diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 9a8f804644..a405b9ef35 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -5,5 +5,6 @@ install:
     - npm install
     - (cd node_modules/matrix-js-sdk && npm install)
 script:
-    - npm run test
-    - ./.travis-test-riot.sh
+    # don't run the riot tests unless the react-sdk tests pass, otherwise
+    # the output is confusing.
+    - npm run test && ./.travis-test-riot.sh