Planning a Family Vacation to San Antonio Texas

My wife came to me one day and said, “let’s head to San Antonio”. The last time I was there, I was in the Air Force and went down for some training. I only visited the Riverwalk once so I quickly was on board.

To plan any trip we follow a very basic formula: Research – Plan Activities – Booking. Let’s walk through this one.

Family Vacation to San Antonio | Pre-Travel Planning

Before traveling to any destination my wife and I research the area. For San Antonio, we relied on a few very basic tools: Youtube, Google, Crime Reports, Blogs, and Tourism sites.  

Researching San Antonio With Youtube

There was an abundance of videos available for gathering information needed for planning our family vacation to San Antonio.

The contributors we love are In the Loop and Traveling Robert.

Their perspectives are quite different but give a great overall picture.

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTx_vEI9XNI if the video doesn’t load.

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFRqP1AIbNE If the video doesn’t load.

Each of these videos offered a wealth of information but also pumped up the family more for planning our family vacation to San Antonio.

Researching San Antonio With Google

At this point, we were excited about the trip. We jumped on Google Maps. We were fairly sure we wanted to stay in the San Antonio Riverwalk location so we used the map to explore local shops, hotels, and close attractions.

We would be flying and not using a rental car but opt for Uber instead, so walking distances were important to find out.

We noted that a walk to the Alamo (a must-see) from the northern riverwalk was only about 6-8 minutes! This was GREAT NEWS!

Researching San Antonio Local Crime

Now that the family was stoked – it was time to research any potential danger. This may seem like an over-precaution, but it is my job to ensure my family’s safety.

With that said, here’s what I used for planning our family vacation to San Antonio.

I love using SpotCrime.com as it gives me an overview of reported incidents and breaks it down into various categories such as Arrest, Arson, Assault, Burglary, Robbery, Shooting, Theft, and Vandalism.

I hone in on Assault, Burglary, Robbery, Shooting, and Theft.

I see no signs of shooting and minimal signs of the others so the trip looks like a go. 

Researching San Antonio Blog Posts

We wanted to see what others experienced and recommended before delving further into our family vacation to San Antonio, so we jumped on Google and rattled off a boolean search.

In the search bar type: “riverwalk” + “blog” + “San Antonio” (or just copy and paste)

Out popped some great content for us to devour.

Exploring the San Antonio Riverwalk – Lattes, Life & Luggage

This was a great article by Lattes, Life and Luggage that was straight to the point. We’re sure to visit the Pearl District because of her.

San Antonio – The Big Mama Blog

This article by Melanie Shankle was a great resource to amazing things to see and do. While she may not be into the zoo’s, we think we’ll give it a go! We loved the recommended dining and things to do that she offers up.

San Antonio Riverwalk – The Best Things to Do, Travel Tips & Photos

Vanessa over at the Stylishlyme had some amazing photos! This blog was a great resource for showing great places to eat and when certain events are taking place on the riverwalk.

Her perspective was energetic and made us hyped for our family vacation to San Antonio!

San Antonio: America’s Most Underrated Destination

Caroline in the City posted this blog back in 2015, but we hope her recommendations for dining are still around. Some of her pick’s sound amazing!

Researching San Antonio Local Tourism Websites

There are tons of blogs and websites that will help you discover so much to see and do in San Antonio, Texas for your family vacation.

We settled on the following three for a quick overview of what to expect. We were not disappointed!

VisitSanAntonio.com

This tourist site has a wealth of information about what to do in the local area. We quickly jotted down some “must-sees” and put them on our ‘to-do’ list for our family vacation to San Antonio!

TheSanAntonioRiverWalk.com

This site offered a great map of local attractions and public restrooms. The best part was that it showed we were centrally located and only a 2-mile walk to see a majority of what the San Antonio Riverwalk area has to offer!

ShopRiverCenter.com

I wasn’t expecting a mall experience on the San Antonio Riverwalk but – there it is! This will be put on our “must-see and do” list for further venturing! It looks like we could easily spend 2 – 3 hours here! Check out their interactive map to see everything they have to offer. We did and – we’re impressed!

San Antonio Family Vacation Itinerary

With so much to see and do, we immersed ourselves in the possibilities. After gathering all of our research we settled on the following list of things to place on our itinerary for our family vacation to San Antonio, Texas.

