San Antonio is a wonderful place for a family or family reunion trip, a romantic getaway or a Girls Weekend. There is the world-famous River Walk in downtown with so many fun outdoor bars, live music, restaurants and shops. We stayed at the lovely La Mansion Del Rio, a 4 Star Omni property, right on the River Walk. It is an elegant hotel with lovely, architectural details: graceful Spanish arches and columns, courtyards and romantic interiors filled with antiques from Colonial Mexico and Spain. For 4 women traveling alone, it was important to us to be able to walk everywhere and feel safe, so this was a perfect location because it is centrally located with direct access to the River Walk. They have a nice pool in the courtyard (with bar service on the weekends) and, if you are willing to pay a little more, you can get a room with a small balcony overlooking the River Walk.
We enjoyed dinners at the Iron Cactus Mexican Restaurant, directly across the River Walk from the hotel, and The Esquire Tavern, about a 5-minute walk from the hotel. The Esquire Tavern has been there since 1933 and boasts the longest wooden bar top in Texas. If you visit the Esquire Tavern, try the Two Minutes to Midnight (but just one, they are yummy but strong). Both venues were fun and conveniently located to our hotel, easy and safe walking distance.
Another fun place to hang out is The Pearl. The area was a brewery from the 1880’s until 1999 when the brewery moved out and developers came in to revitalize the area. Today, it is a fun and welcoming gathering point, filled with locally owned shops, restaurants and bars, a fun splash pool area for the kids and a hotel. The Hotel Emma is a converted brew house with 146 rooms overlooking the river. We had a delicious lunch at The Best Quality Daughter Thai restaurant. If you eat at the restaurant, try the TaiPai Personality- a refreshing alcoholic drink that changes color over time (fun). They also have Boozy Boba - but that’s enough about alcohol for now. If you happen to stop by on a Saturday or Sunday midday, you can check out their Farmers Market where you will find wonderful, locally grown produce, flowers, jams, beef, pork, lamb and eggs. Want more info on the Pearl? Go to: https://atpearl.com/about/
Of course, a trip to San Antonio is not complete without a visit to the Alamo, a very important part of Texas state history. Insider tip: If you want to see the Alamo, I recommend you reserve your time in advance of your trip; it’s free but a good idea to get a specific time slot. Visit this website to reserve your time: https://www.thealamo.org Although it is free to walk through, you will get so much more out of the tour if you use a guide. They offer 2 options: for $7 you can use an audio guide and walk through at your own pace (that’s what we did and it was perfect for what we wanted) or you can join a tour with a personal tour guide for $40 a person. Plan to spend about an hour there. They have a living exhibit where docents dressed in period attire tell you about life in that time period. They also have a gift shop filled with topical books for kids and adults, flags, jewelry and assorted souvenirs. Remember the “Come and Take it” flag with the cannon on it? Yep, you can buy a full sized one at that shop.
Sea World is also a great place to take the kids, especially if you find yourself in San Antonio on a rainy day. For those of you who are adrenaline junkies (so NOT me) 6 Flags Fiesta Texas has huge and very, very, very scary roller coasters. In you want a more relaxed, back-to-nature experience, Natural Bridges Caverns is a peaceful adventure as you descend deep into these naturally occurring caverns. It is a beautiful and refreshing place to go in the summer because, when its 100 degrees in San Antonio, its only about 70 degrees in the caverns. Buy your tickets in advance to secure your spot at: https://naturalbridgecaverns.com/. Just remember, no pets allowed in the caverns.
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