If you are looking for a fun, long weekend getaway, put San Antonio, Texas on your list. We spent three
nights there the first weekend in December and had a wonderful time. Even though December is one of
the busiest times to visit the city, we would recommend it because the weather is usually more
pleasant, and the Christmas decorations make the River Walk even more festive.
We recommend staying near or on the river walk because there are a lot of fun things to do within
walking distance in that area. We ended up staying at the San Antonio Marriot Riverwalk, which is
located at the east end of the manmade part of the River Walk which turned out to be a great location.
And if you vsn afford a little extra (plan on it), get a river view room. Ours was on the 18 th floor and had
a great view of the River Walk and the downtown landscape. Originally, we were scheduled to stay at a
VRBO but that fell through at the last minute and thanks to VRBO we ended up at the Marriot. More on
that later…
Another thing we would recommend, though not necessary, is to rent a vehicle. This allowed us to go
to a couple places where we normally would not have… and we were very grateful we did. The airport is
pretty close to downtown. around a 20-minute care ride. So, you can either rent a car or take an
Uber/Lyft to get to your hotel or place where you are staying.
San Antonio is a good size city which, to us, didn’t feel like a big city. Like any city, you are going to see a
homeless population, and there are probably areas where one shouldn’t wander off to by yourself after
dark, but we felt very safe walking around and never had any issues. They have also invested some
money to revitalize a couple different areas infusing them with cool shops and restaurants like the Pearl
district, or further developing a park area, like Hemisfair Park (more on those later).

Saturday, December 3:
Since it was too early to check into our accommodations for the weekend, the first thing we did after
leaving the airport was navigate to a parking lot in the area near the Rive Walk where we wanted to visit
a few sites. The San Antonio Fire Museum and the Alamo, which were both on our list, were in close
proximately to a parking lot which charge daily or for a block of hours. I think we paid for like 4 hours.
The Fire Museum was inexpensive $10 per couple, $6 per senior couple. A retried firefight gave us a
tour which took about 30 minutes. It was well worth the few bucks we spent and was interesting and
informative. Depending on when you go, check on-line for the times they are open. We did it fist and
on Saturday because they were closed on Sunday and Monday.
After the museum we took a short walked over to the Alamo. To be honest, there’s not much to see.
They’ve reconstructed some of the buildings, etc., but hey… it’s the Alamo. You have to go there and
stand on those grounds, take a couple pictures, and recite, “remember the Alamo”. There is an optional
free ticket you can get to visit inside a couple of the buildings, but we opted not to do that. We did,
however, go back a couple nights later after dark, which was cool seeing it lit up with clear Christmas
lights and were glad we did.

Since the Alamo is located adjacent to the River Walk, there are a lot of shops and restaurants in the
area. Per a local’s recommendation, we headed over the second oldest restaurant in San Antonio,
Schilo’s delicatessen for lunch. Plan on waiting since there is usually a line…. But it was only about 15
minutes for us to get a table for 4…. It is a German style restaurant… good food, great atmosphere. My
wife and I both had the split pea soup. I added a bratwurst to mine; She added a frankfurter to hers.
Also recommend trying the homemade root beer.

