San Antonio for Christmas

I am thinking of taking my adult son with me to visit San Antonio for Christmas week of 2009 (we%26#39;ve not been there before).

But 6-7 days might be too long for just San Antonio, so can anyone recommend other sights to visit while there? Perhaps another city/ies closeby.

I%26#39;ll also look into arriving in San Antonio and possibly leaving from another airport, but not too sure on that scenario. Depends on what kinds of suggestions I get.

Also if I want to be centrally located, where should I stay?

Thank you in advance.

San Antonio for Christmas

San Antonio is actually a fairly nice central location. There is a lot to do in the area, so it will depend on your interests. Do you have an idea of the things that appeal to you about the area? The ';western'; activities? History? Culture? Romance? Outdoor/adventure? Shopping? Dining? It might help us steer you in the right direction...

Austin is also worthy of a couple of days, and is only 1.5 hours up the road. Between the two, you can easily fill a week or two.

For instance, you could:

Spend a day at the Riverwalk / Alamo

Spend a day looking at local missions

Spend a day at Natural Bridge Caverns / Wildlife Park

Spend a day at a dude ranch in Bandera

Spend a day at Sea World (different during the holidays)

Spend a day at Fiesta Texas (different during the holidays)

Spend a day in the New Braunfels / San Marcos area

And you haven%26#39;t even touched on Austin, Marble Falls, Fredericksburg, Johnson City, etc., all of which also have some great attractions of their own...

San Antonio for Christmas

Thank you. Austin it is! We can drive back to San Antonio for the airport there.

We would like the Riverwalk. We like cultural things, missions, museums, churches, nice sceneries.

We are ';not'; night people. We are a mother-and-adult son traveler. We also like to look at shops and possibly join some kind of city tour.

What else besides Austin would be within close drive of San Antonio where we can spend 1 or 2 days, please?

Thank you again.

Thanks again for your post. Upon re-reading it, I looked up the caverns and I am totally charged-up. Are the caverns near San Antonio?

I will look up Marble Falls now.

Hotelwise in San Antonio, any recommendations?

Prefer clean, maybe 3 stars, close to everything, centrally-located as they say?

BTW, weatherwise, Texas is ';ok'; during Christmas season, right?

Coming from Vancouver, the weather should be relatively warm. We rarely get a hard freeze, but the highs can bottom out in the 40s at times. Then again, 60s are more the norm for the time of year.

If you like the caverns, and will be near Austin, anyway, also check out Hamilton Pool. It%26#39;s a nice state park with a collapsed cave over a spring-fed pool. Very beautiful, but it won%26#39;t be lush at that time of year.

You might also enjoy a stop in Gruene (near New Braunfels) or even San Marcos. That, by the way, is where the massive outlet malls are (there%26#39;s a 1- or 2-day affair in itself -- this one is so large, there are hotels for just the malls!).

In San Antonio, the Drury is right on the Riverwalk, and is a good choice for a base, as is the Hyatt. There are some nice hotels on the northwest side of town, but if you plan to stay on the Austin-San Antonio corridor, you might be better looking northeast. I%26#39;m not sure about the hotels that way, though. I just haven%26#39;t paid much attention.

The missions are further down the river in San Antonio, and are very much worth visiting. Everyone talks about the Alamo, because of its history, but the architecture is the draw for the others.

Some other day trips:

Fredericksburg

Corpus Christi (though, during the winter, it%26#39;s a bit cool for our tastes)

Houston (3 hours, so better to stay overnight)

The Texas wine country (never thought about it in the winter, though)

Bandera

Johnson City

Wimberley (nice B%26amp;B%26#39;s)

Georgetown (north of Austin)

www.gruenetexas.com

...

www.guentherhouse.com (King William neighborhood-San Santonio

We are visiting MAINLY for the missions.

I still have a lot of time so I must plot where we%26#39;re going.

I think first order of business is to spend 2-3 days in San Antonio, then head over to the caverns.

I hope to be able to METHODICALLY and ORDERLY plot out the places we want to visit so we are not criss-crossing the state and waste time.

I%26#39;d like to visit Houston but that might be a little far (?)

