Any Suggestions for San Antonio????

[my2redheads]

DH has two uncles in the San Antonio area that we will be visiting in June. We will only spend an afternoon (or day) with them so I am looking for other fun stuff to do with the kids...the cheaper the better! We are planning on Sea World and Six Flags (we have season passes), the Alamo, Witte Museum, Natural Bridges Cavern. Anything you would add or delete? Also what about a decent hotel?? They all seem so pricey! I feel like I am spending more than I would on a Disney vacation
Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Schlitterbahn Water Park:

http://www.schlitterbahn.com/nb/

 

[3boymthr]

My aunt used to live there and took us all kinds of places. She took us to see the caverns you mentioned and the Alamo as well as the River Walk.

Another place not too far from San Antonio that we visited was the LBJ Ranch. http://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/visitlbjranch.htm We took a tour of the ranch and the home where he was born. It was fascinating to see the humble little home he grew up in. At the time Lady Bird was still living so you couldn't tour the house but I believe that you can now take a tour of the house.

 

[happytexasmom]

[QUOTE I feel like I am spending more than I would on a Disney vacation
Any suggestions are appreciated![/QUOTE]

Thats why we hardly ever go, when you add up all the cost you spend almost as much as at disney and only get to spend half the days

 

[HunnyPots]

San Antonio can be very expensive! But there are some very good hotel deals to be had through Priceline. I've gotten 4 star downtown hotels for around $79 a night.
Check the convention and visitors bureau site for discount coupons on area attractiions.

 

[Planogirl]

I've been thinking about going to San Antonio for a weekend sometime soon! We love the place.

I agree to check for discount coupons and Priceline your hotel or at least check Travelocity and Expedia for good deals. There is also a drive thru safari type attraction run by Natural Bridge if you like that sort of thing. Schlitterbahn is amazing but quite expensive.

One the least expensive things we do is just wander the Riverwalk and explore the Market area. You can also drive the Mission trail (check with the tourism bureau for maps) and this cost nothing or very little and the historic missions are quite fascinating. I like these more than the Alamo personally.

 

[Green Tea]

One the least expensive things we do is just wander the Riverwalk and explore the Market area. You can also drive the Mission trail (check with the tourism bureau for maps) and this cost nothing or very little and the historic missions are quite fascinating. I like these more than the Alamo personally.

I agree!!

 

[beansmom]

don't forget austin is only an hour away and the bats under the 6th St bridge are something to see.

Schlitterbahn has been voted the #1 water park in America....I'd definitely do that!

 

[DisneyAngel83]

I live in the Houston area and we took a weekend last August to visit San Antonio... to make it affordable we used name your own price on Priceline... I think we paid $70 plus tax per night for a really nice hotel right on the Riverwalk (they were doing renovations, so thats probably why they were on priceline), but we loved it!! We went to Sea World one day, did a tour the other day along with shopping and Natural Bridge Caverns the last day... I will tell you that I loved Natural Bridge Caverns, but WOW! what a workout... there are some mighty steep hills you walk up, so be prepared with the humidity in the cave and the amount of activity to sweat.

San Antonio is tons of fun and I think we spent about $700 for the 3 day weekend (for 2 adults). We had a couple of really nice meals too since it was my bday weekend, if we had eaten cheaper, then it would have been less $$

 

[Aristocath]

It is worth the money to stay on the Riverwalk, IMO. You can park your car at the hotel and walk so many places. Also check Travelzoo for rates. It is hot in San Antonio in the summer so there are good rates to be had.

For Mexican food we enjoy Mi Tierra in Market Square and Casa Rio on the Riverwalk. Happily, there are three Earl of Sandwiches in San Antonio.

I would really recommend exploring the Texas Hill Country if you have the time. The LBJ ranch is fun and educational. Fredricksburg is a quaint town with good German food.

Also, check your dates as the Texas Folklife Festival is sometime in June. I haven't been in a number of years but that was always fun. All the different cultures in Texas are represented and you can taste food and beverages. I have no idea what the ticket cost is now.

 

[dumbocutie]

Natural bridge caverns animal park was a ton of fun for our kids. Definitely recommend to river walk boat tour.

 

[FLCyndi]

We were just in San Antonio 2 weeks ago for son's graduation from Bootcamp. We stayed at the SpringHill Suites - Marriott on Richland Dr. Mom and two teenagers-very roomy, inside pool, free breakfast. Located in between strip mall with Target and Walmart. 2 bathroom areas in room and fridge and microwave. $74.95 a nite for 3 or more nights.

We did riverwalk, riverwalk boat ride and Six Flaggs. We ate at BBQ place called Rudy's. Really good and very popular.

 

[mrp4352]

It is worth the money to stay on the Riverwalk, IMO. You can park your car at the hotel and walk so many places. Also check Travelzoo for rates. It is hot in San Antonio in the summer so there are good rates to be had.

For Mexican food we enjoy Mi Tierra in Market Square and Casa Rio on the Riverwalk. Happily, there are three Earl of Sandwiches in San Antonio.

I would really recommend exploring the Texas Hill Country if you have the time. The LBJ ranch is fun and educational. Fredricksburg is a quaint town with good German food.

Also, check your dates as the Texas Folklife Festival is sometime in June. I haven't been in a number of years but that was always fun. All the different cultures in Texas are represented and you can taste food and beverages. I have no idea what the ticket cost is now.

