Need help planning a Texas spring break trip!

[v.t.]

Check out Fredericksburg. It is centrally located in the Hill Country. There are cute little shops, etc. but you will be in driving distance of Enchanted Rock (which you can do with a baby in tow) and the LBJ ranch and museum. I highly recommend the LBJ ranch. They have a neat bus tour and you more than likely will see some wildlife. They are very kid friendly, they have the junior ranger program and sometimes they also have special events in the evening like archery, etc. Just check out the website. There is also a wildflower store and green house that is very interesting. And Pedernales Falls (if it is warm.) There is a waterfall and the kids have a blast playing in the river.
If you go to Marble Falls you have to go by the Bluebonnet Cafe. It is famous for it's Texas Toast at breakfast and it's Pie. (They have happy hour in the afternoon for the pie! mmmm...pie)
If you are looking for a room in Austin we like the Embassy Suites, Austin Central. You will have to drive to the capital and the bridge but the breakfast and large rooms are worth it.
I am sure you have checked out traveltex.com. Be sure and get the travel magazine. There are all kind of neat stuff in there. Have a great trip.

 

[lovehoney]

I agree with many of the previous posters about staying in the Hill Country. We are going for a short weekend trip soon to Marble Falls - we plan on visiting the Longhorn caverns and maybe Inks lake state park.

The Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi trip sounds doable. You could also look into Dude Ranches - but they are not really a budget trip. I've heard Bandera has a lot of good ones.

Houston and Galveston would probably be another trip. If you do go to that way check out the city pass for Houston. It includes Space Center Houston. Houston hotels are really cheap, especially through Hotwire.

Galveston is back on track. They are so ready for visitors. It might be hard to get a beach house since many were destroyed, but a hotel should be no problem. You would have the Spring Break problem. The beaches in Corpus Christi are more picturesque but Galveston can be fun.

Have fun!

 

[anl]

We've been to the animal place in Johnson City. Our kids enjoyed it. I have not been to the drive thru one, but my sister has and a friend of mine has. They both enjoyed it, but my friend did get the top of her car scratched by one of the animals. There is not a lot else to do in Johnson City though. Marble Falls is right up the road and Fredricksburg not too far plus lots of wineries that way. From Austin, you can get to JC in about an hour. If you are coming from the SeaWorld side of SA, the hill country is right past that. Kerrville is about an hour away and there are little towns along the way. It's beautiful over there. Boerne is a neat little town.

If you are wanting to swim, I wouldn't suggest the Crystal Beach/Galveston area.

 

[lovehoney]

Here is a link to live web cams in Galveston.

http://www.galveston.com/webcams/

 

[southtexasmom]

I live in Corpus Christi, don't waste your time coming to the beaches here during Spring Break, they will be overrun with drunks.

There are other things to do here, several great museums.

(The outlet mall in San Marcos is great)

 

[Kirby]

Try contacting the hotels you are interested in about the water temps.

Go over to TripAdvisor and look around. It has great information and also forums where you can ask questions about specific areas.

Once you decide exactly what you want to do, you might go to MapQuest and get driving directions just to see what kind of driving time you are looking at. MapQuest isn't perfect but it can give you an idea on how much time you will spend on the road.

I disagree with previous posters about the drive time between Austin and San Antonio. I think it's much less than two hours but then my SIL's house that we go to is in north SA. We aren't driving down into the city.

 

[dydo2424]

I live in Medina in the Hill Country. With all the rain we've had lately, the rivers should be fantastic for tubing and canoeing. There's tons of "dude" ranches in Bandera that offer that plus horseback riding, trail rides, chuckwagon meals, golf, etc. If you come through here stop by the apple store and say hello - i work in the bakery.

Lots of B&B's in Fredericksburg. Love that town and it's near Enchanted Rock.

I've been to Port Aransas the last 2 years during Spring Break and took my kids and the beaches were great! Maybe they're patroled better near town. I was really nervous about the drunk crazies but never saw many people at all. That said, the weather was kind of cool so that may have had something to do with it. And that time of year, the weather is pretty unpredictable. I think the water is too cold, but the kids don't mind it too much. Too bad you won't be there April 9 - 11, there's a sand sculpturing contest that's amazing!!

