Congress Avenue Bat Bridge: Kayak Tour Experience

Witness the incredible sight of 1.5 million bats emerging from the Congress Avenue Bridge on a thrilling kayak tour. Learn about their role in the ecosystem and enjoy a 2-hour adventure.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Congress Avenue Bridge Bat Watching - You will see the world’s largest urban bat colony that peaks at around 2 million bats during the peak of the season. The bats take off around sunset and always head towards the eastern part of downtown.
  • Austin - You will see a number of buildings on the Austin Skyline including the Hotel Van Zandt, The Austonian Tower, and a multitude of residential and commercial buildings.
What's Included
  • Paddle lesson and safety instructions
  • Professional guide
  • Life jacket
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Witness the emergence of the world’s largest urban bat colony from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge! This incredible colony, consisting of 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats, offers a spectacular visual and auditory experience. Meet with a professional guide at the designated location to paddle and observe this natural wonder, while learning about…

Location
East Avenue
We will meet directly under the I35 overpass off East Ave out of a parking lot/docking area by the water and launch from there. If you’re having trouble locating us, just look up Lone Star Kayak Tours on Google Maps. We're to the left with the blue and orange kayaks when you come down to the water!
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(198 Ratings)
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Shelly_h
Oct 4, 2024
Awesome date night! - Great hosts, awesome way to spend the evening viewing the beautiful downtown Austin and experiencing these amazing little bat creatures
Review provided by Viator
Pam_d
Sep 16, 2024
Fascinating to see! - Sam was so knowledgeable about bats and very interesting to talk to. We were the only two on the tour for this night and we appreciated that he didn’t cancel and gave us the full experience as if we’d have been part of a large group. He didn’t quite make me love bats, but you could tell he did!
Review provided by Viator
Patricia_a
Sep 11, 2024
Awesome experience - Awesome time! Guides were very accommodating. Preston rode in tandem with me since I wasn’t sure if I could keep up with group. Very friendly, patience and relaxed guides, there was no rush and Reid was very informative about the lake and the bats. Highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Courtney_r
Sep 9, 2024
Awesome! - The guides were awesome and the bats were great to see! Was fun to experience Austin both during sunset and at night!
Review provided by Viator
Cherry_s
Aug 25, 2024
Austin bats kayaking experience. - The bats experience were awesome and Preston a wealth of knowledge to share. Overall it is a wonderful ey. Glad we did it and no mosquito bites . Thank you Preston and Lincoln.
Review provided by Viator
Lili_a
Aug 13, 2024
Amazing Experience! - Incredible experience! One of the coolest water activities I have ever done! It was so magical to kayak back in the dark. I will definitely do this again!
Review provided by Viator
Jorge_f
Aug 13, 2024
Really cool tour - Good your was a lot of fun. The bats at night were so cool definitely recommend to out of towners. Go visit
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Lisa_k
Aug 9, 2024
Best company for the kayak/bat tour - It was hard to decide which company to choose but I read a bunch of reviews and definitely choose the best!!! Lone Star Kayaks was great. Our guide told us a lot of interesting information about the city and the bats on our tour. Then they got us the best viewing location for the bats and as a big plus they had little lights on each of our kayaks for the way back (which was dark). Highly recommend booking this tour!
Review provided by Viator
Deb_m
Aug 9, 2024
Gave us a great experience! - I liked that Marshal shared lots of information about Austin at different points on the river. We stopped at a couple different areas on the lake. He was very knowledgeable and able to answer all the questions!
Review provided by Viator
Matt_h
Sep 22, 2024
Good but unorganized - Bats were amazing. Tour seemed a little unorganized. I also didn't realize parking was free under bridge, so I ended up paying 15 dollars for parking 5 min away. That's more on me. But could have been more clear. They also only had dry bags for purchase. None to borrow
Review provided by Viator
From $55
up to 12 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).