San Antonio & Hill Country Trip
 

Just made reservations for a 10 trip to San Antonio and environs in November. My mom and I will take the Texas Eagle train from LA to San Antonio and have 7 seven full days of sightseeing before flying back on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Any suggestions for this region in November and anything special for Thanksgiving? Never been to Texas, so we want to tour the Hill Country and the Germanic towns nearby by car, but end our trip in San Antonio.

Good Hill Country towns to visit are Boerne and Gruene. (How about those German names?!) ;-) Boerne has lots of good shopping and restaurants, and Guene is well-known for live music Texas country at Gruene Hall.

Dont' know how far you want to travel, but I'd recommend Fredericksburg as well. There are wineries out that way as well.

We had some great German food in Fredricksburg. The town is pretty touristy, but I still enjoyed a few hours there. Try to see Lake Travis near Austin, too - it's due east of Fredricksburg.

Yes, Gruene is a really fun little town; it's pronounced "green" - Try to eat at the Grist Mill restaurant. It's built in an old mill and right on the river - very nice place to sit outside and sip their homemade wine coolers. Sometimes they have live music playing. There's lots of cute little shops, antiques, etc. here, and Gruene Hall that Christie mentioned. The Gruene Apple Inn is a really great place to stay.

In Austin, the Oasis is a fun restaurant - up on a cliff with a gorgeous view of Lake Travis. Nice place to enjoy margaritas.

In San Antonio, hit the Riverwalk, ride the boat, and then go to Boudro's for dinner - yummy tableside guacamole and prickly pear margaritas. There's also a Sea World there, and of course, the Alamo.

If you like hiking, check out Enchanted Rock.

In addition to what others suggest, I would consider:

The San Antonio Missions--this is best done by car which it sounds as though you'll have to visit the Hill Country.

http://www.nps.gov/saan/

If you and your mom enjoy art, the San Antonio Museum of Art, The McNay and the Alameda.

The Botanical Gardens are nice.

If you and your mom enjoy history, the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg is excellent.

It should be a beautiful time of year to drive through / around the Hill Country. I like the idea of visiting the wineries and intend to do this myself "one of these days"...here's a link to the Texas wine trail,

http://www.texaswinetrail.com/index.html

The only special event I can think of that occurs around Thanksgiving is the Christmas tree lighting ceremony that takes place across the street from the Alamo and then the subsequent lighting of the River Walk and parade.

For more info, http://www.sanantoniocvb.com/visitor...ajorevents.asp

I hope you and your mom enjoy a great trip!

Ann Marie has given you excellent advice. I'd also offer a couple restaurants that are not right on the Riverwalk but worth going to:
Rosario's (Tex Mex) in the Southtown arts district just south of downtown, casual
Paloma Blanca (Mexican, some Tex Mex) is on Broadway in the Alamo Heights area, a bit more upscale but not formal
La Fonda on Main (only this one, not other places with "La Fonda" in their name) (Tex Mex and Mex Mex) casual
Picante Grill (Tex Mex and Mex Mex - try the cochinita pibil) on Broadway across from the Witte museum and en route to he McNay art institute from downtown is not fancy but the food is excellent. Casual
If you want an upscale meal that is not Tex Mex, The Lodge in Castle Hills is about the best in town.

Weather is not a sure bet at that time of year - well, heck, it never is in SA! - so bring sweaters/jackets as well as lighter things that you can layer. In the Hill Country it is likely to be cooler.

The Riverwalk is always neat, but when the thousands of lights are illuminated in the overhanging trees it is spectacular.

Well, AnnMarie beat me to it, but would just add my recommendation for a vist to the SA Missions (the Alamo is only one of several and they are all different and interesting dating back to the 1720s)) as well as the trail of the different wineries in the area (some of which even our CA friends have thought were really good). Also, enjoy the Eagle!

DEFINITELY do the missions! And take your time to read the exhibits at them all...Esparza is one of the smaller ones, but we learned more form their exhibits than any of the others!

Thank you for all the suggestions and links. Frericksburg sounds like the perfect place for a stop-over before heading up to the wine areas. And thanks, AnnMarie, for mentioning the Pacific War museum. We are, in fact, WWII buffs, so that should be interesting. We will be in SA for the lighting ceremony, so we'll be sure to get a room overlooking the Riverwalk.

How's the public transportation system in San Antonio? Wondering if we should keep our rental car when we return to the City on Thanksgiving afternoon or turn it in. The price is weekly, so that makes no difference, except we'd have to pay daily parking fees. Not sure if this is a City, like LA, where a car is necessary.

Most places downtown can be reached either on foot or by trolley. You will need a car, however, for the Mission Trail.

For more information,

http://www.sanantoniotours.net/tours...FQwsOAodEyF0lg

To answer your question about public transport in SA - great if you are in the downtown tourist area, not so hot elsewhere. Bus only, no light rail, and routes often require one or more transfers. Taxi fares are pretty steep, so if you plan to do anything outside downtown the daily parking fee may be less than a round trip taxi.

See my thread from 2 years ago on San Antonio and Hill Country:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...lsam&fid=1