After our lunch and with satisfied bellies, we returned to our vehicle to figure out our accommodation
situation. As I had mentioned previously, we had an issue with our VRBO…. We came to find out that all
of the reservations in the condo complex where we had booked the previous January had been
cancelled indefinitely. But here is our shout out to VRBO … after some time on the phone with them, a
little over an hour, and since they were not able to find us a comparable VRBO around the same area,
they booked us at the Marriot. There’s a little more to the story, but in the end, we ended up staying all
three nights in a wonderful hotel and even though it wasn’t what we had planned they were able to get
us great rooms with a River Walk view and adjoining rooms which made it easier to all hang out
together. A BIG THANK YOU to VRBO!!! WE will be using their services again in the future.
One more caveat about the hotel, and if you have a vehicle. Valet parking was something like $42 per
night. But there is a parking ramp right next door that was only like $12 each time we would leave.
Recommendation: Park next door. Another shout out to the valet who told us about it…. And another
recommendation, don’t be afraid to ask the locals for information on restaurants, etc. We found
everyone to be very friendly, except maybe that one hotel front desk guy, but we’re giving him the
benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he we just having a bad day.
After settling in at the hotel and a short break, we headed out as dusk approached to the River Walk
below… and we were not disappointed. It was amazing and alive with lights and people waking about,
restaurants spilling out on the sidewalks, river tour boats cruising, and more boats decorated for
Christmas accompanied by carolers… There was a lot to take in… and that’s just what we did. We
explored and got to know the area better. It was very busy, being Saturday of course, but we did find an
outside table right on the river to have a beverage and a bit to eat. There we were able to sit and soak it
all in. More walking after dinner and making notes of places we might want to come back to and things
we wanted to do over the next couple of days. It was a little overwhelming… but it in a good way. Since
it had been a travel day and we had been up since 4 a.m. Eastern time and it was now 10 a.m. Central
time, we were beat and headed back to try and get a good night’s sleep before continuing our
adventure the next day.
In hindsight, we should have walked over to San Fernando Cathedral to see the Christmas light show
after dark. When we went back the next evening, it had been cancelled because of a special concert
which had been earlier in the evening. So, put that on your list and check the internet or ask a local for
the event times. We heard it is supposed to be really nice.

Sunday, December 4.
For breakfast, we decided to take a short walk to a nearby Hilton hotel restaurant, The River’s Edge.
Unfortunately, it was cool with misty rain, so we had to sit inside, but we had a delicious breakfast. A
great way to start the day. While there, we also decided what we wanted to do for the day. First on the
list was going back and getting our car and heading about 45 minutes out of town to Natural Bridge
Caverns.
Natural Bridge Caverns is a cave system. They also have some above ground activities and some evening
Christmas activities during the December, but we only did the cavern tour. We bought the tickets when
we got there, and I think they were $32 per adult for about 60-minute guided tour. We highly
recommend this if you are able. We’ve been in several different caverns throughout the county, and I
think these were our favorite.
After our underground tour and since we were already out and about with our rental car, we decided,
from a local’s recommendation, to check out the PEARL district. The center piece of the area is an old
brewery that they have turned into various shops, restaurants, and very cool up-scale hotel. There are
other shops and restaurants the have built up around it and has formed a walking district. There is pay
by the hour parking nearby. From there your walk around and explore. We found a great place for
lunch, Full Goods Diner. It was a busy Sunday, so we had about a 20/30 minute wait, but they took our
cell number to text us when your table was ready. There are plenty of things to explore in the area, so
the time went quickly and soon we were having some fabulous sandwiches. After lunch we checked out
the area further and found ourselves in a bake goods store where we bought some cookies for later,
then on to the hotel bar/lobby where we hung out for a while and the girls had an afternoon cocktail.
It’s a very cool area with lots of history about the area and brewery that once operated there.
Back to the Hotel for an afternoon rest and relaxation and enjoying some time with our friends. As part
of the VRBO story from before, we had actually checked out of our hotel that morning because they had
only booked us for one night and were going to try and find us another VRBO for the next two…
however, they were not able to find another comparable VRBO rental in the area, so they booked us
back at the same hotel….and in the end, we ended up back in the very same rooms we had the night
before.
Into the evening, we went out to explore more of the River Walk and decided that we were going to
wait until then next evening to do our boat tour and since we had such a big lunch, we decided to split
some Nachos at Margaritaville adjacent to the large shopping mall on the River Walk and near our hotel.
This isn’t on our recommendation list, but other restaurants were full and with a short wait, this one
was convenient. However, they did have a guy and his guitar playing live music, and he was pretty good.
We also found a barbeque joint on the River Walk we were planning on hitting for dinner on Monday.
Another great day!

