Boat Rental? Who? Lake Travis or Lake Austin? (Hurst, Lakeway: rentals, restaurants)

[FueledByBlueBell]

I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good place to rent a boat for 2 people on a weekend day. Travis seems pretty low for boating so how is Lake Austin? We've never gone out on either so no idea what to expect.

[CptnRn]

Travis is has lots of deep water even when it is low, I had sailboats there for years and rarely ever ran aground. There are more places to go, more things to see, and restaurants you can boat up to.

You can see most of what there is to see on Lake Austin pretty quickly, there aren't many places you can stop, eat, etc. Its really more of a river then a lake, narrow and long. Its also pretty crowded on weekends. Friends of ours kept a powerboat in a slip there for awhile but said they got bored with it pretty quick. The one advantage Lake Austin has is the water coming out of the bottom of Lake Travis at the dam is colder then that at the surface in Lake Travis, so Lake Austin is cooler during the summer heat.

There are lots of boat rental places listed, if I had to suggest one I guess it would be Hurst Harbor. I have always owned my boat, never rented except in the Virgin Islands.

[hoffdano]

Lake Austin's water level is constant unless the LCRA is doing something with it.

Lake Travis is low, but there is still lots of water. You can rent boats at many places. I heard Just for Fun rentals is good but have no experience with them. If you go on Travis - just pay attention to where you are going and look at the buoys. Don't go in an area you don't know or don't see other boats.

On summer weekends both lakes get busy. I think Lake Austin will be less satisfying since there are so many ski/wakeboard board boats driving in circles picking up skiers.

If you are going cruising on LT, I would not rent a "real" ski boat. It will have a hard ride in the chop. Rent a regular v-hull boat like a SeaRay.

[chickenfry]

just4fun on travis
they have always been great

[love roses]

We were just out on the lake last weekend. It's not too bad. Like hoffdano says, pay attention to the buoys.

[another_hot-day]

Just for Fun or Lakeway Marina for Lake Travis.
Plenty of water in it. Just pay attention.


I haven't used a rental for Lake Austin yet, so if you do come back and let me know how they were.
Lake Austin is gorgeous and COLD.

[thesonofgray]

I rented a simple 18' ski boat from Hurst Harbor once. It was a pleasant experience and they had the best hourly price I could find. A lot of rental places did 4 and 8 hour rentals, and nothing really in between. We wanted to go for about 5-6 hours, and Hurst Harbor simply does it by hour and not day/half-day.

Actually, I just peeked at their website (Hurst Harbor Marina, Lake Travis Boat Rentals – Austin, TX) and it looks like they did away with the 25% hourly discount on weekdays, so they might not be the best price anymore. I'd recommend them anyways.

[love roses]

The only place that I'm familiar with is near the Dam and Carlos and Charlies, but I can't remember the name of it. But there are quite a few more places that rent them scattered around the Lake.

[joejitsu]

Lake Travis is the best. Get a jetski too fun. Be careful though they can be dangerous.

[ILikeSmartHippies]

Does the wind cause problems for kayaks or canoes? I've been stuck on the "wrong side" of lakes before, after the afternoon wind came up & made it very hard to get back to the side I was camped at. With Austin's winds that's my biggest concern after "is there water there".