Family Vacation

[jolenekwhite]

Hi ladies:

I thought I would put this out here and see if anyone has any suggestions. We are going to be taking our family on a road trip in March and will ultimately end up in San Antonio, TX. We live in Omaha, NE so we figured it will probably be a 16 hour car ride which we will split into two days. My husband and I have never been here before. We will be taking our children ages 3, 8, and 11 with us. I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions of places we should see or eat at while we are there. We are going to be staying at the Embassy Suites on the river walk and will definitely be making a trip to Sea World for one day. We will probably be in San Antonio for five full days. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Thanks so much!

[melrio]

Other than the riverwalk...you'll be within walking distance of The Alamo.

[pewtertm]

First off, if you haven't signed up for their CVB's coupons, I'd do that!
http://www.visitsanantonio.com/visitors/save/index.aspx

Ideas:
The Alamo is the traditional tourist mecca...and we go every time we are in SA...but IMO, the other missions in San Antonio are better.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas will be open on weekends and during spring break in March.
The Zoo and Brackenridge Park
The outlet mall in San Marcos...love it! We hit the Disney Outlet, Crocs, and hubby goes for the tool stores.
There are a lot of caverns in the area. Natural Bridge also has a wildlife park...it's one of those drive-thru types if I recall correctly (it's been awhile)
Dinosaur Quest might be popular with the kids...DD is just getting into dinosaurs so it's on our list of places to go next visit.

There is a Texas Ranger Museum near the Alamo...but honestly, we felt it was a rip-off. Very pricey tourist trap (most things near the Alamo could fit in this category IMO). The Ranger Museum in Waco is at least as nice and much cheaper. The Dr Pepper Museum is also in Waco and DH enjoys stopping there to get the cane sugar Dr Pepper from their gift shop.

As far as restaurants go, there are tons of good Tex-Mex places...our favorite was Rita's on the River...the BEST fajitas I've ever had.

We also enjoyed browing El Mercado...just because it's so different from our normal shopping experience.

[jolenekwhite]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the wonderful ideas! I will definitely sign up for the coupons ASAP. My daughters will definitely enjoy the Dinosaur exhibit and the older ones may enjoy exploring a cave too. I am for the shopping at the El Mercado and I definitely want to hit the outlet mall too! Thanks again!

[farrijc]

If you don't already have a coupon for sea world tickets, make sure you look around. We went in December, and I found a coupon for "buy an adult ticket at the child's price, and get a child's ticket for free" - it was a great deal! I found it on ebay. Also, Sea World could easily be a two day affair - there's lots to do. The new sesame street section may be open by the time you get there, too.

The zoo is always fun - try to go on a weekday if possible. We tried to go on a weekend a few years ago, and the parking situation was insane.

As a kid, we always wandered around El Mercado and I enjoyed that (I have never lived in San Antonio but my grandparents did.)

[pewtertm]

Those Sea World coupons were available on their website and on their Facebook site...so it doesn't hurt to 'like' them