There are so many awesome things to do in San Antonio with kids! You aren’t going to want to miss the Alamo, the amazing San Antonio River Walk, the botanical gardens and all the parks and playgrounds.
We did all the research and went and experienced a lot of these activities so all you have to do is click and book and go enjoy San Antonio with your kids!
Top Attraction Highlights:
Here are our picks of the top things that you don’t want to miss when visiting San Antonio with your kids!
- Top Activity: The Escape Room – our kids love The Escape Room! We have taken them at all different ages and they always have a great time!
- History: The Alamo – when you visit San Antonio you must make a stop at The Alamo. When we were there they had a living history event going on which made it such a great time with the kids!
- See The City: Hop on Hop Off Bus and River Tour – we love a bus tour to help give us a good overview of the city this is the way to do it! Plus you also get the River Tour – which is a highlight when in San Antonio.
Table of Contents
Food Not To Miss
Puffy Tacos – they are just that puffy tacos! The shell is a mix between a funnel cake and a tostada. It is a greasy, fried and crispy meal that you can’t pass up!
Tex-Mex food – San Antonio is known as the leader in Tex-Mex Cuisine. You can find multiple Tex-Mex restaurants throughout San Antonio.
Getting Around
The Riverwalk area is very walkable so you can park your car in one of the parking lots and walk to anything you want to do on the Riverwalk. From the Riverwalk it is a 6 minute walk to the Alamo. Legoland and Sea Life are all right in the same area as well.
Depending on where you stay and what you want to do you could walk to most locations. If you are looking to do something outside of town driving or taking an Uber would be your best bet.
Visiting With Kids?
You may be wondering if San Antonio is a good place to visit with kids. The short answer is yes!! There are a ton of great things to do with kids of all ages in San Antonio and history as well.
The longer answer – A big highlight in San Antonio is the Riverwalk. This is kid friendly in the sense kids are welcome at the restaurants and on the boat tours. The hard part is if you have little kids and you are walking along the river you will want to keep an eye on them so they don’t fall in!
Outside of that there is Lego Land, 3 different aquariums, and an amusement park plus a huge park with a beautiful Japanese Garden to walk through!
So the long answer is also YES. You can also find a lot of free things to do like visiting Brackenridge Park or just walking along the Riverwalk. If you are bringing your toddler with to San Antonio they also get in free at the Zoo – if they are under 3 years old.
Read on to find out all of the things to do with your kids in San Antonio!
Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour
We always think a hop on, hop off bus is a great way to get to know a city the first time around and see things you wouldn’t expect or otherwise wouldn’t see. Get tickets for the San Antonio Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour here.
San Antonio River Walk
The River Walk in downtown San Antonio, TX is such a unique and cool place. You can come and walk up and down the Riverwalk taking in the scenery, stop for ice cream, grab lunch, do some shopping. There is so much to do plus they have a lot of great restaurants on the San Antonio River Walk.
We loved how the river literally is right there – like, you or your kids could fall into it. So be aware and don’t have too many margaritas! But, that also adds to the coolness and vibe of the whole experience.
River Walk Barge
We didn’t do the barge ride when we were there, but would love to come back to do it. You get on the boat and it takes you on a 30 minute ride on the river. It was a little expensive at $62 a person (with 4 kids that adds up!). But if you were coming with money to spend I would recommend it. Get a combo ticket for the bus and river tour here.
The Escape Room
If you are looking for a fun activity for the whole family head to The Escape Room! They have a variety of different rooms and different levels of difficulty. We have done multiple escape rooms with our kids and it is always a fun time!
Click here to buy your tickets.
Botanical Gardens
The San Antonio Botanical Gardens are beautiful and can be many things. Educational opportunity, tranquil afternoon stroll, a way to explore nature in a new way. Spend an afternoon strolling the Botanical Gardens!
Alamo
The Alamo should definitely be on your Texas bucket list! We were here during spring break (we didn’t mean to do that . . .) and it was crazy busy. But the cool thing was they had people in character out talking about guns and what life was like in the Alamo – such an interesting part of Texas history!
Tip: There was a LONG line of people waiting to get into the church part of the Alamo. We skipped that part and instead walked straight in where we could walk the grounds, go into the museum, gift shop, etc. I obviously have nothing to compare with since we didn’t go into the church, but I do know when we left we didn’t feel like we had missed anything. So just an idea if you get there and there is a long line!
Learn more about the Alamo and check out the teacher handouts if you want to teach your kids about it before you go.
Cave Without A Name
Descend 80 feet below ground on a guided tour of Cave without a name. See the amazing natural cave and enjoy the cool air and natural beauty of the underground rock formations as your tour guide tells you about the history of the cave. Book your Cave Without A Name tour here.
Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and Texas Ranger Museum
If you have a budding cowboy in your family be sure to check out the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and the Texas Ranger Museum. Your kids will also find the Carnival of Curiosities interesting with all of it’s topsy turvy attractions!
Brackenridge Park – Japanese Tea Garden
The Brackenridge Park is humongous and is home to the San Antonio Zoo. We didn’t go into the zoo, but instead went straight to the Tea Garden and it was so beautiful! They have a nice little cafe at the top so after walking around the gardens and looking at the huge fish we sat down to have a popsicle.
They do have a train by the zoo that runs around the park. Had it not been spring break and so busy we totally would have done that. It is only a couple dollars per person and what kid doesn’t like a train ride!
You can experience this with a San Antonio – Full-Day Sightseeing Tour.
San Antonio Zoo
If you have an animal lover in your family who must see all the zoos, check out the San Antonio Zoo. This Zoo features over 3,000 animals, daily wildlife talks, and a carousel.
Get 45% off ticket prices to 3, 4 or 5 attractions including the San Antonio Zoo if you get a San Antonio – City Explorer Pass.
iFly San Antonio
Experience Skydiving without all the terror of jumping out of a plane! This hour and 15 minute experience is perfectly safe: you get an instructor who takes you into the wind tunnel one at a time and the air blows wall to wall, gradually increasing until you are in the air! This experience lets you go up twice in once visit.
Get 45% off ticket prices to 3, 4 or 5 attractions including access to 1 premium attraction like the iFly Indoor Skydiving San Antonio if you get a San Antonio – City Explorer Pass.
Morgan’s Wonderland and Morgan’s Inspiration Island
Morgan’s Wonderland and Morgans Inspiration Island are fully accessible amusement parks – the first of their kind! The rides are wheelchair accessible and they even have special wheelchairs available that can go into the splash parks. This is truly a theme park for everyone.
Book your tickets to Morgan’s Wonderland and Inspiration Island here!
Legoland Discovery Center
If your little one loves to imagine, build and create with Legos, they will love Legoland Discovery Center. Let them spend hours exploring and creating and watch their imagination bloom! Check out the Legoland Discovery Center here!
This activity is included in the Go San Antonio Explorer Pass as well!
SeaWorld
Get up close and personal with ocean wildlife, learn about the ocean and its inhabitants and ride some super fun roller coasters. SeaWorld also has a Sesame Street themed splash park area for kids up to 61 inches, even older kids will enjoy this area!
Get 45% off ticket prices to 3, 4 or 5 attractions including access to 1 premium attraction like SeaWorld if you get a San Antonio – City Explorer Pass.
San Antonio Aquarium
From marine life, to birds to sloths?! The San Antonio Aquarium has everything you’d hope for and more.
Make sure to check out the stingray touch tank while you are there and see Kiwi the sloth. You’ll spend hours exploring all of the exhibits and animals at the amazing aquarium.
Get 45% off ticket prices to 3, 4 or 5 attractions including SEA LIFE San Antonio Aquarium if you get a San Antonio – City Explorer Pass.
SEA LIFE San Antonio Aquarium
If seeing Sea Life is your thing here is a 3rd option! The SEA LIFE San Antonio Aquarium. The ocean tunnel and touch tank are always a crowd pleaser. This is also on the San Antonio – City Explorer Pass.
San Antonio Spurs Game
If your kids are like ours and it is basketball season they are going to want to see a Spurs game! Head over to the AT&T Center to catch a game.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
If you have a roller coaster fan on your hand be sure to check out Six Flags Fiesta Texas! They have everything from kids rides to thrill rides. You can easily spend a day here trying out all of the rides.
Hiking
There are a few good family friendly hikes around the area! Learn more about them here: Hiking In San Antonio – 13 Trails In and Near San Antonio.
Farmers Markets
If you enjoy going to farmers markets San Antonio has some great ones! Check out this one that happens on Saturdays and Sundays at the Pearl campus.
Historic Market Square
An awesome place to go for the sounds and sights of Old Mexico! 100’s of locally owned business plus entertainment! Be sure to check their site for info on live music, dancing and more!
Go San Antonio Explorer Pass
If you are looking at multiple activities and tourist attractions on this list and wondering how you can maximize your time and still do all your favorite things, look no further than the Go San Antonio Explorer Pass.
Book a 3, 4, or 5 attractions pass and pick between SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Texas Hill Country and LB&J Ranch Tour and iFly Indoor Skydiving for the first, premium activity. For the rest of your attractions you have over 20 options of San Antonio’s most popular attractions to choose from, including many on this list as well as Witte Museum, Natural Bridge Caverns, Texas Ranger Museum, Splashtown San Antonio water park, UNESCO World Heritage Site historic missions, San Antonio Missions National Park, San Antonio Museum of Art and more.
