osakaorchid

ill be visiting a friend in the greater dallas area this autumn and we have both speculated about taking amtrak from fort worth to san antonio. i know some will inquire as to this method opposed to via automobile or flying in, but there are some advantages to rail, namely not having to worry about traffic, finding a parking spot, or paying for premium parking spots.

i have thought about staying at the historic menger hotel on crockett. we were going to walk from the amtrak station to the hotel and back. i went to google maps to try to ascertain about how long the walk would be, looking at it frame-by-frame, street-by-street. ..from what i can guesstimate, it looks to be roughly a 30 minute walk, is this accurate?

is this a safe area to walk at during the late night/early morning (as the amtrak arrives around 9am and departs at 7am).

ive heard that there are transit trolleys in san antonio, are they readily stationed adjacent to the amtrak station and downtown areas anticipating the influx of pedestrian guests in need of such transport to/and from the amtrak station and back to their downtown hotel?

besides the alamo and riverwalk, what are some other downtown attractions that i can be recommended to see? is there mass transit available from downtown area to seaworld and back?

thanks for any and all suggestions.

osakaorchid

(theres a typo..i meant 9pm, not 9am. sorry)

tomfuller

The #21 Texas Eagle train arrives in San Antonio (SAS) at 9:55 PM.
On the left side of the Amtrak Page there is a link to click for rental cars and Hotels. There are 10 hotels within 0.4 mi.
of the San Antonio station.

Seamus

Have never taken the train to SA as I live here. Can tell you that walking from the station to the Menger takes probably less than 30 minutes, maybe 15 to 20; it is about 5 blocks. It is not the most scenic area but is safe. Years back the area was a little dicey but that has changed a lot with expanding development.
The downtown trolley is great for touring around (there are two routes that make fixed loops) but not the best option to get from the train station to the Menger- walking is probably quicker, or grab a taxi if you have much luggage.
Not sure when in Autumn you plan to visit but keep in mind that it can still be plenty warm and even humid in early fall here in SA. Suggest you have a look at the information at www.visitsanantonio.com
Oh, and bienvenidos!

txgirlinbda

I have a non-driving friend who occasionally takes that train from near Waco to north of New Braunfels. It's NEVER on time and usually takes (on average) twice as long as it would for us to drive it. This is regardless of what the schedule says. She was told on the last trip (by an Amtrak train attendant) that's because Amtrak shares the tracks with other train lines that can call priority on the tracks, meaning the passenger train may have to wait for other trains to move past.

That being said, she enjoys travelling that way, as long as she's not worried about when she actually gets there.

follow_your_bliss

I've never taken it but this might work from downtown to Sea World:

http://www.viainfo.net/BusService/Schedules.aspx

Scroll down to 64 and click on the pdf.