Monday, December 5,

It’s always fun to find new places, and I really enjoy finding good breakfast spots. There’s something
special about starting off your day with a good cup of coffee or tea and some good food. This morning
did not disappoint. We found a place online that got good reviews called, Commonwealth Coffeehouse
and Bakery.
It was located about a half mile walk from our hotel, in Hemisfair park. They were several renovations in
the area, and it wasn’t very busy at the time we were there, but I can imagine in the summer it would be
bustling with activity. There was a large children’s paly area and a splash pad. Also, an outdoor games
area including ping pong and corn hole with all of the equipment left out and available. The coffee shop
was wonderful. The staff was friendly, the coffee was great, the food even better, and the fresh pastries
were amazing! Highly recommend this place for breakfast while you are in town.
After a yummy, relaxing breakfast, we wondered back through the park to our hotel or rather the
parking garage next to the hotel to our rental car. We had decided to head out for part of the day to the
nearby tourist town of Fredericksburg….it was a little over an hour drive away. There wasn’t much to
see on the way, but it wasn’t a bad drive. The main part of the city is basically one main street lined
with shops, restaurants, and more shops. And maybe you already guessed by the name, it has a German
heritage.
We found parking easily on one of the sides, then proceeded up and down the main street for the next
couple of hours. It is not a cheap place to shop, but we did find a couple unique birthday and Christmas
gifts. There were also several that offered their version of jams, salsas, and other condiments with lots
of free samples. Delicious fun. We ended up at fun little bar/restaurant that offered outside seating
and had an older gentleman on the front porch playing guitar and singing classic country songs, as well
as a couple Christmas favorites. We had a German beer and split some authentic German apps for
lunch. Soon after, we hit a couple more shops, then in the car heading back to the city. We enjoyed our
time in Fredericksburg and were happy with our decision to take the time to go there.
Once back in San Antonio, we parked in the garage, then headed back to our rooms for a while. Our
friends had brought along a game called Jokers and Pegs. We had played the night before, girls against
guys, and the guys were on a winning streak. Well, that ended quickly. The girls won each of the next
two games and were now up in the series.
After a respite and a dominate performance by the girls in Jokers and Pegs, we headed out towards dusk
and the River Walk. We had purchased tickets earlier that day for a boat tour on the river and we
decided to wait until it got dark to do the cruise so we could enjoy the canopy of Christmas lights
hanging from the trees along the river’s edge. A beautiful sight. Our tour guide was very informative,
giving us a lot of information about the history of the area. The tour is one of the most popular activities
on the river walk and we would recommend doing it. The tour last about 30 minutes and cost around
$14.50 per person.
Another option to get on the water is the Christmas caroling light-show boats (I just made up that
name). You can you pay about $20 each to ride and sing along on one of these boats that only run in the

month of December, I believe. However, it is not a tour, but rather something fun and unique to do.
We opted not to do it during this visit.
After our boar tour, we walked back to the Country Line restaurant. We were lucky enough to get an
outside table along the river and shared a large barbeque sampler platter…. And fresh homemade
bread. It was delicious.
There are a lot of restaurants along and near the River Walk offering a variety of styles. If you are a
foodie, this is a good place for you. We enjoy trying different places and foods, so many times we will
split an app, then move on to the next place and do the same.
Later that evening we ended up at the Dirty Nelly’s bar at the Hilton right on the river. There was a
piano player singing some well know tunes but with an after-hours flare, if you know what I mean. We
enjoyed a beverage and an app there as well.
Afterwards, we decided to walk a few blocks back to the Alamo to see it lit up at night… which was nice.
Enroute, we spied a beautiful Christmas tree inside an older but luxurious hotel, so we snuck in a took a
couple pictures. We ended up walking back to our hotel through the large mall located next to the River
Walk, then called it a night.

Tuesday, December 6
We were up early so we could pack up, checkout, and head back to Commonwealth Coffeeshop and
Bakery shortly after they opened at 7 a.m. We wanted to leave the parking garage to go to the airport
no later than 9 a.m., so that gave us plenty of time. We normally don’t repeat restaurants when we
travel, but we made an exception this time, mainly because of the fresh pastries… and we just really
liked the place.
After breakfast and a short walk through the park and back to hotel/parking garage, we were off to the
airport…. And San Antonio would become a treasured memory shared with good friends.
There are many, many more things to do in the area. Since we only had a limited amount of time, we
picked out a few we thought we would enjoy the most and were very happy with our decisions. If you
are looking for a unique destination, please reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you plan your next
adventure.