Avs19

Anybody knows what else to do except your typical tourist itenary of visiting the Alamo, Riverwalk and Missions, etc? Don't mind driving out of SA a bit to visit them.

richbutnot

We just got back yesterday and did all the above. We also took a Segway tour and I think it was the most fun we've ever had. It's a little pricy at $65, but it lasts three hours and they take pictures along the way. Takes about 3 minutes to get the hang of the Segway, then there'll be no stopping you. Segcity.com

Malesherbes

Natural Bridge Caverns, 1/2 hour northeast on 35 to Natural Bridge Caverns Rd north for about 6 miles. We live quite close to it but went for the first time this past week. They are beautiful.

Gruene Hall (old dance hall usually with live music) in Gruene, TX (pronounced "Green"). It is in the direction you would go to Natural Bridge Caverns so both could conveniently be done the same day.

Boerne, if you'd like to see a small Hill Country town and enjoy shopping for unique items in a somewhat rustic setting. My favorite shops are Good and Co, Calamity Jane's Trading, Rusty Bucket, and Viva Rouge (if you like MacKenzie-Childs), all on Main St. There's an excellent new restaurant in town along the creek...Creek Restaurant (?) Creekside? Boerne (pronounced "BUR-nie") is located off I-10 northwest of San Antonio.

McNay Art Museum.

If you visit the Missions on a sunny day (all we've had recently) try to time your arrival at Mission San Jose for as late as possible (they close at 5 and you'll need time for touring). The light from the late afternoon sun casts beautiful long shadows along the series of arches at the mission...absolutely terrific photo ops.

Don't miss the King William Historic District. You can reach it by walking the Riverwalk as far south as it goes then cutting up into the neighborhood or by driving if you aren't ambitious walkers.

Have lunch or breakfast at the Guenther House, part of the Pioneer Mill complex, while you are in that area.

You didn't mention El Mercado as part of your "typical tourist itinerary", but I trust you know about that as well. It's the Mexican Market, has lots of junque, but treasures mixed in and always fun to browse. Likewise the shops of La Villita, just off the Riverwalk opposite Arneson Theater.

Hopefully some of these will be to your liking.

Avs19

Malesherbes,

We were thinking to go to Natural Bridge Cavern tomorrow. How crowded is it during the weekend? Is it pretty chilly in the cavern? I've also heard good things on Gruene, so we may hit those two together like you said.

We might also check the King William Historic District. Any other good restaurant that open on new year's day? I know Mi Tierra does.

Thanks for all the good tips.

Malesherbes

We were there on a weekday but town was full of tourists for the Alamo Bowl, so it wasn't representative of a normal weekday. One tour was leaving as we arrived, and ours left about 15 minutes after that. Tour groups are kept small--we probably had 20, give or take, in ours. You shouldn't have to wait long. I was quite impressed at what is almost literally in our backyard--made us feel like coming home and digging to see what we could find.

Although they say the caverns are an even 80 degrees, it felt cooler than that to me. I wore a light fleece and was comfortable--others were in shirt sleeves. Wear tennis shoes if you brought them. Two small sections were slippery and a bit steep so I was glad for the heavy tread on my running shoes.

Gruene Hall is having one of its few by-ticket-only events tomorrow night for New Years. Can't recall now who is there, but it might not be too late for tickets if you are interested in something different for New Years! I will guarantee the "different" part of that. We saw Aaron Neville there a few weeks ago and tickets were available at the door. You can check online at Gruene's website, www.gruenehall.com. Even if you don't go for the New Years celebration, there will normally be a group there in the afternoon as well, and the performance will be free.

Don't know what all will be open Sunday. If you haven't been to Rosario's yet, try that before you leave, but certainly most of the restaurants along the Riverwalk will be open New Years Day. There are just too many people in town on a long weekend to go dark...if indeed they ever do! My favorite Riverwalk restaurant to date is Pescas in the Watermark Hotel--a cut above the rest.

jorr

I second everything that Malesherbes said. I used to live in S.A.

Avs19

Cavern sounds nice, excited to go now. ;p Checked gruene and they're sold out for tomorrow nite. May just stop by in the afternoon just to look.

We will try to go to Guenther house for breakfast and Rosario's for lunch. We LOVE to eat. We made reservation at Buodros for tomorrow night. Never been there, I heard good things.

Thanks again.

Malesherbes

Do try to stop by Gruene anyway if you are in the vicinity in the afternoon. There will be a group tomorrow afternoon as well. Sorry they are sold out for the evening--it would have been a memorable New Years. Drop in the country store on the corner across the street from Gruene Hall for a Blue Bell ice cream cone. Yum...and this is the weather for it. The town is cute--very "found", but in a better way still, IMHO, then either Wimberly or Fredericksburg.

Boudros is OK...hopefully you can get a table along the river, making it even more fun. You must have their guacamole salad for two as a starter. There was a Fodors thread on that trying to duplicate the recipe. I could make a meal of just that...

Avs19

Update from our trip to San Antonio. The Natural Bridge Cavern was better than I expected. We took the 11 am tour and there were about 20 people with us. The tour seemed rushed sometimes. I think it's because they have tours every 30 min and would like us to move along. We could hear the other group closing in behind us.

We had a lot of fun in Gruene, ate at Gruene river grill, nice view and good food. The tilapia was tasty. Our waiter was a disapointment, as he mixed up our order and some of us had to wait extra about 15 min. while they cook it. The bad thing is they automatically added service charge because we had a party of 7, even with the subpar service.

Went to Gruene Hall and they did have a country live band playing in the afternoon (Heyballe?) They're pretty good and we had a lot of fun dancing. Definitely an experience. ;P

Bodrou's was good, the waiter was attentive and food was good. We got a table just outside the window and the ambiance was great. Downside of the evening was it was soo foggy close to midnight, can't even see the towers of america and the fireworks weren't visible, you can only hear the sounds... it was the weirdest thing.

We stopped at San Marcos the next day and people were swimming in the river near Texas State U... felt like spring/summer already. ;p Overall it was a fun trip with great warm Texas weather. Thanks again for the tips.

AnnMarie_C

What a fun day! Glad you enjoyed your trip. It's unusually warm here for this time of year. Normally, from our upstairs windows, we can see the fireworks go off downtown--not this year!