Mom Seeking Advice on What to Do & Where to Stay in San Antonio

The Alamo wasn't that great. We were disappointed. Go to see it, but don't expect to stay long. The Riverwalk, on the other hand, was pretty cool. It's beautiful just walking around, even if you don't shop much. Isn't San Antonio close to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels? That's a great outing for everybody. As for lodging, with that many people you're better off renting a cottage. You can get a good deal by the week. Google "San Antonio vacation rental." That way you'll get a full kitchen, and you can keep breakfast and lunch items there.

We stayed at Hotel Contessa, on the Riverwalk. It is a lovely hotel and all the rooms are suites. It does have two beds and a fold out couch. Also, the bedroom has a door that can close off the front part of the room. We got our room for under $200., but you will need to search and book ahead. You might even call the hotel and ask when they will be running specials. Good Luck!

The last time we went was quite a few years ago, but there was a La Quinta on the outside loop of San Antonio right near the exit to Sea Work that was pretty good for the money. No sure if it can handle that many, but worth a shot. If you have AAA or if your mom is a member of AARP, you could use those disounts too. If you have an Entertainment book, that cold hold discounts to quite a few places.

The Comfort Inn and Suites is a good hotel. All the rooms have 2 beds, plus a living area with a sleeper sofa. The bedroom has a door you can close for privacy from the living area. My husband and 4 kids always stay there. We stay at the one near SeaWorld. It is very reasonable. Actually costs the same as the Quality Inn regular rooms. There is breakfast that includes a waffle machine and biscuts and gravy too.

Check out the Drury Inn and Suites. Several in San Antonio area. We just got back and stayed at the Northwest Drury Inn. Great FREE hot breakfast and huge FREE snack bar included every evening. Paid about $112.00 each night but the rooms were big. We skipped Fiesta Texas and did 2 days at Seaworld. The first day we did all the shows and rides--2nd day we swam at the Sea World Water Park from open to close! Had a blast-take sun screen! Older kiddos might prefer Fiesta Tx (mine are 9 and 6)
Happy Vacation!

Hi C.-

We've been to Sea World twice and have stayed at the Radisson both times. I know the packages with the Radisson are expensive on line but we were able to book a nice room through Priceline for about half the going rate. The good thing about the Radisson if you're doing Sea World is that they have a shuttle that runs continuously back and forth from the hotel to the park. My kids are younger (they were 5 and 3) the last time we went and Sea World was definitely a 2 day thing and we still didn't do everything. We never did get to the water park section of Sea World for example. With older kids, you might make better time but it would still be hard to do everything in only one day. I've never been to Fiesta Texas but I've been to several other six flags parks around the country. They're a lot of fun, but I think Sea World is better.

Good Luck,
K.

My family (My sister, her husband and 15month old, parents, boyfriend and 6 year old son and I) just went to San Antonio for the weekend. We stayed in the Hyatt Place by the Airport. Each night was $116 and they have a good quality continental breakfast. I am a huge fan of this chain, great quality, very clean and good staff. All of their rooms come with pull out sofas. The rooms are very spacious and I think you should be able to sleep 6 comfortably. We went to Sea World and had a blast! We also went to the Alamo. It was nice, I have been many times, but my son was very impressed. Ripley's Believe It or Not is across the street and is quite amusing as well. Sea World has tickets that you can go for two days for the price of one so that might be more cost efficient. Hope this helps...

The Drury Inn (there are several locations in San Antonio) is a great, reasonably priced hotel, and they have free full breakfast (not Continental). The boys will enjoy Seaworld, becauase there is a waterpark on the property. To make the vacation, I would do a day a Seaworld and a day at Fiesta Texas. The Alamo is educational, but across the street there is Ripley's Believe It or Not and Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum. If you want some good authentic mexican food, please go to Mi Tierra. It's located in the Market district close to downtown. The Riverwalk is fun especially at night. I have been to San Antonio several times with my family (of 6, me, hubby, son, nephew, and two daughters) and we have always had a great time.

