San Antonio, the way locals do it
Photo: NatBaca / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Drive 80 minutes from downtown Austin on I-35, more at rush hour
Best days Tuesday through Thursday for fewer crowds; weekends for the Pearl market.
Who it is for Couples, families, visiting parents who want more than the River Walk
Skip the chain stretch of the River Walk and do San Antonio like it is a second home: Mexican breakfast on the west side, a mission, the Pearl in the afternoon, and dinner at a place the city argues about. Stops between on I-35 for the drive back.
Optional On the way · 40 min drive
Ice Cream · 318 N LBJ Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666 · ★ 4.6 (422)
San Marcos exit on the way down if anyone is already hungry, or save it for the ride home.
9:30am Stop 2 · 40 min drive
Tex-Mex · 218 Produce Row · ★ 4.4 (25,688)
Open 24 hours since 1941, mariachis most mornings, pan dulce from the case for the car.
11:00am Stop 3 · 15 min drive
Historic Site
The grandest of the four missions south of downtown, free, with the rose window and a noon mass on Sundays.
+ Save
1:00pm Stop 4 · 15 min drive
Shopping District · 303 Pearl Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78215 · ★ 4.7 (15,287)
Lunch at the food hall or Southerleigh, then the riverside lawn. The Saturday farmers market is the best in South Texas.
2:30pm On the way
Boutique Hotel · 136 E Grayson St, San Antonio, TX 78215 · ★ 4.8 (3,437)
Walk through the lobby bar in the old brewhouse even if you are not staying. The library is open to anyone.
3:15pm Stop 6 · 10 min drive
Museum · 6000 N New Braunfels Ave, San Antonio, TX 78209 · ★ 4.7 (3,734)
A mansion of modern art in Alamo Heights, with gardens the kids can run in while you look at the Picassos.
5:30pm Stop 7 · 10 min drive
Mexican · 2427 Vance Jackson Rd, San Antonio, TX 78213 · ★ 4.2 (4,869)
The patio, the fountains, the chile relleno and a margarita before the drive home. Reservations help on Fridays.
7:30pm On the way · 40 min drive
Dance Hall · 1281 Gruene Rd, New Braunfels, TX 78130 · ★ 4.7 (8,371)
On the way home, the oldest dance hall in Texas has free music most nights. Thirty minutes is enough to say you did.
If you have time Optional If you have time
Historic Site · 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205 · ★ 4.6 (66,824)
Free timed tickets. Thirty minutes is enough, and it is two blocks from the River Walk if the kids need to see it.
Optional If you have time
Mexican · 722 S St Mary's St, San Antonio, TX 78205 · ★ 4.3 (8,261)
The Southtown alternative for dinner, loud and pink and the fish tacos earn it.
Know before you go. Park once at the Pearl and use the river taxi or the walk along the Museum Reach. The missions are a National Park, so the kids can do the Junior Ranger book.
