Austin Travel Forum

Could anyone help me decide the best way to see the bats? From my research it seems that the options are to take a riverboat tour, to stand below and next to the bridge, or to stand on top of the bridge.

My sister and I (another woman) will be at Lake Travis next week with our two kids (ages 11 & 12) and we plan to come into Austin to spend a day. I thought that ending the day with the bat experience would be great. On one hand I know that the kids might enjoy a riverboat tour, but on the other hand, that would tie us down to having to be at Townlake by departure time whereas gathering by/on the bridge would give us more flexibility regarding time. However, a floating seat to view the bats might be nice at the end of a long, hot day. Sitting on the grass down below the bridge next to the river sounds nice too, but I heard that there is a lot of "waste matter" that rains down on the observers as the bats fly out. The top of the bridge seems most easily accessible and sounds like a nice view of both the city and bats, but no place to sit and be comfortable. Any opinions? Has anyone taken the boat and if so, is it a good tour (and which tour company because I believe there are two?)?

FYI, my other plans for the day include a hike up Mt. Bonnell on our way into town, the Texas Spirit show and quick tour at Bob Bullock museum, late lunch at Dirty's or Spider Cafe north of UT campus, walk through campus and maybe trip up tower if timing is right, and back downtown for to venture down Congress Avenue toward bridge (or directly to boat ramp). Oh, and somewhere during the day we'll have to have Amy's ice cream. We're going to leave our car in a park and ride lot and use the 'Dillo to get around as much as possible and walking otherwise. (I went to school many years ago in Austin so I'm somewhat familiar with the layout of the city.)

I have gotten much good info from you all off this website and I appreciate it so much. If you can help me with this seemingly small but perplexing dilemma, I'd appreciate it.

There is a platform area on the S. side of the river which was built especially for that purpose. But really you are seeing the same thing from any vantage point in the area. The only difference is that from down on the river's edge you get to see the bats undre the bridge before they take off. Since the area is quite flat you can observe large batches of bats fly off into the horizon, following the course of the river. It looks like whiffs of smoke being carried off by the iwn.

I have seen the bats many times, from the riverboat and up on the bridge and I must say, that seeing the bats from the boat is pretty cool! You will be able to see them okay from the bridge and if time is an issue, you will still get a great show...but the boat just gives you a wide open view of the bats, you can really see them swarming. I went with Lonestar Riverboat and if you can get the big riverboat, that is the best, but they don't always use that boat. I would suggest you call and make an advance reservation for the boat (you will need one on the weekend) and then if for some reason you can't make it in time, you can watch it from the bridge. They don't require you to put any money down in advance, so there is no risk in putting the reservation in. Happy Bats to you...have fun!

Thank you both for very good information. I'm leaning toward the boat trip since we'll have kids who will love it and, as Butterfly Girl said, if we don't make it, no harm lost and we'll just watch from the banks. I'm pretty much nixing standing on the bridge.

Butterfly Girl - I have read many of your posts and they have helped me a lot. Keep up the good work!

Thanks again both of you.