Central Texas Party Bus from Austin, TX
Looking for a Central Texas party bus from Austin, TX? Austin Nites has run party buses out of South Congress since 2013, and most of our longest days leave the city limits: Hill Country wineries, Lake Travis marinas, river floats in San Marcos and New Braunfels, and the suburbs from Round Rock to Kyle. This page covers where a bus can take you, how long each trip really takes, and what it costs.
Austin Nites Party Bus · 2020 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704 · (512) 825-4032
How a Central Texas Trip Works
You rent the bus by the hour with a private driver, from pickup to drop-off, with a four-hour minimum. The drive is part of those hours, so a trip out of town is mostly a question of how many hours to book: about six for Dripping Springs or Lake Travis, seven to nine for a river float, and ten for Fredericksburg. Our rates run $165 to $225 an hour depending on bus size, plus 20% for the driver's gratuity and fuel.
Searching for the business named Central Texas Party Bus? That's a separate company, and Austin Nites Party Bus isn't affiliated with it. This page is about party bus trips across Central Texas with Austin Nites.
Central Texas Destinations by Drive Time
Drive times are from downtown Austin without heavy traffic. Add time on summer Saturdays, game days and festival weekends. The hours suggested include the drive both ways.
Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park and Georgetown
Twenty-five to forty minutes north. Most of these bookings are pickups rather than destinations: a group that lives in the suburbs and wants to spend the night downtown. Four to six hours covers it.
Lake Travis and Lakeway
Thirty-five to forty-five minutes to most marinas, longer on summer Saturday mornings when RM 620 backs up. Six to eight hours for a boat day. See our Lake Travis shuttle service for marina timing.
Dripping Springs, Driftwood and Spicewood
Forty to fifty minutes southwest. Three wineries or a winery, a distillery and barbecue fit comfortably in six to seven hours. Start with Dripping Springs wine tours or Spicewood and Driftwood wine tours.
San Marcos
Thirty-five to forty-five minutes south on I-35. The spring-fed river is the mellowest float in the region. Seven to nine hours, with the waiting built in. See our San Marcos river trip.
New Braunfels and Gruene
Fifty to sixty minutes south. The Comal float, or wineries and a stop in Gruene. Seven to nine hours. See New Braunfels wine tours.
Johnson City
About an hour west on 290. A good middle ground for groups who want more than Dripping Springs but not a full Fredericksburg day. Eight hours. See Johnson City wine tours.
Fredericksburg
About an hour and a half west. Three hours of the day are driving, which is why we book it at ten. See the Austin to Fredericksburg route and Fredericksburg wine tours.
Book the Day, Not Just the Drive
The most common mistake on an out-of-town trip is booking for the time you want at the destination and forgetting the road. Work it out the way we do.
Dripping Springs, 6 hours
About 1.5 hours of driving, 4.5 hours on the ground. Room for three wineries at about an hour each, plus lunch.
San Marcos float, 8 hours
About 1.5 hours of driving, three hours on the river, and the rest for check-in, tubes, changing and the ride back. This assumes the bus waits while you float.
Fredericksburg, 10 hours
About three hours of driving, seven in town. Three or four wineries, lunch on Main Street, and nobody rushing.
Build in 20 to 30 minutes for boarding at each stop. A group of 25 never gets back on the bus in five minutes, and on a winery day that time adds up.
What a Central Texas Trip Costs
These are our published hourly rates for Central Texas party bus rentals out of Austin. Every booking adds 20% for the driver's gratuity and fuel and has a four-hour minimum.
per hour. Comfortable for 10 to 12.
per hour. Same rate as the 30.
per hour. Comfortable at 24 to 26.
per hour. Weddings and big groups.
Off-peak bookings, mainly weekdays and daytime, start at $150 an hour. A weekday winery trip is one of the easiest ways to use them, and our cheap party bus rental guide covers the rest.
Three trips, priced per person
Using the middle of each range, with the 20% included.
The per-person cost falls fast as the group grows, because the bus costs the same whether 20 or 26 people are on it. If you're on the line between two sizes, the bigger bus often costs nothing extra per head.
Where a Party Bus Earns Its Rate
Inside downtown, a group can get by on rideshares. Outside it, the math changes.
