We will be in Bandera for about 3 days in late June. We are staying at the Dixie Dude Ranch. I have not been able to find any reviews about it, but we're hoping to have a good time. We are renting a car from San Antonio airport so we will be free to sight- see.

Also, we would like to take a day trip into San Antonio but driving in new cities scares me to death. Can anyone tell me if it's difficult to navigate or easy to get lost? I would like to park in one place and see the Alamo and the River Walk. Are they close to each other? Thanks for any help!

I wish I could help more, but I'm not familiar with the Bandera area. However, I can tell you that the riverwalk and the Alamo are in the same area - within walking distance of each other. It's a shame you won't be in the area longer. It's very nice! Don't know where you are from, but hope you enjoy Texas. Oh yes....the driving isn't bad at all.

Could find just one (negative) review... see attached.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-3673...e_dude_ranch-i

As far as driving in / around San Antonio I think it is one of the easier cities to navigate and getting downtown from the north side is especially easy.

Highway 281 leads directly from the airport to downtown SA. There are many public parking structures downtown. The Alamo is only One block from the riverwalk. The Riverwalk is well worth it.

Thanks for the responses.

I will try and keep an open mind after reading the one negative review on the Dixie Dude. I just hope my kids have fun and we get some good riding time!

I definitely want to fit a day in San Antonio. I'm hoping that traffic and road signs are better than Philadelphia and D.C. I'm from those areas and I don't even like driving here.

Hi -- we stayed at the Twin Elm Dude Ranch in Bandera. We had a great time. The town is cute with very nice shops & people. Worth an afternoon browse.

Another thing we did was the Hill Country Scenic Loop (by car) -- very pretty scenery.

In San Antonio (very easy to get around) we stayed near the Riverwalk Mall (one entrance to the Riverwalk itself). It was just down the block from the Alamo (must see). On the Riverwalk we did the Yanaguana sightseeing boat tour.

We also went to the Museum of Texan Cultures and the National Park Service Missions Trail (3 Missions) (need car).

Have a great time!

We enjoyed our stay at Twin Elm, as well. However, when we last stayed there, my sister-in-law was running the place. It has new management now, but I'm sure it's still a great place to go.

We have also always enjoyed spending a day or two in Bandera. It's a quaint and relaxing place.

San Antonio is very easy to navigate since so many tourists visit it every year. The roads are all very well-marked, so with a basic map, you'll do just fine.

If you'd like to see more of the historic missions (the Alamo was one of 5 Spanish missions that founded San Antonio), do the Mission Trail just South of downtown. The missions are all National Parks, and the trail is very easy to drive. There is a GREAT visitor's center at San Jose with an informative film.