Budget Travel to San Antonio with Kids

Budget Travel to San Antonio with Kids. There are many ways to have an enjoyable Budget San Antonio with Kids vacation. We visited San Antonio Texas with kids a few years back. We had decided we wanted to visit a state none of us had ever visited. And why not change up our travels which mostly consisted of beach destinations and Disney (and sometimes both). There are a lot of great options in San Antonio for various interests and budgets.

A lot of activities in San Antonio are spread out and require driving. To really experience the city, it’s ideal to rent a car. This also means you can choose to stay at more affordable hotels outside of city walk that include free parking.

Food for Budget Travel to San Antonio with Kids

Texmex food is very kid-friendly. We were in kid mode when we visited so we ate on the go usually at the entertainment venue we were at.  

We ate at Rainforest Café on the river walk with the kids. They enjoyed the experience a lot and of course, thought the animals were all real.  The food was ok. I would say comparable to any chain restaurant food and of course a little overpriced for what it was but worth the experience. Afterward, the kids were tired out and fell asleep in the stroller. My husband and I were able to sit and enjoy some margaritas at a table on the river’s edge. The River Walk is full of chain restaurants and I am sure you can find many more authentic restaurants elsewhere.

The most memorable meal we had was from a Mexican place we drove by every day from the Embassy Suites we stayed at. I only wish we had stopped sooner. The name of the restaurant is called Las Palapas. We made some jokes about the name all week long but really it was good cheap Mexican food and it did not make us go to Las Palapas.

We also ate at a Steakhouse which sadly I do not remember the details but definitely recommend finding a good Texas Steakhouse. Here’s a list of the best steakhouses in San Antonio from Yelp.

Hotel for Budget Travel to San Antonio with Kids

Embassy Suites San Antonio NW I-10

We chose this embassy suite because the rate was under $100 a night, it has free parking, cooked to order breakfast and an evening manager’s reception with drinks and snacks. The rooms come with a kitchen area with a microwave and mini-fridge, so you can store snacks drinks even leftovers to be reheated.

The suites also offer a separate room and sleeping/sitting area. The hotel was midway between all the various things we had planned. You can Book a King Room for 39,000 Hilton Points per night or 40,000 pts per night for 2 Queens. The kids really enjoyed the fountain in the indoor courtyard. They would play around with it every morning before we headed out for the day’s adventures.

San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk and San Antonio River Center

Located on the riverwalk you are close to many Restaurants and Bars and within walking distance of the Alamo. It will cost 35,000 Marriot pts per night for either hotel. Both hotels have comparable ratings.

Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort

This resort is wonderful for kids. A little further out of the way. It’s an expensive resort but Hyatt always has a great value with points and you can stay for 15,000 pts per night Chase is a transfer partner which means with 2 chase ink bonuses of 50,000 each you could stay for a full week here. Besides the lazy river, they also have a slide and surf wave thing.  

The hotel charges a resort fee which is waived when staying on points A daily resort fee of $35 plus tax will be added to your daily room rate and includes 2 complimentary bottles of water per day, golf bag storage, full use of golf practice facilities, bike rental, spa access and more. Rollaway beds are available in some room types at an additional cost of $25 per day.

Budget San Antonio Activities with Kids

San Antonio Missions

We visited the Alamo and while it wasn’t easy inside with the kids (we had to make sure they didn’t touch the walls), they really enjoyed the outside.  This was the most convenient and of course most famous of missions. The Alamo is a short walk from Riverwalk and we planned the 2 together. Visited the Alamo in the morning then headed to Riverwalk for Lunch and drinks and left before evening so we did not see the river walk at night. You can find information on other missions here.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

We have been Six Flags season pass holders for many years. The season passes are a great value. We planned a day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. While six flags originated in Texas this was not the original one. The Park was built in an old quarry. Its cool feeling being inside and surrounded by walls of rock.  

The most memorable attraction was one that had just opened that year Scooby-Doo’s Ghost blasters. This ride is an interactive shooting ride that my kids loved. Sadly, it has since been shut down to make room for a new attraction. There were a handful of rides for younger kids as well as some roller coasters for older kids. The main dining hall offered huge foot-long hot dogs with toppings. We were able to get a mac n cheese foot-long dog. We based on the mac n cheese on the side which was perfect for sharing with the kids. In the eating area were large picnic tables and a huge screen playing Looney Toon Cartoons which the kids loved.  

San Antonio Texas Zoo

We really enjoyed the San Antonio Texas zoo. It spread out with large areas for the animals to roam around. They had a huge variety of animals. There’s a small petting zoo and outside the zoo, there is a zoo train that will take you around for a ride. The food options were comparable to what you would expect hot dogs burgers, nothing too exciting. The kid’s area was small but the kids really enjoyed the various play areas.

There are a lot of other options in San Antonio including Natural Bridge Caverns Discovery Tour, Splashdown (water park), and Guinness World Record Museum. We enjoyed SeaWorld for the day including their water park Aquatica which has a sand beach. They have several sesame street-themed shows which the kids really enjoyed and a large climbing structure with a small splash pad. Sea World is really great for all ages.

If you are staying at the Hyatt in San Antonio Texas you will want to make sure to include some resort time.

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