Tons to do in San Antonio and I agree with PP we have an awesome zoo, children's museum, fun riverwalk and all the great food not to mention the sea world and six flags theme parks. Texas is HUGE. You can drive all day and barely leave the state..

 

[BarbWB]

Are you outdoorsy types? Pedernales State Park is about a 35 minute drive from Austin. It's gorgeous. The kids love scampering around on the rocks . Enchanted Rock is nice (and doable w/a baby in a backpack), but it is much farther.

 

[madelyn]

I was born and raised in San Antonio and currently live just north of Austin in Round Rock. My family is still in San Antonio and my in-laws are in Houston. Our kids are 11, 8 and 3. I think most people have mentioned just about everything I thought of mentioning. The Children's Museum of Houston is awesome! http://www.cmhouston.org/ You could spend all day there! Our kids enjoy the Health Museum that is a short walk away http://www.mhms.org/. We took the kids to the Galveston Beach for the first time last year and they had a good time and did not seem to mind that it was kinda yucky and dirty! The Hyatt Resorts in Bastrop and San Antonio are wonderful and they also have a timeshare property called the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch that you may be able to rent through the Hyatt website. The Westin La Cantera in San Antonio (near Six Flags) is very nice as well. I don't think the waterpark areas at Sea World and Six Flags in San Antonio are open until June. Make sure that the annual pass you buy at Sea World allows entry into the parks in other states. Depending on the type of pass you buy, it may not allow entry into the CA and FL parks.

 

[Mouse13]

I just have one more word to add to all the great advice so far......Chuey's! Whatever you do, if you like Mexican food, don't miss the chance to eat at Chuey's in Austin! It's incredible and one of my favorite places in the whole wide world. I also second a previous poster's suggestion to visit Zilker Park in Austin. DS, 11, loves it and is always asking to go back. Have a great time with your family!

 

[Planogirl]

If you like Texas style barbecue there are lots of good places in and around Austin. I personally love the County Line in Austin. There are also a few good places in the town of Lockhart which is to the south of Austin.

 

[JennCa]

Did you all enjoy Riverwalk with kids? I was hoping to get a hotel walking distance of it so we could have dinner and a few drinks and walk by. (only if it is in a art of town that is safe for!)

Does it remind you of Downtown Disney with chain restaurants and all upscale/clean or more authentic hole in the wall places?

Also, if I don't stay down there and I just go for the day is it easy for parking?

Jenn

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Does it remind you of Downtown Disney with chain restaurants and all upscale/clean or more authentic hole in the wall places?

Also, if I don't stay down there and I just go for the day is it easy for parking?

Jenn

Nope, nothing like DTD. More touristy and not that great in my opinion. But then again, I'm not a fan of San Antonio. My sister loves going there, though.

 

[Planogirl]

Did you all enjoy Riverwalk with kids? I was hoping to get a hotel walking distance of it so we could have dinner and a few drinks and walk by. (only if it is in a art of town that is safe for!)

Does it remind you of Downtown Disney with chain restaurants and all upscale/clean or more authentic hole in the wall places?

Also, if I don't stay down there and I just go for the day is it easy for parking?

Jenn

Our son always enjoyed walking around the Riverwalk and there are plenty of places to eat. This includes chains such as the Hard Rock, hole in the wall places and more upscale restaurants. There are some Ripley's museums just off the Riverwalk that DS adored too.

Just about the whole area is perfectly safe in the daytime and the Riverwalk/Alamo areas are fine at night. Like any city, it's wise to be cautious if you get out of the busy areas. You can park easily but it is expensive! I would suggest parking at the Rivercenter Mall which is actually on a branch of the Riverwalk. There is an IMAX and some restaurants there, and also two giant Marriott hotels so there are always people around.

