Crowds and Sun in San Antonio -- a trip report
Mar 20th, 2009, 01:48 PM
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Crowds and Sun in San Antonio -- a trip report
We spent four days in San Antonio over spring break. This was my husband and I (both in our 40s) and our 11-year-old boy/girl twins. We hadn't ever been to San Antonio before, and we just wanted to see the sights and have some nice warm weather!
Day 1: Driving -- all day. It took 10 1/2 hours to get to San Antonio. I'd heard traffic could be bad around Austin, so I wasn't totally surprised, but I actually thought I-35 was very busy from Dallas on south all through Waco and Austin and into San Antonio. We might be a bit spoiled up here though; we usually never have horrible freeway-turned-into-parking-lot traffic here.
Anyway, we stayed at a Drury Inn and Suites. This wasn't on the Riverwalk, but it was in a good central location for us. We had a two-room suite, which was great. The free breakfast had biscuits, sausage, eggs, bagels and yogurt. The pool looked nice, but it was so constantly jammed with people that we never went in it at all.
Next: Day 2 - Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Day 1: Driving -- all day. It took 10 1/2 hours to get to San Antonio. I'd heard traffic could be bad around Austin, so I wasn't totally surprised, but I actually thought I-35 was very busy from Dallas on south all through Waco and Austin and into San Antonio. We might be a bit spoiled up here though; we usually never have horrible freeway-turned-into-parking-lot traffic here.
Anyway, we stayed at a Drury Inn and Suites. This wasn't on the Riverwalk, but it was in a good central location for us. We had a two-room suite, which was great. The free breakfast had biscuits, sausage, eggs, bagels and yogurt. The pool looked nice, but it was so constantly jammed with people that we never went in it at all.
Next: Day 2 - Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Mar 20th, 2009, 02:04 PM
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Day Two -- Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Of course, the kids wanted to go to Six Flags, and apparently so did everyone else in Texas. It was sooooo crowded! By afternoon, the lines for the roller coasters were an hour or more long. We didn't buy the "flash pass" and definitely wished we had. Still, we enjoyed the park. That was all we did that day; we stayed there literally from the opening of the park until closing.
Day Three --
We started the day with a Segway tour at 9:00 am. We'd never ridden on Segways before, but I thought it sounded like fun, and it was. You should definitely do it, if you are in a city that offers the tours. It was not at all difficult; in fact, after about 10 minutes, you don't even think about the Segway, and moving on it becomes as natural as walking. The tour took us around to Hemisfair Park, La Villita, the Alamo, etc. This was probably my favorite part of our whole vacation.
After lunch and a little shopping, we went to see the IMAX movie about the Alamo. Very helpful for us in understanding something of what actually happened there. Then we walked over to the Alamo itself, but we did not go inside, as the line was incredibly long.
We finished the day by going to the Guinness World Record Museum and Ripley's Haunted Adventure. These were okay -- really way too expensive for what you get, but the kids enjoyed them.
Next: Day Four - Seaworld
Of course, the kids wanted to go to Six Flags, and apparently so did everyone else in Texas. It was sooooo crowded! By afternoon, the lines for the roller coasters were an hour or more long. We didn't buy the "flash pass" and definitely wished we had. Still, we enjoyed the park. That was all we did that day; we stayed there literally from the opening of the park until closing.
Day Three --
We started the day with a Segway tour at 9:00 am. We'd never ridden on Segways before, but I thought it sounded like fun, and it was. You should definitely do it, if you are in a city that offers the tours. It was not at all difficult; in fact, after about 10 minutes, you don't even think about the Segway, and moving on it becomes as natural as walking. The tour took us around to Hemisfair Park, La Villita, the Alamo, etc. This was probably my favorite part of our whole vacation.
After lunch and a little shopping, we went to see the IMAX movie about the Alamo. Very helpful for us in understanding something of what actually happened there. Then we walked over to the Alamo itself, but we did not go inside, as the line was incredibly long.
We finished the day by going to the Guinness World Record Museum and Ripley's Haunted Adventure. These were okay -- really way too expensive for what you get, but the kids enjoyed them.
Next: Day Four - Seaworld
Mar 20th, 2009, 02:14 PM
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Day Four - Seaworld
Okay, I really liked Seaworld. I'd go again, with or without the kids. We got there right at opening and went to the first showing of the Shamu show. We were all quite mesmerized with it, actually. That was the only show we went to. We enjoyed seeing the penguins and sharks, sea lions, dolphins, etc. My favorite part was feeding the lorikeets. You buy a little cup of nectar, and the birds just come and sit on your arm and drink it. Pretty neat. The kids only rode one roller coaster, because once again, the lines were incredibly long, and there was too much else to see.
After Seaworld, Husband and Son went to the Spurs basketball game, and Daughter and I just relaxed in the hotel room.
Day Five: Riverwalk, Alamo, museums
Finally, we spent some time on the Riverwalk. We took the boat tour first thing in the morning. Very beautiful, very informative. It was not very crowded or hot that early, which was great. Walking around some was nice too.
We walked back to the Alamo and spent some time on the grounds reading about it and just sitting and people-watching. Amazingly large crowds, but maybe that is typical. The weather was beautiful, which certainly didn't hurt.
Then we did the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum and the Wax Museum. Basically enjoyable, but not something I'd do without the kids.
We started the drive for home then. We made it three hours (to Waco) and stayed in a very nice and new Hampton Inn and Suites.
Overall, great vacation. We really liked San Antonio. Thanks to people here for advice as I was planning the trip!
Okay, I really liked Seaworld. I'd go again, with or without the kids. We got there right at opening and went to the first showing of the Shamu show. We were all quite mesmerized with it, actually. That was the only show we went to. We enjoyed seeing the penguins and sharks, sea lions, dolphins, etc. My favorite part was feeding the lorikeets. You buy a little cup of nectar, and the birds just come and sit on your arm and drink it. Pretty neat. The kids only rode one roller coaster, because once again, the lines were incredibly long, and there was too much else to see.
After Seaworld, Husband and Son went to the Spurs basketball game, and Daughter and I just relaxed in the hotel room.
Day Five: Riverwalk, Alamo, museums
Finally, we spent some time on the Riverwalk. We took the boat tour first thing in the morning. Very beautiful, very informative. It was not very crowded or hot that early, which was great. Walking around some was nice too.
We walked back to the Alamo and spent some time on the grounds reading about it and just sitting and people-watching. Amazingly large crowds, but maybe that is typical. The weather was beautiful, which certainly didn't hurt.
Then we did the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum and the Wax Museum. Basically enjoyable, but not something I'd do without the kids.
We started the drive for home then. We made it three hours (to Waco) and stayed in a very nice and new Hampton Inn and Suites.
Overall, great vacation. We really liked San Antonio. Thanks to people here for advice as I was planning the trip!
Mar 23rd, 2009, 09:28 AM
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Thanks for the report and sounds like it was a success. Unfortunately, SA is almost always crowded over spring break. Glad you had a good time. {And yes, I35 is usually crowded from Dallas all the way to SA; that's one reason that route is part of the high speed rail "triangle" that is now being proposed)
Mar 24th, 2009, 04:29 AM
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kansasmom - I'd like to see that high speed rail in my lifetime too! One proposal by the state is different than the one recently announced for various corridors around the country. This one is entirely within Texas (at the moment). This time they were smart. They got the airlines (particularly SW) on board first in part by including some of the major airports on the proposed routes.
