San Antonio

[anniemae]

Debating taking a trip here. Has anyone been? What are some good restaurants and things to do? so far I would do Alamo, river walk, sea world, maybe the zoo?

 

[LSUmiss]

Debating taking a trip here. Has anyone been? What are some good restaurants and things to do? so far I would do Alamo, river walk, sea world, maybe the zoo?

I’d be interested to see these answers too. We went a couple times when I was a kid but haven’t been in about 25 years & never went as an adult. It’s so weird to see this post b/c I was thinking about taking a trip there recently & thought this would be a good place to get some tips.

 

[twoolle]

Schlitterbahn and Six Flags too.
We want to take the kids soon!

 

[Sandeep1]

Debating taking a trip here. Has anyone been? What are some good restaurants and things to do? so far I would do Alamo, river walk, sea world, maybe the zoo?

Ate at a Mexican place on my last trip there that was delicious. It's called "La Fonda on Main."

Alamo is is awesome but do the entire mission circuit. They are all pretty neat to look at. Try to go on a day that isn't super hot. It's hard to escape the sun at some of the missions.

There are a few hotels that are very, very close to the Alamo. I'd try to book one of those.

 

[MrJT]

Downtown, there is a popular Mexican restaurant with tourists called Mi Tierra. It's okay, but we've had better Mexican food on the River Walk, at a place that I believe was called Casa Del Rio.
Make sure that you have a car. The city is spread out, and our only public transportation is the VIA bus line.
What time of year are you planning on visiting?

 

[anniemae]

Thanks everyone. we are looking to go in the spring, maybe May or June. I really want some good tex mex.

 

[JLTraveling]

Go to the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. It's a block or two from the Alamo, and still ranks as one of the coolest but weirdest museums I have ever seen. Takes maybe an hour to see everything. http://www.buckhornmuseum.com/

 

[RUDisney]

I've never gone to San Antonio for fine dining, so I can't recommend anything. We usually eat when we're hungry, wherever we are. We've eaten well on the River Walk.

I took my DS there a few years ago and we had a ball. We went to the Alamo, River Walk and Sea World. We took a day and drove to Austin so I could show him the Johnson Presidential Library and take him to 6th Street.

We stayed near Lackland AFB. His BFF was supposed to graduate from boot camp that weekend, but during his final PT test, he collapsed and they dismissed him because they found out he was anemic. We never saw him that weekend, but had fun by ourselves.

My BFF just moved there for training for work for 3-6 months. I'm planning to visit her and we will head to College Station to see the Bush Presidential Library.

The hotel at which we stayed happened to be a Sea World associated hotel. I think it was a Hampton Inn. We got a really good discount for Sea World by staying there even though it was a complete accident that we selected that hotel.

 

[CynBeth]

We went on a Houston and San Antonio trip a few years ago and it was great! We did the Alamo, drove to the different missions, the boat ride at River Walk and ate at one of the restaurants, Sea World, San Antonio Zoo, and had dinner in the Tower of the Americas. One night we did a horse drawn carriage ride.

 

[MomoMama]

Fiesta runs in April, if you can go in April.

I have been to all Mi Tierra in Market square, Casa Rio on the Riverwalk, and La Fonda on Main. By far La Fonda's food is better, the best we have had in San Antonio so far. Mi Tierra is open 24 hours and a has fun, festive decor. The food is not the best, but not bad at all. Good choice for late night dinner. Casa Rio is good to enjoy the Riverwalk atmosphere. Just average food, but great location.

We like Natural Bridge Caverns. Amazing caves. There is also a safari next-door to it. Feeding zebras is fun! We enjoyed the botanical garden our last trip, but that may be because they had an event going on. It could be a little boring if you are not into gardens. We do like SA zoo. If you love birds, you get to see many and there is a feeding area too (lory landing).

 

[RUDisney]

Fiesta runs in April, if you can go in April. quote]

Fiesta is SO much fun!!!

 

[anniemae]

what is fiesta?

 

[RUDisney]

I happened on Fiesta when I was there last. For about a month, activities occur all around town. We were there for hat and pin night on Alamo Plaza. There was a live band and a bunch of stands giving away pins and other things.

My DS said it was like showing up in New Orleans when you knew nothing about Mardi Gras.

 

[anniemae]

I happened on Fiesta when I was there last. For about a month, activities occur all around town. We were there for hat and pin night on Alamo Plaza. There was a live band and a bunch of stands giving away pins and other things.

My DS said it was like showing up in New Orleans when you knew nothing about Mardi Gras.

Is it family fun or more adult fun?

 

[RUDisney]

There were families, too. There are different things each night. We only did this one. IDK if kids would be completely excited about it because there weren’t games for them, but there were emergency vehicles to go through. It was not deboucherous at all.

 

[anniemae]

Does fiesta make it a lot more crowded?

 

[AustinTink]

Does fiesta make it a lot more crowded?

It's crowded, but manageable.

 

[Hopscotch]

Kids or no kids?

We went for a week in April with our kids and it happened to be during Fiesta. We didn't do much with Fiesta but walked around a fair one night and went to a big carnival another night. It was fun and very family friendly. We did 3 nights in SA and then moved to the Hyatt Wild Oak for 3 or 4 nights. Would highly recommend this hotel. You could also use the facilities at the Hyatt Regency across the road but Wild Oak was much cheaper and we had a 2 bedroom unit. Pools and grounds were amazing, one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever seen.

We did the river boat tour, Seaworld and Aquatica. Smaller than FL, but they were empty so we had so much fun. Also did the Natural Bridge caverns and the ropes course there. So fun. There was a fun restaurant nearby that you could eat outside and it felt like you were in a treehouse. Forget the name but it's definitely well known. Did the Tower of the America's and ate at Casa Rio on the river walk. Also walked most of the Riverwalk which was fun too. DH really liked the Alamo, honestly the rest of us were bored after about 15 minutes (kids after about 5). There is a really nice park nearby with a great playground for kids.

Overall we had a great trip. We are from the northeast so it was fun to visit somewhere completely different.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm wondering what your group enjoys and the ages involved? That can make a lot of difference.

 

[AustinTink]

How long is your trip? I can't see doing more than a couple of days in SA.

You could add Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels to your trip. If you go in April or May the dates are very limited on their operating calendar. The rides are fed by water from the Comal River and it is very cold. So, spring is a tough one for Schlitterbahn. We have been in May for school field trips and the kids were turning blue early in the day and later in the evening. On the upside, the crowds are non-existent in April and May in the waterpark.

Gruene, Texas is a fun day trip. It's a few minutes from New Braunfels and has a cool main street area with restaurants, shops, wineries and bed and breakfasts. The Gristmill is a favorite restaurant that has been around forever. There is also Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas, with live music and dancing.