Take a look at the Go San Antonio Explorer Pass and find things to do in San Antonio Texas and plan the trip of your family’s dreams!
Get your Go San Antonio Explorer Pass now!
For more fun in the are check out this great Texas Bucket List post! If you like visiting State Parks (we always do!) here is a great post about State Parks near San Antonio.
Experience Kiddie Park, the United States oldest Amusement Park. Filled with more than 37,000 square feet of kid friendly activities.
There are also a lot of great weekend day trips you can take from San Antonio for wine, hiking, yummy restaurants and more!
Also check out this great list of Free things to do in San Antonio.
Where To Eat
The Block
This is where I recommend you come for dinner with your family. It about an acre of land with a handful of food trucks, a bar, picnic tables, baggo, and room for the kids to run! It was perfect since each kid was able to pick what they wanted, which the kids loved, and Craig and I were able to get something different to try.
We ended up with 1 cheeseburger, 3 different kinds of pizza, an empanada, and a yummy vegetarian Indian/Mexican dish. Everyone was happy with their choices! When we were done we played a round of family baggo. They also have Jenga and connect four games that you can play at your table.
You can learn more about The Block here.
Ray’s Drive Inn
If you are looking for some Puffy Taco’s Ray’s Drive Inn is the place to go! They are closed on Monday’s. You can learn more about Ray’s Drive Inn here.
El Milagrito Cafe
The cafe is open for breakfast and lunch and is one of many historical Tex-Mex locations in San Antonio. It is also a favorite of the locals! You can learn more about the restaurant and see what they are up to on Facebook.
Pearl District Walking Taco Tour
If you are up for some walking and taco’s check out this awesome tour! I know when I visit a new place I like to try a lot of different things. That isn’t always possible when you only sit down to eat meals a few times a day.
A food tour like this is a great way to try a variety of restaurants during one “meal” plus walking will burn all the taco calories right?!
Book the Walking Taco Tour here.
LuLu’s – 3lb Cinnamon Roll
The famous Lulu’s bakery is closed but you can still get this gigantic 3lbs cinnamon roll at LuLu’s sons place: Green Vegetarian Cuisine.
This was definitely a highlight for our kids so we recommend adding it into your list of things you will do while in San Antonio!
If you are into BBQ be sure to check out this post with the best BBQ places in San Antonio!
Where To Stay
RV
We stayed at the Traveler’s World RV Resort – it was nice – but more expensive than we normally pay at $60 a night. But it was just 15 minutes from the Riverwalk. For that reason it was worth it. They have a bus that you can pay for to take you down there and my parents rode their bike down a couple of times. So for it being that close to San Antonio’s main attractions it is worth it!
If you want to stay outside of the city, Hidden Valley RV Park is only about 10-11 miles from San Antonio and will give you a peaceful, quiet setting. Sun Outdoors San Antonio West is another campground that is only about 12-13 miles from the city.
If you are interested in trying out the RV lifestyle, learn how to rent an RV for your San Antonio trip!
Hotel
Sonesta ES Suites
Check out the Sonesta ES Suites in downtown, where every room is a suite, and they offer complimentary breakfast, a 24-hour market, and a grocery shopping service!
Holiday Inn San Antonio
At the Holiday Inn San Antonio, you are within walking distance to all downtown activities and kids under 12 always eat free at the hotel restaurant!
Vacation Rental
If a vacation rental is more your style check out these great options:
Best location in San Antonio- 1 mi to The Pearl & Riverwalk
The Marengo: A Taste of France in San Antonio near the Pearl Brewery
There you have it! Our top 16 things to do with kids in San Antonio, Texas. We really enjoyed visiting San Antonio it is such a great family vacation destination. I could see going down to the Riverwalk multiple times a week to try all of the different food choices. We ate sitting right on the river one afternoon and it was such a cool experience.
If you are looking for day trips from San Antonio check out Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.
Looking for more? Check out the historic Pearl District.
Looking for more fun in Texas? Check out these posts:
Top 7 Amazing Indoor Water Park Texas You Will Want To Check Out!
23+ Fun Things To Do In South Padre Island, Texas
Top 15 Best Things To Do With Kids In Austin
12 Best Things to Do In Dallas With Kids
12 Best Things To Do In Houston With Kids
18 Amazing Things To Do In Big Bend National Park
Check out more posts like this about some of our favorite places around the United States:
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The Best New Orleans Plantation Tours To Take With Kids
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Top 13 Amazing Indoor Water Park Dallas You’ll Want To Check Out!
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She loves being outside and exploring new places which is all made better when doing it with family and friends!
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