San Antonio vacation?

Question

Howdy I am taking the wife and two toddlers to San Antonio late May for 4-5 day vacation and have a few questions:

1) Weather... hot/humid/rain? what clothes to bring? do we need mosquito repellent?
2) Attractions: besides Riverwalk, anything else nearby?
3) Austin is 1.5hrs away, is it worth visiting?

thanks,

Answer 1

Weather- Hot, Humid and Possibly Rain bring mosquito repellent

Attractions- Rivercenter mall, La Villita, Market Square, Towers of America, Rain Forest Cafe, Zoo, Sea World, Fiesta Texas and my personal favorite Schlitterbahn (located in New Bransfels- 30 minutes north of San Antonio)

Answer 2

1) Weather... hot/humid/rain? what clothes to bring? do we need mosquito repellent?

In May, it tends to get pretty hot. Usually it is between 80-90 degrees, with a high huimidity. Bring shorts and t-shirts.

We also tend to get more rain in May than most months (see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio#Geography_and_climate ) so bring an umbrella just in case.

Mosquitoes are usually not a big problem, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Go ahead and bring some repellent just in case.

2) Attractions: besides Riverwalk, anything else nearby?

Near the riverwalk, there is the Alamo and other Texas missions that you can tour. There is also the Ripley's Believe it or Not wax museum, which tends to be a fun time.

The Tower of Americas is a great place to see the city, but beware that it is a pretty expensive place to eat so bring your wallet. (My brother works there... ) You can see more here:
http://www.toweroftheamericas.com/

There is also Rivercenter Mall, which has a ton of shops and an IMAX theater. You can see current movies and showtimes here:
http://www.imax-sa.com/schedule.html

Market Square (commonly called "El Mercado") is a cool place to visit. Local and Mexican artisans sell all kinds of gifts, wares and food.

The San Antonio zoo is a must see if you're bringing the kiddos. It is pretty big (3000+ animals), featuring an aviary and goat petting zoo inside. Beware, though, that they are rennovating right now, so some exhibits may be closed. Be sure to check out the reptile house! Sadly, the gondola ride has been removed, but the train is still there.
Check out the zoo fees, etc. here:
http://www.sazoo-aq.org/

The San Antonio botanical gardens is a fun few hours. The garden features about half a dozen different greenhouse and outdoor environments full of plantlife indigenous to the environment being simulated. It is especially pretty in the summertime. Check them out here:
http://www.sabot.org/

Though they are not in downtown, there is also Sea World San Antonio, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks. Each of these could fill an entire day, obviously. See more about them here:
Seaworld: http://www.4adventure.com/SWT/default.aspx
Fiesta Texas: http://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/

Also, see here for even more:
http://www.sanantoniocvb.com/visitors/attractions.asp

3) Austin is 1.5hrs away, is it worth visiting?

Definitely. It is, after all, the music capital of the world! Check out http://www.austintexas.org for fun ideas.

Hope this helps, and have a great time!

*Edit*
I'm not sure what wayne T means... but Fiesta Texas is a Six Flags theme park...

Answer 3

1) Weather... hot/humid/rain? what clothes to bring? do we need mosquito repellent?

It will PROBABLY be mildly hot (like the 80's) and humid but iffy on the rain. In April, it could easily happen. TAKE the mosquito repellent. If you are prone to attracting mosquito's, they will eat you alive. My mother is one giant mosquito bite if she doesn't spray down w/ OFF every day.


2) Attractions: besides Riverwalk, anything else nearby?

I bet your kids would like Sea World. In addition to that San Antonio has a FANTASTIC zoo and the parks around there are great too. It's been years since I have done it but taking those gondala rides (you know - the cars you ride in that are kind of like ski lifts) were always so fun when I was a kid - I think there is a little train you can take as well. It's in the botanical gardens I think.

They might also like riding up to the top of the Tower of Americas and going out on the look out to see over the whole city.

Also drive them by North Star Mall to see the giant cowboy boots. All my little cousins used to make us stop and take pictures at them.

Also take them to the Mercado downtown - the trinket shops are cheap and so colorful.


3) Austin is 1.5hrs away, is it worth visiting?

Austin IS worth visiting but with traffic it is more like 2 hours.

Answer 4

1) Weather-hot and humid
Clothes-t-shirts, shorts, and tank tops
No mosquito repellent

2) Alamo, Riverwalk Mall, the Tall revolving Restaurant (can't remember the name of it), Zoo, Sea World, Six Flags

3) Not sure about visiting Austin. We stayed in San Antonio the whole time.

Answer 5

Here's a link that has a list of some different attractions around San Antonio:

http://sanantoniotourist.com/attractions.cfm

There's a few that are kid-friendly, but some of the others the kids might not be interested in at all.

Another attraction that the kids may enjoy is Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. It's in between San Antonio and New Braunfels. They have all kinds of animals (some threatened and endangered species). I loved it when I was a kid. And when I worked in the area I got to hear alot of kids talk about how much they enjoyed it.

Here's a quote from their website:
***Visit Africa – in the picturesque Texas Hill Country. Home to over 50 species of animals from all over the world, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch allows you to explore the wilds of many continents a little closer to home.***


Also in the same area, is a great little Italian restaurant called Capparelli's(located at the intersection of FM 3009 & FM 2252 It's a small restaurant. I would recommend it for lunch, it can get pretty crowded in the evenings especially on the weekends. I used to eat there all the time. Their meatball sandwich it awesome! The meatballs are huge!!



*******a little bit of advice: if you decide to visit the wildlife ranch and start to see that you are coming up on the ostriches, roll your windows up. I've heard that they like to stick their heads in vehicles*******


Hope this helps you! Sorry if I rambled on too much. But if you have any other questions feel free to email me at [e-mail].

Answer 6

Lisa_ab is right on !!!

Stay in San Antonio and do everyting. Austin is nice but the traffic is a mess. Plan another trip to Austin and enjoy San Antonio this time.