CONTACT & FAQ

You will meet for the tour at the Frankfort Boat Club Head Boat, located at 101 Riverboat Landing, in downtown Frankfort, Kentucky.

If you put the above address in a GPS, you may be routed to the wrong side of the river. For this reason, it is better to follow the below directions and NOT your GPS!

The Frankfort Boat Club is located behind the Paul Sawyier Public Library, 313 Wapping Street, Frankfort, Kentucky, and directly below the 2nd Street Bridge, also known as "The Singing Bridge".  

All of this is in the downtown part of Frankfort, with the taller buildings and the courthouse. This is NOT on the side of the river with the Police Station and the Fire Station!

We begin boarding the boat 15 minutes prior to departure. The Frankfort Boat Club Head boat does have a restaurant and small convenience store that is typically open prior to and aftert your tour. There are also restrooms at the head boat. We recommend arriving 20 minutes prior unless you want to grab a bite to eat or a drink before your tour. 

When you made your reservation as the group leader you should have been given the options for your meal; your sandwich choice, and your two sides.

For the rest of your party, you can either call or email us your additional participants options. Simply reference your reservation name in your email.

Those contact options are here:

502 219 3318

captain@bourbonboat.com

Your food options are:

Sandwich: 

Pulled Pork

Puller Chicken

Pimento Cheese

Sides:

Potato Salad 

Cole Slaw

Green Beans

Baked Beans

Chips

You must have your options in to our crew 48 hours before your tour. If they are not in by then, you will be given our "stock option", which is a Pulled Pork Sandwich, Baked Beans and Potato Salad.

If your tour is on a weekend, there is normally ample parking behind the Paul Sawyier Public Library, located directly next to our boat dock.

During the week, that lot may be full, but there is plenty of parking on Wapping Street and all connecting streets. This is all FREE city parking. 

We have two vessels. Our smaller "Trace of Kentucky", limited to 14 passengers, legally does not allow bourbon or alcohol on board.  

Our larger vessel, "The Bourbon Belle", does offer some tours that have bourbon tastings as part of them while on board. As of June 1, 2024, we will offer the sale of beer and cocktails on cruises offered on "The Belle". 

We do not offer any alcoholic drink sales on Sunday tours. 

We only visit one distillery, Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is on our Old Taylor Tour.  We cruise behind Buffalo Trace Distillery, viewing the industrial back of the distillery on our Old Taylor Tour and our Lock and Dam Journey Tour.  On all other tours, we discuss distilleries in the area, but do not see them or visit them.

We do! We offer a small menu of cocktails and local beers as well as non alcoholic options like root beer, ginger ale, and water. We do not offer alcoholic drinks sales on Sunday tours.

Our menu can be found HERE!

NO! That is not what we are selling here. If that is what you are looking for for your your group, we might recommended contacting us about a private charter for just your group. We run a family friendly historical cruise of the Kentucky River. Excessive consumption will not be tolerated. If you arrive to our vessel and appear intoxicated, we will refuse your boarding. 

We still want our guests to be able to enjoy their Buffalo Trace tour or tasting. In the case we cancel the river tour portion, you have two options:

We can fully cancel and refund you 100% of the charged amount. You will not get either part of your tour... this is a full cancellation.

If you wish to keep your tour and tasting, we will refund you a portion of the ticket price. This fee goes towards our administrative costs associated with scheduling, reservations, etc.  

The fee's charged will be:

 "Old Taylor Tour" = $39.99 per person

All remaining fees will be refunded to your credit card on file.

Plan on having a good time, learning a lot and seeing some of Kentucky's most premiere countryside and riverfront.

We will cruise the river both up and downstream. Which trip your booked for determines which way you go first. We will pass numerous historic and significant sites, like Daniel Boone's grave, downtown Frankfort, Frank's Ford, Leestown, Buffalo Trace Distillery and the Buffalo Trace, and more.

Our boat is very comfortable and stable on the water. There are seats down both sides, with two benches on each side, totaling 4 benches. You are also welcome to stand and enjoy the view more. 

Mostly, expect to engage in a conversation with the Captain and fellow passengers about the sites you see, the sounds your hear, and the talks of the day.

We recommend bringing along whatever you like to make your trip more comfortable. Ask yourself some "IF" questions:

1. If it is forecast to be a little cooler for your taste, bring a light jacket or a coat.

2. If there is a chance of rain, bring a rain jacket.

3. If you get hungry easy, or thirsty, bring a drink. We do offer complimentary non-alcoholic beverages onboard most tours, and as of June 1, 2024 we offer the sale of beer, wine and cocktails.

4. If you are the kind of person who likes lots of photos, bring a camera or a smart phone. If you are one who lives in the moment, you may want leave it at home or in the car.

5. If you are celebrating something special, bring something special along with you. Examples could be a birthday cake, party hats, a diamond ring, etc.

We have USCG Type I lifejackets available for everyone on board. Those who may be nervous about being on the water, may wear one. Most passengers understand how safe boats are and do not wear them.

We have two vessels, a smaller and a larger one. The smaller one, called the "Trace of Kentucky" and the larger one, "The Bourbon Belle."

We DO NOT allow you to bring your own alcohol on either of our boats. WHY? On "The Trace" it would be illegal as we are a non-enclosed vessel. On "The Belle" we do have our own alcohol license. Similarly to how you would not take a bottle of whiskey into a restaurant, we are the same, legally-speaking. As of June 1, 2024 we will offer beer and cocktails for sale on board "The Belle."

PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THE OLD TAYLOR TOUR offered Mondays and Fridays! For all other tours, well behaved pets are more than welcome to join the tour. They must be leashed at all times and able to sit on the floor of the boat. We want to keep them off the benches so their claws do not damage our seat cushions. Do realize that if your pet has never been on a boat, they may be tentative about loading and unloading, so we recommend arriving early to get them acclimated.

Of course! Feel free to bring any snacks or food along, and be sure to bring some for us! Just kidding! We DO NOT allow you to bring your own alcoholic drinks as we have our own liquor license and serving bar on board.

YES! All of our captains are USCG licensed merchant mariners  They all hold Master Licenses.