You can plan to spend some time shopping in Market Square beyond just eating at Mi Tierra - they have a large warehouse looking building with all kinds of fun Mexican souvineer style items. (Hmmm... I just shopping kind of negates the budget aspect... Sorry...)

 

[my2redheads]

Thank you for all the replies! I did get a San Antonio book from the Visitor's Bureau and there are some discounts in it. Have thought about going to LBJ house but wasn't sure about the drive.
Has anyone had issues with Priceline and not getting a room with 2 beds?
I know they used to only guarantee a room not the bedding arrangements and I am terrified we'd get stuck with one bed for four people!

 

[driftwood]

We stay at different Drury Inns on the northside of town, if you want something else besides on the riverwalk. Most are a straight shot to downtown on the interstates. Drury Inn at La Cantera is near Fiesta Texas and Sea World. You mentioned the Witte Museum, it is close to the zoo and gardens. Also, for shopping, San Marcos has the huge outlet centers. New Braunfels has a good stop for a meal, like the fast casual (used to be a full restaurant) New Braunfels Smokehouse (german type food). There are many places to eat good food in San Antonio, we like Sea Island for fish and shrimp and it is not pricey, Rudy's or Grady's for bbq (we have a Rudy's now in CO Springs!).

 

[J'aime Paris]

We went to San Antonio a few years ago and it was amazing.

I have a DD who was about 8 or 9 at the time.
We went to Sea World, the Alamo, ate at Rudy's BBq, stayed a couple of nights on the Riverwalk.

Riverwalk boat tour was fun for DD. But mostly it is eating and shopping. Not fun for very long for kids.

The BEST part of the whole trip were the 3 nights we spent on a dude ranch!
About 1 hour from San Antonio is a town called Bandera. We stayed at a ranch called the Silver Spur just outside of town. It was so much fun, and our family decided it was the best vacation we ever took. (Sorry to admit it was even better than WDW for us.)

 

[aggiemullins]

The Riverwalk just had a major expansion in 2009 called the Museum Reach. They actually built locks to be able to reach the upper portion of the river. Anyways, it's a beautiful walk. There isn't too much shopping on it yet as the tourist traps haven't had the time to proliferate it yet, but I'm sure they will eventually. I highly recommend riding/walking the new portion at dusk. Under each of the bridges, they incorporated some kind of artistic lighting that's different under each bridge. Some of them are really beautiful.

Check out this link for more info: http://www.sanantonioriverwalk.com/museumreach.html

The picture in the link with the bridge with the fish is amazing at night because all the fish individually light up. The pictures on this site don't do it justice. By the way, if you're going to be spending the day on the riverwalk, the river taxi is really neat. Certain river boats have checkered flags and you just flag them down like a taxi and they'll take you anywhere you want on the river. You pay a set rate for the day and it's good for 24 hours.

Also, the best Tex-Mex, Margaritas and value (where the locals go) is Alamo Cafe. If you go, try to visit the one on Highway 281. The food and drink is the same, but the ambiance and restuarant itself on 281 is MUCH NICER then the one on I-10. Here is the link:

www.alamocafe.com

It's not the most "amazing" mexican food you'll ever have, but the value and service can't be beat. We eat there close to weekly.

For "amazing" Italian, the locals love Paesanos. Its more on the pricey side. Definitely not as much value, but really good Italian. If you go definitely get the Giant Calamari on the appetizer side. My wife and I go there just for that!

http://www.paesanos.com/

For super pricey anniversary style dining, try The Fig Tree. It's downtown on the riverwalk. It's hands down, our favorite restaurant in the world. It's expensive, but if you're celebrating something, it's worth the price.

http://www.figtreerestaurant.com/index.php

Hope that helps! Have a great trip.

 

[bwilcox]

My kids LOVE the Children's Museum in downtown San Antonio-lots of hands-on activities. Also, we make a trip to Schlitterbahn a few times a year-we love it even more than WDW's water parks!

 

[JennCa]

We went to San Antonio last spring and loved it. We bid on priceline and stayed close by.

I think there was a pink granite rock that was called Enchanted Rock or something like that and we hiked up it, it was breathtaking. Lots of wild flowers in that area at that time. We also went to a couple of the missions outside of town, I'm sure if you search it you'll find it. Very close to LBJ's house there was a safari type zoo where you went and feed exotic animals like giraffess and zebras, ostriches, etc. Our family LOVED this, it was the highlight of our visit.

I enjoyed the Riverwalk and being able to walk around was key, I think staying close by there is worth it. I also liked staying close to Seaworld they had some amazing resorts for a very affordable rate with priceline! Some with a lazy river or fancy outdoor pools and I could hardly get my kiddos to leave there!

Jenn

 

[Planogirl]

I think there was a pink granite rock that was called Enchanted Rock or something like that and we hiked up it, it was breathtaking. Lots of wild flowers in that area at that time. We also went to a couple of the missions outside of town, I'm sure if you search it you'll find it. Very close to LBJ's house there was a safari type zoo where you went and feed exotic animals like giraffess and zebras, ostriches, etc. Our family LOVED this, it was the highlight of our visit.

I was at Enchanted Rock just last month. I hiked around the base of it which was amazing!

To the OP, Enchanted Rock is just to the north of Fredericksburg which is to the north of San Antonio. That area was settled by a lot of German people and like New Braunfels is still very German in some ways. Nearby you also have other caverns including my personal favorite, The Cave Without A Name.

I love Hill Country.