San Antonio Travel

[jportal50]

My wife, two girls (6 and 9) and I are doing San Antonio for spring break next week. Finances, savings, the economy, et al, have dictated we not travel as much as we would like, other than in the our immediate AO. We plan on doing the typical sites in the area: River Walk, Sea World and The Alamo. We intend on arriving on Wed, departing on Sun of next week. For reference, we are staying at a hotel near Lackland.

We would greatly appreciate suggestions on points of interest to fill time we are not doing the above mentioned. There was a tourist restaurant (Mexican) I went to awhile ago, but don't recall the name, I think the kids would like it, and my age took from my memory.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[TXAggie05]

If you're going to the Alamo, you might as well jump over and do the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum w/ the kids. Although, expect to be disappointed with the Alamo, and I say that in all earnestness as a multi-generation Texan. They pretty much bastardized it into a tourist trap :(

Sea World is awesome, I guess it will be too chilly for the waterpark but the shows are really great and there's a lot to do. Six Flags Fiesta Texas will be open the Saturday before you leave and it's always a blast with the kiddos.

Have a great time! :smile:

[Outofcontrol]

In addition to that already stated, if you are going to stick primarily to Downtown, definitely get a river cruise, as the Riverwalk has been expanded over the past couple of years and the new section just completed last year. There is also Hemisphere Park/Tower of Americas--tallest structure in SA. Just north of Downtown, you have Brackenridge Park which contains the San Antonio Zoo, and Japanese Tea Gardens (very popular, even with the locals--this would be an all-day evolution).

Out closer to Lackland (comparatively), as TA05 stated, you have SeaWorld and Fiesta Texas. Also, in the Fiesta Texas area, there is some great shopping and dining at "La Cantera."

Google any of the above keywords for plenty of background info or feel free to PM if you need more ideas.

OOC, out

[Walken1]

My cousins have a Mexican Restaraunt called Mexican Manhatten downtown. They have a nice patio on the River Walk. It's been around 50yrs and is a local favorite. Good food. Good Price. It's not touristy really.
The River Walk is full of places you can visit in any city ie..Hard Rock, Dicks etc.
Try to find things unique to San Antonio.

Any questions you have once you get here feel free to give me a call if I can help out.
PM inbound

[Tracy]

There are many Spanish Missions in the area as well. Worth a looksee.

Gruene, TX is a nice little day trip. Quaint town with some wineries, restaurants, old fashioned ice cream, antique stores and a lot of hand-made crafts.

San Antonio Museum of Art is pretty danged cool.

San Antonio Children's Museum is on Houston Street about a block from the Alamo.

Market Square is south of downtown and has some nice shops.

There's a laser tag facility on the east side on Loop 1604 just north of I-35.

Dick's Last Resort after 1800 in the evening on the River Walk... :smile:

Head up into wine country and cruise around.

Boerne, TX has a city park with a nice walking trail, nature center and animals running around. Boerne is a nice place for lunch as well. The park is on Highway 46 about one mile east of I-10.

Government Canyon State Natural Area is on Loop 1604 in NW San Antonio.

Natural Bridge Caverns and Wildlife Ranch are a must-see for the kids. The Wildlife Ranch is a drive-through and you can buy food pellets to feed the critters with. Go early in the morning when they're hungry. It's 8 miles north of exit 175 on I-35, Highway 3009. Little town called Schertz, TX.

http://www.visitsanantonio.com/visitors/play/day-trips/index.aspx

Hope this helps.

[SN]

Witte Museum

[Walken1]

x2 on Gruene and Natural Bridge Caverns and Wildlife Ranch. In Gruene there's a petty famous dance hall thats family friendly and the Grist Mill next door is a very cool place to dine.

[jportal50]

Thank you, the suggestions are more than we expected, and very appreciated. My tour guide/boss, otherwise known as wife, is setting the itinerary and is going to hit as much as possible. The kids read this as well, and are excited. The cool thing is: my wife is actually talking going early so we can see/do what has been suggested; that is a first.

I really appreciate it!!!!!!!

[PAandWRITER]

My only brother has lived in San Antonio for the last decade, so anytime we're looking for an economical trip for our kids we tend to head down to his place for a free home-base.

I'd give a third vote for the Natural Bridge Caverns and Wildlife Ranch drive-through. We're pretty animal-oriented, so our kids always enjoy it. On the last trip though, one tough-ass little donkey decided we were invading his turf and decided to "hurry" our vehicle along chasing behind and biting it repeatedly as we rolled slowly forward. There are still tooth marks in the bumper. :-)

And if your finances allow it in the future (since I think the minimum age for safety reasons is 10), Sea World has an interaction program with both the sea lions and the belugas. It's a bit pricey (maybe $100-150 if I remember right), but a fantastic experience for kids who are into that kind of thing.

Our middle child wants to be a marine biologist, so she did both programs but on different days. There's a classroom lesson with the trainer and a video on the species/operant conditioning before they fit the kid in a wetsuit/boat shoes and take her to the training pools.

We signed Caitlin up for the very first session with the sea lions right when the park opened, so no one else was in the class. It was just her, two trainers, and a bunch of sea lions. The child learns the cues for the tricks and then gets to put the animals through their paces both out of the water and in, and one parent is allowed to accompany her for pictures. (I took hundreds; it was that great.)

Her beluga experience was midday though, so there were quite a few people in the class. But they broke into groups of 3 students with each trainer, so there was still a fair amount of personal interaction with the animals. (And San Antonio SW had a baby beluga at the time for that extra "cute factor."

I would definitely say it was the most memorable vacation experience she's ever had.

And on the off chance your kids are as weird as mine, if they like snakes, there's a reptile farm just off the west side of the highway north of town. It's kind of cramped and smelly, but it was one of the most impressive collections I've seen of both common and rare reptiles.

Julie

[Txchris]

We would greatly appreciate suggestions on points of interest to fill time we are not doing the above mentioned. There was a tourist restaurant (Mexican) I went to awhile ago, but don't recall the name, I think the kids would like it, and my age took from my memory.


Might you be thinking of Mi Tierra? It's downtown in the La Villita area. It's been a very popular authentic Mexican restaurant for decades.

Chris

[godfather]

Might you be thinking of Mi Tierra? It's downtown in the La Villita area. It's been a very popular authentic Mexican restaurant for decades.

Chris
Love Mi Tierra!

[rhea]

Check out this link...http://www.traveltex.com/things-to-do/events/family

If you register, looks like you can create a trip. Maybe you can find events on the way there or on the way home and break up the drive.

[SN]

Consider Groupon.com and put San Antonio as your home.

[BOFH]

Consider Groupon.com and put San Antonio as your home.

I highly recommend Groupon. Actually, I need to register for my first flight lesson...found that on Groupon...

[RegularGuy]

Is the Snake Farm still open? Pico de Gallo is also a pretty good restraunt to eat at.

[PAandWRITER]

The Snake Farm's been around for more than 40 years, and I know it was open last summer. So I'd guess it's still there. You can see the building on the feeder road to the west of IH 35 at roughly exit 182 or 183.

Cramped and smelly, it's probably best appreciated by reptile buffs for its impressive collection of snakes, native and foreign. There are some mammal/bird exhibits as well as a petting zoo out back too. Think old-school roadside zoo for the caliber of these enclosures though. I'm sure PETA's not a fan.

Julie

[Dirtpuppy]

Best bbq in San Antonio Ive had so far, Texas Pride off 1604, east San Antonio.