Must-Do Attractions and Stops

• Seaworld San Antonio – theme park
• Six Flags Fiesta Texas – theme park
• Go Rio – Riverboat cruise
• Alamo – A HISTORICAL MUST
• The Tower of the Americas – I’ve gotta see the view
• Shop River Center – shopping and dining
• Hard Rock Cafe – restaurant 

Possible Side Adventures

• Ripley’s San Antonio – entertainment
• The DoSeum – interactive kids entertainment
• Travis Park – Because who wouldn’t want to see a park named after me. Okay, it’s named after Col. William B. Travis, commander of the Texan troops at the Alamo – but who’s to squabble over details.  
• The Amazing Mirror Maze – entertainment for kids…(and adults!)
• Battle For Texas – museum
• Briscoe Western Art Museum – museum of western art and time period pieces

I hope we can do at least 2 on this list!

Booking a Flight For Our Family Vacation

Hello Google.

I love Google flights.

The platform is amazing and shows the best time to go. We settled on a Delta flight that gave us the perfect accommodations. Did someone say Economy class? 

Yup, we did!

Transportation To-and-From San Antonio International Airport (SAT)

Now that we are planning this family trip to San Antonio, I am beginning to see there may be no need for a rental car.

Instead, I think we’ll opt for an Uber.

The cost shouldn’t be too bad once you factor in that a lot of the hotels there charge a “parking fee” plus the cost of the vehicle to rent – so – yeah, we’ll Uber. 

The cost looks relatively fair at on their estimator so we’ll see how this pans out.

Hotels in San Antonio, near the Riverwalk

Now to book a hotel for our family vacation to San Antonio. I like to use Google to search for hotels so – let’s see what we can find.

After some searching, I’ve narrowed down the possibilities to the following:

Hotels Close to the San Antonio Riverwalk

• Drury Inn & Suites San Antonio Riverwalk
• Holiday Inn – San Antonio Riverwalk
• Homewood Suites by Hilton – San Antonio Riverwalk/Downtown
• The Fairmount
• Omni La Mansion del Rio

After a review of each with the family, we settle on our pick…the good ‘ole Holiday Inn! It’s in a good location and fits our budget, though Omni La Mansion del Rio will be the one that got away…

Estimated Cost of the San Antonio Texas 8 Day Family Vacation

So with everything booked, let’s review the estimated totals for now for our family vacation to San Antonio…

Flight + Hotel Cost:

Delta Airlines Economy

• $1,210.26

Holiday Inn San Antonio

• $1,679.14

TOTAL: $2889.40

Activities Cost:

San Antonio Zoo

• $18.41 (Adult x 2)
• $14.55 (Child)

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

• $54.99 (x 3)

SeaWorld San Antonio

• $60.99 (x 3)

Go Rio River Boat Cruise

• $13.50 (x 3)

Tower of the Americas

• $14.50 (Adult x 2)
• $11.50 (Child)

TOTAL: $480.31

Transportation Costs:

Uber Travel to Hotel From San Antonio Airport (SAT)

• $30.00 (tip included)

Uber Travel to San Antonio Airport (SAT) from Hotel

• $30.00 (tip included)

Uber Travel to SeaWorld Round-trip

• $70.00 (tip included)

Uber Travel to Zoo

• $70.00 (tip included)

Uber Travel Six Flags

• $70.00 (tip included)

TOTAL: $270.00

Food, Shopping, and Misc. Costs:

Food

• Budgeting for $100 a day = $800

Shopping

• 3 Pairs of Cowboy Boots – We’re in Texas after all!
  • Women’s – $250
  • Men’s – $175
  • Kid’s – $70
• Hard Rock Cafe
  • Magnet – $25

Misc

• $200.00 to account for misc expenses to perhaps take advantage of possible side adventures

TOTAL: $1,520

GRAND TOTAL: $5,159.71

Don’t let that figure scare you. If you live closer, I’m sure the flight is less. Also, we are going for a total of 8 days so… ya, I’d probably shoot for 5 and boom – you’ve got less hotel and food expenses.

But for us – this is going to be amazing!!!

We are stoked!

Conclusion – Now We Pack!

I hope this shows everything we did to plan our next adventure in San Antonio, Texas! We are so excited about this trip and can’t wait to report back on what we discover.

Trips like this are what make all that hard work worth it. Get out and Explore!!!

#WeWHPH
#WeWorkHardPlayHard

If you are planning a trip or have any advice, we’d love to hear it regarding the local area. Leave us a line below.

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