Corpus Christi, I%26#39;d also like to visit, would that be closer?

Where would be the best place to spend Christmas Day?

Are the caverns a day trip from San Antonio where we don%26#39;t have to spend the night there?

It would be nice to do DAY TRIPS and make San Antonio our home base.

Thanks again for caring and writing.

You have lots of Caves to choose from. Close to SA (1) Cave without a Name North of Boerne, (2) Cascade Caverns South of Boerne (3) Natural Bridge Near New Braunsfels.

Close to Austin (1) Inner space - Georgetown (2) Wonder San Marcos (its just the inside of a fault no formations)

Longhorn near Burnet, Caveran of Sorona near Sorona a full day trip from San Antonio. I have been to all of these. The best is Sorona, its also the most windshield time, next Cave without a Name, next Natural Bridge.

The Missions, if you start at the South end of Mission trail, you that will be a half day. If starting at the Alamo 3/4 day. You will want to also see: Espanda Dam, its built backwords and has not failed, supplies water to the missions, and the aquaducts. There was also another mission that no longer standing, but ther is a marker on Mission Trail.

I have to agree with the Drury cause it%26#39;s a great value for your money lots of FREE amenities %26amp; good location on the River. There is 2 Drury%26#39;s 1 is Drury Inn %26amp; Suites www.druryhotels.com %26amp; 2nd is Drury Plaza www.druryhotels.com/properties/alamo.cfm

The Homewood Suites are very nice www.homewoodsuitesriverwalk.com

Hawthorn Suites RW www.hawthorn-riverwalk.com

Omni La Mansion del Rio www.omnihotel.com

SA Rivercenter Marriott www.marriott.com/satrc

Riverwalk Plaza www.riverwalkplaza.com

Hotel Contessa www.thehotelcontessa.com

You may want to check out this website for some Hot Deals with good reasonable rates. www.visitSanAntonio.com click on SAVE then Hotel

or www.SanAntonio.com/hotels you can find some good deals on these website plus you may find what meets your criteria %26amp; personal preference.

BTW you probably won%26#39;t have to worry about the weather, it%26#39;s usually comfortable, AM in upper 40%26#39;s %26amp; high in upper 60%26#39;s or low 70%26#39;s. A couple of X-Mas I%26#39;ve gotten Sunburn cause it was in the lower 80%26#39;s it%26#39;s no joke!!!!!

I believe the best place to spend X-Mas would be on the SA Riverwalk. It%26#39;s all lit up %26amp; very beautiful %26amp; most restaurants are open as well as most attractions in the downtown area.

You can walk the mission trail from the riverwalk

www.nps.gov/saan for the hike trail www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/hikebike.htm

The Alamo www.thealamo.org it may be of some interest to watch the movie before visiting at the Imax The Price of Freedom www.imax-sa.com

The SA Zoo is open on X-mas www.sazoo-aq.org as well as the Japanese Tea Garden http://www.wildtexas.com/parks/bracken.php

or take a walk thru the Historic King William area www.kingwilliamassociation.org

Other places to visit in the downtown area

Also you may want to visit Aztec on the River www.aztecontheriver.com

San Fernando Cathedral www.sfcathedral.org

Spanish Governor%26#39;s Palace www.sanantonio.gov/sapar

Steven Homestead www.saconservation.org/tours/steves.htm

The Guenther House www.guentherhouse.com

Historic Sunset Station www.sunset-station.com

Buckhorn Saloon %26amp; Museum www.buckhornmuseum.com

Market Square www.marketsquaresa.com

don%26#39;t forget to take a cruise down SA river it%26#39;s a 35 Min narrated tour www.riosanantonio.com

Tower of the Americas www.toweroftheamericas.com

TX Pioneer Old Trail Driver

Institute of Texan Cultures www.texancultures.com

Witte Museum www.wittemuseum.org

We have a trolley/streetcar to get around in the downtown area that cost $1.10 www.viainfo.net/Busservice/streetcar.aspx

