Thinking about visiting the Texas city of San Antonio? In addition to the amazing culture and history, there are many fun things to do in San Antonio with kids, including theme parks and museums. We recently visited for five days over Spring Break, and we had such a great time with our kids.
I would recommend San Antonio as a vacation destination for families, thanks to the variety of fun activities. Thinking of visiting the city with your children? Here are some of the best things to do in San Antonio with kids.
Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets to SeaWorld San Antonio for this review. Affiliate links are included in this post – if you click/purchase through an affiliate link, we may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. We paid for all of our other activities in San Antonio, including hotel, food, and airfare, and all opinions are my own.
Over the years, we’ve tried to spend school breaks exploring different parts of the United States. My kids hadn’t been to Texas before, so we decided to head to San Antonio, Texas, home to the popular attractions including the Alamo and River Walk. We booked a Southwest Vacations package, which included our flights from Boston, a rental car, and our hotel.
If you are planning on visiting San Antonio on vacation, I’d recommend purchasing a San Antonio CityPASS® ticket for each member of your family. You’ll be able to pay one price and choose four of the following attractions to visit, saving about 35%:
- Go Rio San Antonio River Cruise
- San Antonio Botanical Garden
- San Antonio Museum of Art
- San Antonio Zoo
- The DoSeum
- The Tower of the Americas
- Witte Museum
Things to Do in San Antonio With Kids
The Alamo
The Alamo is the most popular attraction in Texas, so it’s a must-do for your San Antonio family vacation. It gets busy with school groups and tourists, so we decided to go first thing in the morning. It’s free to get in and walk around, but you can also choose to purchase an audio tour or a guided tour.
We opted to get the audio tour, which I think is the best way to learn when traveling with older children (mine were 10 and 12 on this vacation). There’s so much information on the tour, and you’ll learn a lot about the rich history and background of the Battle of the Alamo as well as Texas history. You can purchase the audio tour in the main plaza as you enter the Alamo.
Otherwise, you’ll be walking around and trying to read the different exhibits. I always find the audio tours to be easier to follow and keep the kids more engaged. It’s worth the money.
It doesn’t take too long to walk around the Alamo. There are some rules of reverence that you’ll need to follow when visiting the interior, so review those in advance. You’ll probably want to discuss them with your kids as well. In addition to the exhibits, you also find a gift shop.
If you aren’t staying on the River Walk, then combine your trip to the Alamo with a visit to the River Walk because they are right near each other. Otherwise, you can just walk over from your hotel.
The San Antonio River Walk
While the Alamo is the most popular tourist attraction in Texas, the River Walk is the second most popular attraction. We have an entire post focused on things to do on the San Antonio River Walk – but I recommend taking the riverboat tour from Rio San Antonio Cruises.
The guides are knowledgeable, and the 30-minute ride is fun and educational. While you are exploring the River Walk area, you’ll see so many of these boats floating around. It’s one of the most popular things to do there.
The River Walk is located within walking distance of the Alamo, so you can do both in one day if you aren’t staying in the area. There are also lots of shops and restaurants that you can explore during your visit.
SeaWorld San Antonio
My kids’ highlight of our time in San Antonio was our day at SeaWorld San Antonio. Although the park is smaller than the location in Orlando, we loved it. It’s the perfect place to visit with the whole family.
There are roller coasters and thrill rides for older children and many different animal encounters and shows. While they have lots of different species, our favorite spot was the penguins. If you are traveling with younger children on your family trip there are other rides for smaller children (including Sesame Street-themed areas).
SeaWorld San Antonio is open for limited days and hours in the off-season, so you’ll want to check that out before your trip. It was only open on weekends during our April trip, so we only had the option of one specific day during our five-night trip.
That’s something you’ll want to know in advance. You can spend the whole day there, so I wouldn’t plan to do anything else that day.
See our whole SeaWorld San Antonio review here.
The Witte Museum
There was one rainy day during our San Antonio family vacation, so we headed to the recently renovated Witte Museum. Although my kids were a bit reluctant to visit a museum on our spring break vacation, the Witte pleasantly surprised them.
A part science museum, part history museum, the Witte features several different buildings with loads of hands-on exhibits. Our favorites were the Texas Heritage Center, the dinosaur gallery, and the H-E-B Body Adventure. Although the Body Adventure is in a separate building, I recommend visiting it.
My kids loved learning about health and fitness and even learned how much they would need to exercise to burn off their favorite sugary drinks. It was a good lesson for all of us.
The Tower of the Americas
We used to live in Seattle and loved the Space Needle, so we wanted to visit the Tower of the Americas. Surprisingly, it is taller than the Seattle Space Needle. It gets busy, so we arrived first thing in the morning.