Rideshares thin out
Getting a car to a Driftwood winery is one thing. Getting five of them back at the same moment, late in the afternoon, is another. On a bus, the ride home is already parked outside.
No designated driver
A Hill Country wine day with three or four tastings and an hour-plus drive home is exactly the trip nobody in the group should drive.
Everyone arrives together
Wineries and river outfitters run on reservations. One vehicle means one arrival time, and nobody lost on a ranch road.
Somewhere to leave things
On a float day booked with the bus waiting, bags, dry clothes and phones stay on the bus instead of in a cooler on the river.
How to Book a Trip Out of Austin
Confirm your reservations first
Wineries, tasting rooms and tube outfitters book up on weekends. Get their times, then build the bus around them.
Count the hours
Drive both ways, plus time at each stop, plus boarding. That number is your booking.
Book online or call
Multi-stop trips are quicker on the phone at (512) 825-4032. Our guide on how to book a party bus in Austin walks through both options.
Get it in writing
Your confirmation lists the bus, the hours, every stop and the total with the 20% included before you pay.
Fall winery Saturdays and summer lake and river weekends fill four to eight weeks out. Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day fill earlier.
An Austin Company That Runs the Whole Region
We've been operating out of Austin since 2013, from our base at 2020 S Congress Ave. We own the buses we send and employ the drivers who drive them, and our rates are published rather than quoted case by case. Every trip on this page starts and ends in Austin, so our Austin home base is where to start if you want to see the city-night side of what we do too.
If you're comparing companies for a trip out of town, ask each one, us included, for its certificate of insurance and its USDOT number, then check the number on the federal FMCSA SAFER database. For which areas we pick up from, see party bus rental companies in Austin, and for building a multi-stop day, see custom party bus packages. All of our winery routes are on our Austin wine tours page, and if you also want a party bus in Austin, Texas for a night downtown, start there.
Related Austin Party Bus Pages
Austin limo party bus
The vehicle question: stretch limo vs limo-style bus vs converted bus, and what each costs.
Cheap party bus rental in Austin, TX
Six ways to pay less, off-peak rates from $150 an hour, and how to read a low quote.
Fetti party bus Austin
Group rideshare or a bus for the night, and how to compare the price per person.
Luxury party bus Austin
What luxury should mean on a party bus, wedding and client arrivals, and add-ons.
Austin distillery tours
Hill Country distilleries by bus, with the barbecue stop built in.
Austin party bus FAQ
Booking, BYOB, timing, payment and the rest of the common questions.
Central Texas Party Bus FAQs
Do you run party buses outside Austin?
Yes. We run trips across Central Texas from Austin, including Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Johnson City, Fredericksburg, San Marcos and New Braunfels, and we pick up from Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Georgetown and the other suburbs.
Is Austin Nites the same company as Central Texas Party Bus?
No. Central Texas Party Bus is a separate business, and Austin Nites Party Bus isn't affiliated with it.
How much does a party bus to the Hill Country cost?
Our rates run $165 to $175 an hour for 14 passengers, $175 to $200 for 20 or 30, and from $225 for 50, plus 20% for the driver's gratuity and fuel. A six-hour Dripping Springs trip for 12 people is about $102 each; a ten-hour Fredericksburg day for 45 people is about $60 each.
Does the drive count toward our hours?
Yes. The booking runs from pickup to drop-off, so the drive both ways is part of your hours. That's why a Fredericksburg trip is booked at ten hours.
Will the bus wait for us during a river float?
It can. Most float groups book the bus to wait for the day, so bags and dry clothes stay on board while you're on the river. Plan seven to nine hours.
Can we bring drinks on a winery or lake trip?
Yes, it's BYOB for passengers 21 and older, with iced coolers on board. Wineries and some parks have their own rules about outside alcohol on their grounds, so check with them.
How far ahead should we book?
Four to eight weeks for fall winery Saturdays and summer lake or river weekends, and earlier for Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day. Weekday trips can often be arranged with a few days' notice.
Plan Your Central Texas Party Bus Trip
Tell us the date, the headcount and where you're headed, and we'll tell you how many hours to book and what it costs. Or see the party bus side of what we do in Austin.
Austin Nites Party Bus · 2020 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704 · (512) 825-4032 · austinnitespartybus@gmail.com