Their are tours that leave from the downtown area

www.SanAntonioTours.net

www.SanAntonio.com/attractions/tours.html

http://www.viator.com/search/san%20Antonio

Natural Bridge Cavern is about a 25 min drive from downtown SA www.naturalbridgecaverns.com

in the same area you have Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch www.wildliferanchtexas.com %26amp; Cascade Caverns is also about 25 min away in a different direction www.cascadecaverns.com

You may want to check out Enchanted Springs Ranch www.enchantedspringsranch.com %26amp; while you are in that area you may want to check out the cowboy capital in Bandera www.banderacowboycapital.com

or you may want to visit the home of our 36th President in Johnson City www.lbjcountry.com

or take a day trip visiting the Wineries thru the beautiful Hill Country www.texaswinetrail.com %26amp; stop by the small quaint little town like Fredericksburg www.fredericksburg-texas.com %26amp; Luckenbach www.luckenbachtexas.com %26amp; stop by the Wildseed Farm www.wildseedfarms.com while you are in the area stop to have a great meal at the Hilltop Caf茅, excellent pie also www.hilltopcafe.com

Here is a website to check out what TX has to offer www.texashighways.com

Take a day trip to Corpus Christi about 1 1/2 hours away www.corpuschristicvb.com %26amp; visit the TX Gulf %26amp; take the ferry to Port Aransas www.portaransas.org if you decide you want to stay a night the best place to stay would be in Port Aransas at the Sandcastle a great place www.sandcastlecondo.com

If you like to check out old churches that are unique www.klru.org/paintedchurches

This is just a few things that you can do, there are so many more.

Places to eat in SA

Boudro%26#39;s for the guacamole prepared tableside %26amp; prickly pear margarita www.boudros.com

Biga on the Banks for a unique dinner %26amp; a great view of SA River. www.biga.com

Los Barrios for traditional Mexican Food www.losbarrios1.com

For good Mexican with a SA Flair

www.mitierracafe.com

La Margarita www.lamargarita.com or Pico De Gallo www.picodegallo.com

Piedras Negras de Noche @ 1312 S. Laredo

Good Steaks

Texas Land %26amp; Cattle near Drury Inn %26amp; Suites

Saltgrass near Drury Plaza

For traditional TX Home Cook Meals

Earl Abels www.earlabelssa.com best Fried Chicken

For good BBQ nearby SA about a 25 min drive from downtown area is Texas Pride www.texaspridebbq.net

Good Burger Chris Madrid%26#39;s www.chrismadrids.com

For a spectacular view of SA as the tower rotates is Chart House on top of the Tower www.toweroftheamericas.com

Good Breakfast in the King William area

Guenther House www.guentherhouse.com

This is just a few suggestion in where to eat their are so many more great places to go to.

Here is a website to check out other things around SA is www.visitSanAntonio.com

Have a great visit %26amp; Please write a TR when you get back would love to hear what you did %26amp; your likes %26amp; Dislikes. Have fun planning %26amp; if you have any more question just ASK????????

YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME - GOD BLESS YOU ALL for writing so kindly and so informatively.

I think I have all I need for now. My head is starting to spin and I am starting to vaporize with TOTAL EXCITEMENT. So much to see, so little time.

I need to pick the BEST CAVERN (probably the highest-rated one) and only go to one. But I have a long list to pick from.

I want to visit San Marcos for sure.

I%26#39;ve got my assignment carved out for me for the next few months.

THANK YOU TO ALL THE AWESOME PEOPLE WHO WROTE BACK.

THANK YOU AGAIN to all the smart folks who kindly wrote me back on my San Antonio TRIP.

NOW, here%26#39;s test for you guys. Can someone please draw me an pleasant itinerary of where to start off first, day by day.

We will be there 7 days. We will need to rent a car for sure. CUz you would know better the layout of the land.

PROBABLY for all nights, we would like to make San Antonio our home base (?)

We would like to probably see the (a) Missions (b) one and the BEST RECOMMENDED cavern (c) San Marcos (d) shops (e) Austin, and (f) possibly Corpus Christi if it can be done in a day, ...... then back.

We are going to also join the most comprehensive BUS TOUR of San Antonio and vicinity that is available for tourists.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE. I am enjoying reading all your replies.

ittwit