Part 2
For most of my time in San Antonio, I had not actually realized how much there was to do downtown and instead spent all but one day elsewhere. And my understand is that there are many people out there who prefer activities outside of a downtown setting, so I thought I would share my experience with these other places as well. If you are looking for what to do around the Hyatt Regency Hotel for ACFW, you can read this post.
Each of the below are located with a 30-40 min drive from the Hyatt hotel depending on traffic. Where possible I will provide links and mention which places I have visited myself and what my thoughts were.
Water Parks
Seaworld, Six Flags, Splashtown... San Antonio has a number of different water parks to choose from. Which is great, because temperatures have been in the high 90s!
For those who plan to visit Seaworld, know that there is a $23 parking fee (unless you want to park closer, which is $26). However, if you have two days to split there, Seaworld is also home to Aquatica. I had thought that I would be able to squeeze both parks into one day, but I was wrong!
Missions
The Alamo isn't the only Mission in San Antonio. There are also four others in the San Antonio Missions National Park and all are free to visit. There is also a walking trail which links these four, though the entire park stretches over 8 miles.
Natural Bridge Caverns
I had SO wanted to go here, but I ran out of time. These caverns offer a few different tour options and the pictures are amazing. There are even zip lines for those who enjoy heights (not me!). Make sure to buy your tickets ahead of time to ensure your spot in a tour and to get a better price.
The Pearl
This location was once a brewery that has now been converted into a complex of restaurants and shops. There is even a coffee shop and a bookstore!
I met up with a local author and friend who showed me this location, which I recommend just for the beauty of it. The food and coffee are great as well, plus parking is free despite how close it is to downtown.
Go City
San Antonio is one of a handful of cities around the world that has a Go City Pass. This pass can save you up to 45% on tickets to various attractions around the city. Price varys on the number of attractions selected for the pass (3-5) and savings vary depending on which attractions it is used for.
The above link takes you to San Antonio's Go City page, which details what all is included and what the costs are. Remember that this pass does not cover fees outside of ticket costs (i.e. parking, souvenirs, ect). Also, at the time this post was written, Groupon had Go City Pass for $3 cheaper than on the above website.
Groupon
As in my last San Antonio post, I highly recommend checking Groupon before buying tickets for attractions elsewhere. Many of the above listed locations have ticket deals listed. This link will take you to the "Things to Do" page for San Antonio and you can also look for deals on food as well.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of all the things to do in San Antonio. There are malls (this is the one I visited), a number of used bookstores, comic book stores, coffee shops, boba tea places (this one has geeky flavors!), aquariums, and zoos.
I recommend doing a quick search of things to do in San Antonio, or to plan your trip around what deals you can find through Groupon.