San Antonio Visit
 

We are a family of four (w/ 2 boys: 6 yr & a 20 months) will visit San Antonio in late April for 2 days. We will be staying at Hyatt Regency San Antonio. Any suggestion on what to do and where to eat (prefer family type)? Thanks

We're going there Thursday, and from what I've been told <BR>River Walk is a must. Naturally you'll have to see a TT like the Alamo as well. Nobody said anything about where to eat. We've been asking locals once we arrive in a city and for the most part it has worked out well.

Most of the restaurants along the Riverwalk aim at an adult market, but there's a food court in the Rivercenter mall. The hotel has a kids menu that should appeal to the kids, and there is a McD's downtown. Luby's is a cafteria chain that works well for kids, several locations in town. If the weather is warm enough, there's Splashtown water park but that would use up one of your 2 days, as would Fiesta Texas or Sea World. San Antonio does have a great zoo close to downtown. You will be literally steps from the Alamo and a few blocks from the Children's museum at 305 East Houston. The Witte museum at 3801 Broadway also has some cool kid stuff. A ride on a river barge should be fun. There's a wax museum downtown, and an IMAX theatre. The Mexican Market (El Mercado) might be lost on the young ones, and you'd spend lots of time saying &quot;don't touch that!&quot; Fiesta is April 19-27, and there's always a parade, festival or something going on during that time.

We went to SA in early May about 4 years ago when my kids were 2 and 5. They really enjoyed the Children's Museum, as well as the zoo and the river barge ride. On our way home, we stopped at a drive thru safari--I don't remember the name but it is somewhere on the north outskirts of the city. My husband and I enjoyed the Alamo, but the kids got bored pretty quickly. I don't remember any of the places we ate, so I guess they weren't anything special.

Most of the activities in San Antonio are geared for older kids/adults, but your little ones will probably like Sea World, Fiesta Texas and the Zoo. (The Alamo is NOT good for young children.) If it is still there, the Circus Museum was neat when I was a kid. <BR><BR>As for places to eat, there are many, many places on the Riverwalk, but as Seamus said, most are more focused on adults. Mi Tierra is a legend and is family-friendly. At I-10 and Huebner (near Fiesta Texas), there are several groups of restaurants, too.<BR><BR>Have fun! The weather should be gorgeous while you're there!

Main Street Pizza &amp; Pasta -- near San Antonio College.<BR><BR>Great food, family friendly, &amp; inexpensive.

Thank you for your reply. I heard San Antonio has very good BBQ food (baby back rib). Any good BBQ restaurant around river walk area?

Glin930,<BR>Last year we took our kids (6 &amp; 2 at the time) to San Antonio in March. The kids loved Sea World. That was the best! Both kids enjoyed all of the shows (I think we watched 5 of them)and Dolphin Cove. My daughter even got to feed the dolphins there (after hubby waited in line for 45 minutes to buy fish). It was a wonderful, memorable time. The only negative was that there was a bee problem - they swarmed around any drink consumed!<BR>The riverwalk is great, and my husband and I loved it 5 years prior (on our last trip to SA) but with a stroller it was a hassle! It is also crowded and we worried about the 6 yr old, too (falling in!).<BR>The Hyatt is beautiful, and in a great location.<BR>We were driving from Dallas, and stopped in Austin on the way home. Our 6 yr old loved touring the Capitol building and walking past the Governor's mansion, where she happened to spot Gov. Rick Perry on the grounds.<BR>As for BBQ, the only time we had any was on the way to Sea World. There was a little place right before we got there (I think it was a Rudy's location). They had a good BBQ sandwich.<BR>Have fun!

Some friends &amp; I went to San Antonio in Feb. We really liked the Original Mexican Restaurant on the River Walk. It had good food and a free maraichi band playing when we went for dinner. <BR><BR>The Mexican Market might be fun for kids because of all the Mexican trinkets for the children. Also the River Barge was a nice little outing. The IMAX Alamo movie was pretty cool, but might be too old for the kids. Although they did have a bunch of IMAX movies. <BR><BR>They also have tons of painted cows around the city, benefiting the Breast Cancer Association. It might be pretty cool to get a map of where they are and take the children around the city to see them. The art on the cows is truely a sight to be seen.<BR><BR>Otherwise Six Flags &amp; Sea World will be your next best bet!

Rudy's and County Line are THE places BBQ in San Antone! Rudy's serves the meat on butcher paper and you buy by the pound, just so you're aware in advance.

Thank you for all these comment. If I just visit the San Antonio downtown area do I need my car to drive around? Or is there any public transportation that can bring us around just in case after a long day of walking? Thanks

The trolly system in SA is pretty good. For 50cents per ride its also cheap. It goes to all the major areas like El mercado, riverwalk, alamo, king williams/george area (something like that) the alamodome etc.<BR><BR>Also if you ask for a transfer when your getting off and you catch a different color trolly w/in 2 hours (I think thats the time limit) you ride for free. If you plan it out right you can ride for 50cent most of the day.<BR><BR>

Glin930 - <BR><BR>For BBQ, I second the Rudy's recommendation. I think there are more locations now, but I always used to go to the one just off of I-10 in Leon Springs northwest of town. If you head out on I-10 West, go past loop 1604. Rudy's is off of the Leon Springs exit on your right. The original (I think) Macaroni Grill used to be right next door, but I heard they were moving after the big floods last summer. There may be a Rudy's location more accessible by public transport (anyone here know?).<BR><BR>Fun things to do - another vote for the San Antonio Zoo and the Witte Museum. I visited both with a school group when I was about 6 or 7, and I remember absolutely loving both places.<BR><BR>Mexican Food - If you want to go to El Mercado (the Mexican Market), you might want to try La Margarita. The beef fajitas are wonderful (served family-style), and for the adults, the margaritas are heavenly.<BR><BR>You probably won't have enough time to go on this trip (and your boys are a little small), but for your next visit, check out Schlitterbahn water resort in New Braunfels. I went for the first time when I was about 9 or 10 (ages ago) and had a blast. Since then, I understand they've expanded a lot, and the Travel Channel recently rated it the best water park in the country.<BR><BR>Enjoy my favorite U.S. city!