Get a comprehensive overview of Austin on this sightseeing tour. See famous landmarks along with hidden gems, real neighborhoods, and food trucks. Learn about Austin's history and culture with commentary from your guide and hear fun facts about the city that even the locals don't know. Plus, choose a morning or afternoon departure to easily fit this tour into your schedule.

Explore Austin without getting lost with a guide
Tour the Texas State Capitol and visit other interesting locations
Check out some food trucks and other off-the-beaten-path sites
Travel with a smaller size group for a more personalized tour

What's Included

Driver/guide
A 'bucket list tour' of Austin gives you a city overview
Texas State Capitol

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Parking fee is $10.00 for up to 8 hours

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

602 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701, USA
Meet inside the AUSTIN VISITOR CENTER

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet your guide at the Austin Visitor Center and board your bus to begin your tour.

As you stop for a few minutes at each destination, hear informative commentary from your guide about the location's history and particularities. Stops include a variety of sites, such as the inside of the Texas State Capitol building. Pick up a sweet treat at the food trucks and snap a photo in front of the Austin postcard.

Learn about the art, music, culture, food, history, parks, and famous residents of Austin, and how the locals live up to the slogan 'Keep Austin Weird.'

Rainey Street Historic District (Pass By)

6th Street (Pass By)

Texas State Capitol

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

University of Texas at Austin (Pass By)

Greetings from Austin Mural

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

South Congress Avenue (Pass By)

Congress Avenue Bridge Bat Watching (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Tour departs from the AUSTIN VISITOR CENTER located at 602 E. 4th Street, Austin, TX 78701.
Wheelchair accessible
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to start time for check in. We are unable to delay the tour for guests who arrive late.
Stroller accessible
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.
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
Parking is available in the Austin Convention Center Garage which is connected to the Austin Visitor Center. Enter the garage on E 5th St between Red River and Sabine.
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.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

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

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

1,889 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 1,889 reviews

Evan and Austin Detours are an Austin must do!

mike_r, Apr 2024

My wife and I booked “The Real Austin Tour” for the 1030 AM on a Monday. Accessing parking and getting to the Austin visitors center was simple with an Waze search, this made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. Evan was our guide, a Texas gentleman through and through. He was polite, energetic, funny and of course, knowledgeable. He highlighted the hotspots and recommended some off-the-beaten-path gems. Our short stay at the capitol was jam packed with history and facts, we felt more connected to the Lone Star State! BTW.. loved the Six Flags over Texas info! The van offered a comfortable ride, which Evan operated both safely and skillfully. Overall a great Tour!

Highly Recommended Informative Tour

Christina_P, Apr 2024

I have been Austin many times, every time we do self discover visit. I only had 2 days to do visit this time, we decided to book a tour with local tour guide. It is such a great experience and very informative. Our Guide Mr. Cliff is fun, knowledgeable and friendly to everyone. I started listening and following Cliff’s local advice, half of our tour, I stated to make notes. It is very concentrated information. I will book with this company again on next Austin visit first day, then do site seeing all the interesting places.

Tour with my Year 1978 classmates!!

Sandra_S, Apr 2024

Cliff was an awesome tour guide!! We all loved the tour! I learned so much about Austin, it was very informative, and fun!!!! I would recommend it to anyone!!

Great tour and tour guide!

MaryAnne_S, Apr 2024

Trace was a great guide! Full of information and very entertaining! He made some great recommendations on other things to do and gave us his contact info if we had any questions. He took the time to learn everyone’s name and treated us all to delicious macaroons!

Excellent tour with Nick

Gina_S, Apr 2024

Nick is an excellent tour guide. He was engaging, friendly, and very knowledgable. He remembered all the names of the people in our group which was impressive. He talked about Austin with passion and enthusiasm. The tour was great and I learned a lot about the city. Thank you!

Beyond a tour of monuments

SHERWIN_J, Apr 2024

I did not expect the tour to be so interesting. Ike made the tour personal and indicative of the lives of the citizens of Austin. There was a strong emphasis on food, culture, and the arts, not just monuments.

A great guided tour

Stephanie_M, Apr 2024

Nick took us to parts of Austin we may not have seen if not on this tour. And included history we did not know.

One of the best tours I have been on

Cara_B, Apr 2024

Trace is one of the best tour guides I have interacted with. He was so knowledgeable about the history of Austin but also had a pulse on what is currently happening in the city. He had my 8 y/o daughter involved with making a bingo game out of the tour which she loved. He also stopped at a local bakery and payed for everyone to get a macaroon.

Great tour!

Beth_B, Apr 2024

Evan asked for passengers interests do he could tailor his talking points. Super informative and entertaining two hours!

Having fun in Austin.

Kathleen_R, Apr 2024

The tour guide was friendly. He was very informative. I was on vacation from Dallas. I enjoyed the tour.

Great Trip!

AzurDe_G, Mar 2024

Kelty was amazing!!!! She is very knowledgeable about Austin and remembered everyone’s name. My favorite place was the Texas capital. We had a great time!

Kelly was awesomeeee!!!...

Carley_O, Mar 2024

Kelly was awesomeeee!!! She really knows the city and made us feel at home ! I love how we got to see the capitol and the Austin sign as well

Joey’s the best!!

Patricia_M, Mar 2024

Joey was our tour guide. He was a lot of fun and very knowledgeable about the city. We had a great time! -Trish and Mike from Boston

Great way to see the City

Daniel_M, Mar 2024

Trace was unbelievably knowledgeable about the City and gave us great recommendations for exploring on our own.

The Ike Welcome to Austin

Jane_D, Mar 2024

Ike gave us just enough useful history with some highlights of the city in between along with some personal stories which were very helpful in connecting to the heart and soul of Austin for this first time visitor. We used what we learned to help curate the rest of our time in the city and what we would want to do on a return visit. Thanks

The Best Way to Start Your Austin Experience

Chauncey_R, Mar 2024

Cliff was a fantastic guide. Knowledgeable, funny, and very accommodating. He gave us all the local history, stories, and had great recommendations for entertainment and restaurants. Highly recommend at the start of your Austin experience.

Holden made Austin come to life!

Milou_v, Mar 2024

Holden was fantastic. He ensured the entire group felt comfortable ans happy and got a ton of valuable knowledge about Austin. Would absolutely recommend. With this tour you support, small local business which is an added plus!

So informative and fun!!

Barbara_G, Mar 2024

Avery is the BEST!! We’re a group of eight friends who have traveled together for many years & she made us feel so welcome & everything was so much fun!!l

Good overview of the...

Wanda_B, Mar 2024

Good overview of the Austin area. Evan was fun & engaging with the group. He also gave individual suggestions for all travelers

Incredible experience

Tess_W, Feb 2024

Conner is an excellent tour guide. He made the tour fun & answers all questions attentively. Will do this tour again with friends & family

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks for the shout out! So glad you had fun with Conner, he's pretty awesome. And it's great to hear that you will be back with friends! Looking forward to seeing you again!

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