Dogs, river levels and lodging tax: river cabin travel agent questions before reserving
People who call or write to our Austin office tend to ask the same river cabin travel agent questions, so we have gathered them on one page. They cover the eleven Hill Country stays we plan, the water in each river, how a price is put together, who you pay, and what happens between sending a request and unpacking the car at a lodge, inn or cabin resort.
How a riverside stay comes together through this office
Our work is the middle part of the trip. We help you pick a stay, check with the lodging business that your nights are open, and send you a single written quote. Once you agree, we ask the lodge to hold those nights under your name, and from then on you deal with its front desk for payment and check-in. If your question is not below, the request form has a note field, and we answer it in writing.
Questions about rivers, prices, paying the lodge and the form
What does the Austin office do for me?
We choose a stay with you, ask the lodge, inn or cabin resort whether your dates are free, and write one quote with the nights, the from figure, tax shown on its own line and the lodge's cancellation terms. When you say yes, we ask the lodging business to set the nights aside in your name.
Do lodges send the office a commission?
The lodging business does. It sends us a commission after your stay is over. You pay us nothing at any point, and every payment for the stay goes straight to the lodge.
Where and when do I pay for the stay?
You pay the lodge, inn or cabin resort directly, on the schedule and terms it sets. It registers you at its own front desk and collects hotel tax itself.
Which rivers and towns are in the catalog?
Eleven stays on eight rivers: the Comal, San Marcos, Guadalupe, Llano, Frio, Blanco, Colorado and Pedernales. The closest is a cottage in Wimberley, about 38 miles from the office; the farthest is a couples cabin near Leakey, about 167 miles out.
Why is the catalog ordered the way it is?
Each river gets one number: how much of its May flow is still running in August, taken from the nearest USGS gauge over 1996 to 2025. Rivers fed by big springs keep 62% or more and sit in one group; rivers that depend mostly on rain keep 34% or less and sit in the other. Concan and Leakey share a gauge on the Frio, so they share a number.
Will there be water in the river when I arrive?
That depends on rain, and levels change from week to week. This fall has been dry: in the 30 days to 29 October 2026, provisional USGS readings put the Blanco at Wimberley near 6 cfs, where an October median is 46. Your written quote describes the river as it stands that week, so you decide with current numbers in hand.
What if the river drops before my dates?
Whether nights can move for weather or low water is the lodge's decision. Tell us, and we ask the lodge on your behalf and pass its answer back to you in writing.
Nights times the nightly rate: where a from figure starts
The number of nights times the lodge's published nightly rate for a unit two can share, plus any charge the lodge makes mandatory, rounded up. The per-person figure is half of that, for two sharing. A two-night cabin at Junction, for example, comes to from $100 per person. More on the method is on the page about how the figures are built.
Is lodging tax counted in a from figure?
No. Texas state hotel tax of 6% plus any local hotel tax is added by the lodge at checkout. The written quote shows the tax separately so you can see it before you agree.
Why do some prices say they are confirmed in the quote?
For Concan and Leakey, the lodges have not published their cleaning and resort charges, so our figure counts an estimate of those fees. For Wimberley, the resort publishes no nightly rate of its own, so the rate itself is our working number. The Concan cabin, for instance, reads from $385 per person. The written quote replaces each estimate with the lodge's own figures for your dates.
May a dog come to the cabin?
Each lodge sets its own rules on pets, and we ask on your behalf. Mention the animal in the note on the form. As one example, the four-cabin resort at Bend lets guests add a $20 pet fee by choice.
Can we bring children or a third guest?
Who can stay in a room or cabin is up to the lodge. Put the ages of everyone traveling in the note and we check before writing the quote. Some places charge for extra guests: the inn at Gruene adds $25 a night for a third person in the room.
How do I get there, and where do I check in?
You drive in your own car, and the quote lists the town and the lodge so you can plan the route. On arrival you check in at the lodge's own desk, using the confirmation the lodge sends you.
How soon will I hear back?
The phone is staffed Tuesday through Saturday. A written request that reaches us by 1 p.m. on one of those days is answered in writing by 4 p.m. that afternoon. Anything later, or sent on a Sunday or Monday, is answered by 4 p.m. on the next day the phone is staffed.
What does the request form ask, and does it commit me to anything?
It asks what you want the water for, which stay (or help choosing), the month you hope to arrive, how many adults, how many nights, your name, email, an optional phone number and a note for the lodge. You can send it at any hour, it costs nothing, and it holds no nights.
What happens after I say yes?
A reply to our quote email is enough. We then ask the lodging business to hold the nights in your name, the lodge sends its own confirmation, and you pay it on its terms.
How do changes and cancellations work?
They follow the lodge's own terms, which appear in your quote before you agree. Tell us about a change and we pass it to the lodge the same phone day, or the next one. Any refund comes from the lodge. The cancellation page walks through the details.
Also worth a look from here: river cabin stays from Austin