Texas recommendations

[cajunmom]

We'll be traveling to San Antonio at the end of May for DD2's acro competition. We'll be driving over on Thursday or Friday, the 28th or 29th. She only competes one day, either Friday or Saturday (we don't have specifics yet but we know it's one of those two days...we're driving over the day before she competes, whichever day that ends up being.)

Originally we planned to stay in San Antonio a few days afterwards but I'm second guessing that. The girls were there last summer and saw the highlights and I'm not particularly interested in the Alamo, etc, just for myself. We would not be going to Sea World, so that's out. 

Should we go up to Austin instead? Visit the Hill Country and stay...where? Go down to Galveston? I lived in Texas for a while when I was a child but we lived in Lubbock and never spent time in any of those areas. I'm open to most anything but I prefer seeing pretty scenery, stuff like that. H prefers cities but will do whatever. 

It will be H and I and the two girls, ages 9 and 12. Length of visit is open but we have to drive home by Saturday, June 6th, at the latest.

[soso]

Going to see some of the Missions just outside of San Antonio may be of interest to you. The buildings and grounds were really pretty IMO. I did like the drive through Hill Country and Austin but the missions were unique and interesting.

[sicilygirl]

I'm not the best at recommending places to visit with kids, but I'll try!

I think Galveston would be a good choice, especially at that time of year. You can go to the beach, walk up and down the strand and visit all the little shops & stop in at the chocolate shop or ice cream parlor, visit Moody Gardens, and go to Schlitterbahn (unless you're not interested in any amusement/water parks).

If you like museums and are going to Galveston, there are lots of great ones for both kids and adults in Houston that are a short drive away. The zoo is also close by the museum district. You could go see an Astros game too, if you like baseball.

There are lots of great outdoor things to do in and around Austin, but I don't have any specific recommendations. I love shopping on South Congress, seeing the Texas Capitol, and eating from delicious food trucks. I also really love Krause Springs in Spicewood, which is about 45 minutes NW of Austin. It's a beautiful area.

I love the hill country personally, but most of my time there centers are visiting wineries and drinking all the wine, so not exactly the most kid friendly.

[urbancowgirl]

I would drive to Austin since it's only about an hour away from SA. You also could take a less-direct route through Hill Country to Austin. Fredericksburg is a cute town with shops and restaurants.

I'm in SA so let me know if you'd like suggestions for things to do off the beaten path.

[namasteak]

You could go to New Bruanfels and float down the river.

[Pom]

Since you've already seen the highlights in SA...and I agree the Missions surrounding SA are worth a visit...they are gorgeous, do hit the Hill Country. We adore all the little towns and the scenery, so there's that.
-Drive out through Boerne/Comfort--lots of shops and restaurants, Sisterdale is also a tiny, cute town with candle shops, old general stores, and a cool old cotton gin made in to winery that explains the process and kind of cool.
www.sistercreekvineyards.com
Head on towards Fredericksburg and/or Luckenbach. My teen visitors always want a "Everybody is Somebody" t-shirt from Luckenbach. They have music in the afternoons.
Best burger ever is between Sisterdale and Fredericksburg www.yelp.com/biz/alamo-springs-cafe-fredericksburg
Great hotel (for swimming/relaxing) is the new Holiday Inn Express in Fredericksburg. It has a lazy river and a great pool.
Don't miss the Das Peach Haus (and the resident cat greeter Peaches) and all the cool shops in Fredericksburg. Best German food is at Auslanders on main street.
Outside of Fredericksburg, on US 290 heading back east is LBJ's Ranch at Stonewall and the museum in Johnson City. You can take this route the back way to Austin. Follow 290/281 and be sure to hit the town of Dripping Springs just before heading in to Austin.

[more adventurous]

Others have already given some great recs, but I just wanted to add a few more. 

As a kid, I always enjoyed Natural Bridge Caverns, between San Antonio and New Braunfels (www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/). It looks like they have even more to do there now than when I was younger.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but we also stayed at the Hyatt in Hill Country a few years ago for a wedding (hillcountry.hyatt.com/). It was on the pricey side, but it's a really nice resort with lots of kid-friendly outdoor activities (lazy river, etc.)

[sunshineandpinot]

Oooo! Will you PM me the details of the acro competition. I'm in SA and my daughter is very interested in acro. I think she'd love to watch a competition!

[tacosforlife]

Mar 30, 2015 11:52:27 GMT -5 namasteak said:

You could go to New Bruanfels and float down the river.

YESSSSSSSSS!

I can't believe I didn't think of it, but yes yes yes! With kids, Schlitterbahn is pretty much the greatest park ever. Water slides + river to float on = heaven.

[namasteak]

Mar 31, 2015 13:07:13 GMT -5 more adventurous said:

Others have already given some great recs, but I just wanted to add a few more. 

As a kid, I always enjoyed Natural Bridge Caverns, between San Antonio and New Braunfels (www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/). It looks like they have even more to do there now than when I was younger.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but we also stayed at the Hyatt in Hill Country a few years ago for a wedding (hillcountry.hyatt.com/). It was on the pricey side, but it's a really nice resort with lots of kid-friendly outdoor activities (lazy river, etc.)

Ooooo the Hyatt Hill Country resort is AWESOME! We stayed there over 4th of July last year and had a blast!