 

[sk!mom]

Did you all enjoy Riverwalk with kids? I was hoping to get a hotel walking distance of it so we could have dinner and a few drinks and walk by. (only if it is in a art of town that is safe for!)

Does it remind you of Downtown Disney with chain restaurants and all upscale/clean or more authentic hole in the wall places?

Also, if I don't stay down there and I just go for the day is it easy for parking?

Jenn

We always stay on the Riverwalk. It feels very safe and kid friendly. Hard Rock and Rainforest Cafe both have Riverwalk locations- places my kids loved when they were young. Dh and I avoid them now but they're great for kids. The River Taxis are fun for kids.

Definitely stay on the river but be sure to book a Riverwalk Hotel. That area feels very safe day or night but I wouldn't feel safe to walk too far away from the river at night. Our favorites are probably the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk or La Mansion Del Rio. We were there a couple of weeks ago and stayed at the Emily Morgan. We got it on Priceline for a great price so it was fine. It's directly across the street from the Alamo. The night we were there we walked back to the hotel from a club after midnight and it felt very safe with lots of people walking also.

There are lots of pay lots in the area if you don't stay down there. The few times that we've stayed in the Fiesta TX Sea World area and just visited downtown we normally use the Rivercenter Mall lot. I seem to remember that you can get the parking stub stamped for free or discounted parking but it's been a long time. Since I brought up the mall, there is an Imax in there with a good Alamo movie.

Honestly I would stay a night or two downtown for ease in visiting that area and because it's such a pretty area and then I'd move nearer Fiesta TX and Sea World when you are going to be visiting them.

Other great ideas for Downtown- see if anything good is playing at The Majestic or Lila Cockerel, and check out what might be happening at The Alamodome. We love to walk to any of those from a Riverwalk hotel.

We love San Antonio!

 

[Kirby]

Someone earlier mentioned Port Aransas. I was there last spring with my daughter's high school band for a competition. They stayed at the Port Royal something or other. The condos are great! And the pool is fantastic, huge and in three sections. The high school kids loved it!

 

[apnep]

Did you all enjoy Riverwalk with kids? I was hoping to get a hotel walking distance of it so we could have dinner and a few drinks and walk by. (only if it is in a art of town that is safe for!)

Jenn

OMG, the Riverwalk is nice to walk around, but don't waste your arm and your leg eating at a restaurant there because they are way overpriced.

 

[apnep]

Yellowstone was amazing and is a lot more inviting than Disney right now.

Deb, our kids LOVED Yellowstone. It is beautiful there. They would love to go back.

 

[ekatiel]

As far as food goes: Try flip happy crepes (they operate out of a trailer and were featured on Showdown with Bobby Flay b/c of their yummy crepes) in Austin. Here's the website for hours and location: http://fliphappycrepes.blogspot.com/ --Make sure to try their savory crepes-- we got one with roasted chicken, carmalized onions and feta-- it was YUMMY!!!

We LOVE Rudy's BBQ, which now has several locations in San Antonio. The "original" one is on I-10, just north of the city. There is also one near Sea World. Here's their website: http://rudys.com/ Be sure to try the creamed corn, which is to DIE FOR!!

Lockhart, TX, is supposed to have some of the best BBQ around, too-- I haven't eaten there since I was a kid, though!

If you want to eat ON the Riverwalk, the only reasonably priced place around is the Mexican food place with the different color umbrellas (you can't miss it). Have a fun trip! --Katie

 

[dydo2424]

My kids enjoyed being on the riverwalk, but we weren't down there very long. I was nervous about them falling into the river! And someone can probably correct me, but if you think you might have the little one in a stroller, I don't remember it being all that stroller-friendly. It can get pretty busy and the walkway isn't all that wide. The river taxis are fun for the kids.

I have never felt unsafe downtown San Antonio. I can vouch for LaMansion, St. Anthony, and the Havana Hotel downtown San Antonio. The Havana is more of a boutique grown-ups only kind of place. There are LOTS of nice hotels downtown SA. And out of downtown I've stayed at the Omni on IH-10and it was very nice and roomy.