What To Do In San Antonio?

[Brandles]

See update below!! :D

Hi--I'm going to San Antonio with my DH next week. He's going to be attending a conference. I was just wondering if there was any places you ladies would recommend us (or me by myself, since he'll be at the conference) seeing while we're there.

I know the Alamo is near by. We'll be staying at the La Quinta Inn. Is there safe public transportation there? Are there things within walking distance? Should I bring extra cash for cabs?

Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks! :)

[AHammer]

If you're near the Alamo, you're near the Riverwalk.

http://www.sanantonioriverwalk.com/


It'd be a fun place to go have dinner w/ your DH and walk around in the evening. They also have some shopping for you during the day. That's about all I know about San Antonio. Definitely don't miss the alamo!!!

[HeatherFL]

Gosh, this brings back memories of when my dad was stationed there as a kid and we were on Lackland AFB. I'd rent a car if staying in San Antonio. Other than the downtown area, I don't remember things being too nearby and I think cabs could get expensive.

Definitely, the Riverwalk (http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/) and Alamo (http://www.thealamo.org/) as AHammer wrote.

I haven't been there in years, but I remember the San Antonio zoo (http://www.sazoo-aq.org/) was really nice.

Also, I have no idea what the weather will be like there or if waterparks are your thing, but there was this cool one near San Antonio I used to go to with my friends called Schlitterbahn (:http://www.schlitterbahn.com").

SeaWorld (http://www.adventureisland.com/SWT/default.aspx). Although I have to say, I like the one here in Florida better. (Biased, of course ;) )

Go up in Tower of the Americas (http://www.toweroftheamericas.com).

Six Flags (http://www.sixflags.com/)

Natural Bridge Caverns (http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/) Pretty cool! Largest cave in the State of Texas.

If you're into it, I think they're supposed to have some good ghost tours too.

Have fun and eat some awesome Mexican food for me!

~H.

[houseblend]

It sounds like you will be in walking distance of the River Walk. It's fun just to walk around and there is plenty of shopping to do there. Public transportation isn't really great there, especially not to the other sites Heather mentioned, so I would either stick to the River Walk area or rent a car. One thing I really enjoy there is taking the boat ride up and down the river. There is an IMAX theatre down there which used to play an interesting movie about the Alamo (not sure if they still play this) and a Ripley's and Wax Museum (both kind of cheesy, though).

How long will you be there for?

[Brandles]

Thanks, everyone! :D I'm going to have to check out those links!

[MsPeachy]

One thing I really enjoy there is taking the boat ride up and down the river. I LOVED this ride when I visited. We had a great tour guide who was so funny. I was only in town for a day but I still remember how fun that boat ride and the riverwalk area were.

[boilermaker]

Actually, San Antonio has a fabulous public transportation system..it's just a trolley system rather than your typical cabs :)

If you are at the La Quinta on the Riverwalk, you are very close to a lot of different things to do. The riverwalk itself, obviously. Which has the boat rides as well as the river stage were they often have local/mexican entertainment. Just a short walk from the riverwalk is the hemisphere/tower. There's a cute park with little shops in that area too. For other entertainment, there is the mall on the riverwalk, a comedy show, IMAX, Howl at the Moon, Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not, etc.

Additionally, you can ride the trolley over to La Mercantile area, which is where the infamous Mi Tiera restaurant is. It's like a mexican flea market.

You can also head over to King William district where they have a tour of some of the original houses in San Antonio. A few of them offer tea, which can be fun.

You can also take the trolley system down to the zoo and botanical gardens. Both are pretty good and worth doing if you have the time.

If you have a car and enjoy shopping, hit the Quarry area. It's an outdoor, more upscale mall just a few miles north of the riverwalk. Shlitterbaun is about an hour from San Antonio, so you would definitely need a car. Sea World is also a ways from downtown, so again, a drive to get to. You could also hit Fredrickburg, which is a quaint little German town with awesome shops.

If you like history, you can drive around to the various other missions in the area. The Alamo is only one of 5-6 (I've never done this, but hear it is good).

Oh, one good place for dinner off the riverwalk is the Liberty Bar. It's a short cab ride from the riverwalk and it relatively inexpensive. Also, if you want to eat in the tower of America, I recommend lunch over dinner. Lunch is reasonable but dinner is way overpriced for the quality of the food. And the trolley system is cheap. It's a quarter to ride and if you get back on within an hour or two (I don't remember), the return trip is free.

San Antonio is one of my favorite cities! You'll have a great time!

[Brandles]

I just wanted to thank everyone SO MUCH for the suggestions! :D :D I didn't have time to do all what I wanted to do (we were only there for 2 full days). I did get to the River Walk and the Alamo. I took a tour on the river. I took the Alamo Trolley tour that went to the Tower of Americas (though I missed the Museum of Texan Cultures in my hurry to make the next trolley) and Mission San Jose. I also saw Mission Concepcion and La Villita. I went to the Market Square and ate at Mi Tierra. I LOVED the margaritas!! :p We were staying at the La Quinta right across the street.

I wanted to make it to the Natural Bridge Caverns, but there just wasn't time. I did get to see more Oxbow Lakes than you can shake a stick at from the plane! ;)

DH was amazed by the River Walk and all he saw of it was from the Hyatt's entrance to Landry's at night. We ate out there by the river and loved it!

[HeatherFL]

So glad you had a great time! :)

[MsPeachy]

It sounds to me like you got a LOT done. Glad it was fun. :)