San Antonio Trip Advice

San Antonio rocks. Plan 2 days for Sea World. There is a theme park - Fietsa Texas across the highway if you want to ride more rides. Plan one day for San Antonio Zoo - not to be missed. It is so cool. There is a full size carousel out front. There is boat and a train that goes through the zoo. Plan one day for the river walk. You can take a barge ride down the river walk. eat at Rainforrest cafe. The Alamo is right there on street level, along with tons of souvenier shops, Ripleys Believe it Or Not, and tons of other stuff in that saem 5 block radius. There is endess stuff to do.

Our family loves the missions. We avoid the Alamo because of crowds. The other missions are free admission and you can do all five or pick and choose. I highly recommend the Mission San Jose if you only do one since it is the most complete and largest. Remember the mission churches are active so be considerate if you go on a Sunday.

The River Walk is popular but we aren't huge fans. We also think the food is really mediocre. We joke for such a Mexican town San Antonio has really bad Tex Mex and Mexican food.

We prefer El Mercado (the Market Square) which is close to the River Walk. The food (especially Mi Tierra - They serve very authentic Mexican food and Tex Mex both. also they have a great panaderia (bakery).) is good there too. Plus the shops are fun for a taste of Mexico.

The weather can be odd that time of year so be warned. It could be fairly hot during the day and chilly at night. Also that is our rainy season. Have a fun trip.

Whoops! Thought I read San Diego. duh! There is a zoo in San Antonio, but I didn't go while I was there. No whale watching- naturally. lol Sorry!

San Antonio is great for kids! There is a Children's Museum here and one in New Braunfels (right on I-35 north of San Antonio that you will drive through as you come in) that both of my kids love! Six Flags amusement park (http://www.sixflags.com/fiestaTexas/index.aspx) is open weekends starting in March, and will be open the week of Spring Break. There is also the Riverwalk which has the boat tours down the river which can be fun for kids. There is a Ripley's Believe it or Not downtown and a Wax Museum. The San Antonio Zoo is also lots of fun, and spring is a great time to go.
I have also done the drive from MN (through Nebraska) to TX. If you take 35 South, which I assume you will, be sure to take the turnpike. There are lots of easy stops along the way. There are also rest areas with parks once you get into Texas, which can break up the drive.
So much for a family to do!
PM me if you have other questions.
:)

San Antonio has Sea World and Fiesta Texas. Remember, by March it'll be pretty warm and just like other amusement parks, there's alot of walking. I suggest getting your tickets online in advance, and getting there when the gates open.

If your son like walking and looking at things, then he'll like the Riverwalk, the Mission Trail, and the botanical gardens to run around in. Hemisphere Park is right off the Riverwalk next to the convention center (which also has an amazing underground landscaped area the entire length of the center) that has fountains, misting stations, play areas and cafes.

There is a great children's museum a few blocks from the Riverwalk - interactive and great to introduce him to Texas-Mexian culture.

The Alamo isn't crowded first thing in the morning. We go all the time and have great pictures of us in front of it w/o anyone else in the picture. Its in Alamo square where you'll find plenty of refreshments, my favorite being the Hagan Daz shop right across the street.

Don't do the bus tour - waste of time and waaaay to expensive.

Texas has alot of history - western and Mexican. We have stayed at the Menger, Emily Morgan and Crocket Hotel - all nice and old w/lots of historic pictures in the lobbies and hallways ifyou like things like that. If you don't stay there, at least go through their lobbies - periodic furnishings and marks of history everywhere. We have also stayed at several hotels right off the riverwalk - not bad as long as you have a riverview.

Mi Tiera is a great market and has a great cultural atmosphere to eat and shop. Try some of the Mexican pastries! You can hop on the streetcar line to get there. We tried walking once and in the heat it was too much for us, but it really isn't far from the riverwalk on a nice day.

I suggest visiting Buckhorn Saloon - its a restaurant and museum of the most mounted wild game I've ever seen in my life. Chris Madrid's is worth a visit - they have the best and biggest hamburgers ever, but its out of the city limits. But anywhere you go is good eating in San Antonio.

gl! We love San Antonio!

It's SO worth the money to get the pass to jump to the front of the lines... because if you don't you'll spend most of your time just waiting if it's busy. And try to get your tickets through a local credit union, they're usually discounted. Check their website and see if they have any specials going on, we got the meal thing and it ended up being ok (just ok) they places you can use it at are packed like crazy but the food was really good.. and you do save money pre-paying for the food.