You might want to check into the Holiday Inns around the area. I know they serve breakfast and have rooms with 2 beds and a sleeper sofa. If you do plan a trip to downtown, you might want to do the Missions. You basically start at the Alamo and follow the Mission Trail. Try to avoid doing this on a Sunday since many of the missions still conduct a church mass during certain hours of the morning. You can find more information online at www.visitsanantonio.com. What ever you decide to do - Enjoy it!

This summer SeaWorld is offering two days for the price of one tickets so you don't have to worry about the extra cost for another day. My family and I have stayed at the Drury Inn and like it well enough, the breakfast is free and pretty good, not your typical continental style, they also have a manager's reception in the evening for a couple of hours that is also free, which includes light snacks like popcorn, sodas, and I believe two free alcoholic drinks which is nice after a long day in the sun. A great site I always use when traveling anywhere is tripadvisor.com they have pretty much everything you can search for whether it be; hotels, entertainment, or whatever else. As for the encounters you mentioned I don't know about those but last year for my son's birthday he did the beluga whale interaction program and it was great and this year we are going to the one in florida to do the shark encounter. I think pretty much all the encounter are great experiences. We have also done the dine with Shamu and you can never go wrong with any of the extras they offer. The staff are always great and make the experience even wonderful. If they kids are more up for rides then I would recommend Fiesta.

My family loves the Natural Bridge Caverns!!! Have your boys ever been in a cave? It is awesome..and the temperature is so nice and cool! You can't beat it with the temperatures this summer!!

I think One day at Sea World and One day at Fiesta Texas. get a map as soon as you get to sea world you can accomplish alot in one day at the park. We went and we were out by 6 in the evening still had time to go eat dinner and get some rest of course we went got to Sea World as soon as it opened.

The Bexar County Zoo is a good one. You can walk around the Mercado for a long time looking at things and people. I personally don't think SeaWorld is a two-day event, unless it's really crowded and you can't get into all the shows you want to see. They have a little-splash area that my daughter LOVED when she was little, so I'd make sure you have swimsuits or quick-dry clothing for little ones.

Hi C., I just happened to have gotten back from San Antonio from our Family vacation and we did go to SeaWorld.
I feel your pain about hotel room expense and here's what I can tell you. Days Inn Hotels are not the absolute best but they are clean and they do have a very good breakfast every morning from 6 - 10 am. I ended up getting two rooms and each had a king bed and a couch that folds out. Now if you call make sure you ask if they have a room with two double beds and a couch(roll-out bed). I would book with the one by the Mall and Alamo right down town. You will be able to walk to Alamo,downtown areas and catch the Riverwalk by going into the Mall (nice cool down). Seaworld was a blast. To be honest you could do SeaWorld for two days...there is so much to do. I've not been to Fiesta Texas but SeaWorld has rides, Water rides, beach wave area. We did not do the Seafair Tour or Penguins close up...but did take in several shows (Shamu Believe), Animal show (trained dogs,cats,pigs), Dolphin/Seal shows...so much to do there I think your boys will have a blast! Downtown.. we did the mirror maze...it's not that big and they can't really get lost, what's good is they can stay in there for quite a while and you can come out and wait and REST! Then there are about 5 places to see (Ripley's Believe it or not, Wax Museum, etc) Some little expensive for so be prepared for that cost I think it was something like all 5 for $47(adults); 2 for $21; 1 for $19.
kids tickets little less depending on age.

All in all I think you all will have a GREAT time!

Hi C.,

My husband lived in San Antonio before he moved here to marry me. His family still lives there and I love it. Everyoe in his family likes both Sea World and Fiesta Texas, although they think it was better before six flags took it over. IF you can fit in both I would, just remember that some of the rides in Fiesta Texas your younger boys may not be able to get on due to height requirements. Before I meet my husband I always stayed at a Drury Inn. They are fairly priced and I believe that you can get them cheaper on priceline.com. Also don't forget about Schlitterbhan in San Marcos. A great website to visit is visitsanantonio.com. If you want I would be more than happy to talk to my husbands family and see if they have any other suggestions. My FIL is a master at priceline. Just send me a message if you want to find out more specific things for you.

Have a great day!
S.