. The elements of the tour that were disappointing: As senior adults, three of our group have mobility challenges. The write-up advertising the tour indicates that it is "suitable for all physical fitness levels." It is not. It is also advertised as a "Bucket list tour." It is not. One of the highlights of the tour is a visit of the State Capital building. It involved a long walk of several hundred yards from the vehicle to reach the Capital building. One couple (wisely) chose not to attempt it, but had to wait outside in the (shaded) heat. Our other two couples did make the walk. It was worth seeing, but we definitely paid a price. Without the capital visit, the tour would not be worth the price. We drove by the UT campus. We had hoped to see much more. We did not get to see the library, the art museum, the football stadium, the Moody center, etc. What we were shown on the rest of the tour were MANY food trucks, the best music clubs, and seemingly run down neighborhoods (with much discussion of each of these by Conner). What we didn't get to see were areas we had heard good things about like Tarrytown and Lake Austin. It would have been much better if Conner could have altered his normal spiel to talk more about Austin history, or the growth of the music scene (such as Austin City Limits, which we drove by but not much was said about it) rather than the current music scene, since 10 of 13 riders were over 70 years of age).
We had a great time riding all around downtown Austin in a clean, air-conditioned van. I like how it was a small group so it felt more personalized. David was great! Fun way to explore the city.
Joey did an amazing job showing us around Austin. He was super knowledgeable and definitely made the tour interesting.