After paying for parking at the complex, we walked to the park surrounding the tower. We were there before it opened, so we just enjoyed walking through the park before purchasing tickets.
Tickets for the tower also include the 4D theater, although it wasn’t operational while we were there. You get a wristband for the tower, so you can also return later in the day to see the city at night.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this for younger kids, but if you like seeing great views, it’s a great place. It doesn’t take too long to visit, and it’s fun to see things from the observation deck.
The Pearl
The Pearl is a fun new neighborhood in the original Pearl Brewery district. We parked in the free lot and visited several of the unique, hip shops before checking out the gorgeous Hotel Emma. If you like buildings and hotels, I’d recommend walking through the Hotel Emma (or even staying there).
Then, we walked by the river – taking loads of pictures, and dined at the riverfront restaurant La Gloria. It’s worth driving out to the Pearl for the afternoon. It was one of the best places that we visited during our trip.
It’s so different from the River Walk, and La Gloria was one of our favorite dining experiences. Eat outside if at all possible. Visit when the weather is nice so you can enjoy being outside.
Attractions by the Alamo
There are several fun kitschy museums located by the Alamo, including Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Guinness World Records Museum. My son saw the front of Ripley’s and begged to go in. While I wouldn’t consider these must-dos, they are fun to visit if you have the time and if your kids want to go.
Find the best hotels and click to book directly via this map (affiliate)
Other activities in San Antonio
We weren’t able to see everything that we wanted, but there are other things to do in San Antonio with kids. We wanted to visit Schlitterbahn (a water park), but like SeaWorld, it’s only open on weekends during April. We were only there for one weekend day on our trip.
There’s also the San Antonio Zoo, the Institute of Texas Cultures, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the San Antonio Aquarium, the Natural Bridge Caverns, and the Doseum. These all cater to different ages so you’ll want to look into them individually to figure out what is best for your trip.
Outside of San Antonio
If you want to explore outside of San Antonio, you may consider taking a short road trip through the Texas Hill Country. While there are lots of resorts, hotels, and ranches to stay in, you can also visit for a day trip. There, you’ll find several museums, state parks, ziplining, shops, and restaurants.
During our visit, we decided to drive up to Gruene Texas (pronounced Green). Because this was the kids’ first trip to Texas, we wanted to go beyond the city of San Antonio to explore more of the Texas countryside. While we didn’t spend too much time in Gruene, we did enjoy some shopping and lunch at the Gruene River Grill.
You could also combine a trip to San Antonio with a drive to some of the Texas beaches.
Where to Eat in San Antonio
We loved almost all of the meals that we had in San Antonio and had some great food. For BBQ, I recommend BBQ Station, which is a bit of a drive from the River Walk. I was surprised that there aren’t too many great BBQ restaurants near the River Walk, but BBQ Station is the real deal.
For Mexican, we loved Casa Rio and Acenar (both on the River Walk), as well as La Gloria in the Pearl. Our favorite restaurant overall was Boudro’s (also on the River Walk).
We ate there twice because we loved it so much. There are so many great restaurants in the area, so it’s a good idea to do some research in advance and make reservations where necessary.
At a minimum, you should consider eating at least one meal outside on the River Walk. Even if you don’t stay on the River Walk, you’ll love people watching as you dine.
Some restaurants have entrances on the street level but offer seating along the River Walk. Some even have live music.
Where to Stay in San Antonio
When looking at San Antonio hotels, you’ll have lots of options. Some hotels are located in Downtown San Antonio/on the River Walk, some a short walk from the River Walk, some that are near the airport, and others that are closer to SeaWorld.
We decided to stay on the River Walk, at the Omni La Mansion Del Rio. The Drury Hotels (there are two in the River Walk area) have great reviews as well (see reviews for the Drury Plaza and the Drury Inn and Suites).
I loved being on the River Walk since it’s so convenient. When booking your room, you may have the option of a River Walk view. I found that to be worthwhile – we enjoyed the view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our visit for five days was perfect for our purposes. There are plenty of places to visit in San Antonio, but if you stay in Downtown San Antonio, you can combine multiple activities in a day. If you are considering visiting for a long weekend, you’ll probably have to choose only a few things to do.
Much of the River Walk and Alamo area is very walkable. However, you’ll want to have a car if you plan to explore beyond that area. We had a rental car and used it every day of our trip. Use this link to compare prices and book your rental car.
While I do love the Pearl, I prefer to stay on the River Walk. It’s such a fun, unique area perfect for family vacations.
Planning a San Antonio vacation? Click to read our reviews, tips, and planning ideas for your next family vacation to San Antonio.
