4-Day San Antonio Travel Guide

This is considered an atypical guide because we didn’t visit the River Walk this time. Sharing it here for everyone’s reference and to help fill in any gaps! 😊 It’s a 4-day guide, but we only had 3 full days for activities. Our schedule was: leave after work on Wednesday and return to Dallas on Saturday evening. My partner said traveling with me is too much like a special forces mission 🏃💨, so he needed a day to rest at home. 😅 Wednesday We left straight from work at noon and headed to San Antonio. Originally, we planned to stop by Austin on the way, but who knew there would be so many people heading out on Wednesday afternoon! 😱 I-75 was congested with traffic and accidents, and even outside Dallas, the roads were jammed. By the time we reached Austin, it was already dark (the drive from Dallas to Austin took 6 hours—even the rest stops had long lines for the men’s bathroom! 🚻). Sharing this as a reminder: during Thanksgiving travel, be sure to allow extra time! We had a quick dinner at Easy Tiger in Austin before hitting the road again. 🍽️ Thursday SeaWorld 🐬 On Thanksgiving Day, the crowds weren’t too bad. SeaWorld opens at 1 PM, so we slept in at the hotel in the morning. If it’s your first time in San Antonio, you could use the morning to explore the River Walk. Buying tickets online in advance is cheaper than purchasing them on-site. If you’re a couple with a child under 3, consider getting a Silver Pass—it includes one guest ticket and parking, which is cheaper than buying two separate tickets plus parking. We also purchased a dining pass, which allows you to get a meal every 90 minutes, and the portions were quite generous! 🍗 The app or map indicates which restaurants accept the pass, with most located near the entrance. The BBQ place next to the orca show serves pretty good grilled chicken. However, I wouldn’t recommend the dining pass for those who want to experience all the rides, as the meal lines were incredibly long—each took about an hour to get through, even longer than the wait times posted for the roller coasters! 😫 Since we were mainly there to entertain our little one, and Qianqian is too short (under 36”) for most rides, our day revolved around lining up for food, watching shows, and repeating the cycle (we wanted to get our money’s worth! 💸). Friday Hiking with the baby! 🏞️ Garner State Park + Lost Maples State Park + Stonehenge II Of these three, I highly recommend Garner State Park. If you don’t want to rush, spending a whole day at Garner is perfect. Remember to make reservations online in advance, especially during the busy Thanksgiving period! We initially wanted to stay at Rio Bella Resort, but the Thanksgiving prices were a bit steep with a 3-night minimum, totaling around $1,000, so we decided against it. 🏨 The drive from SeaWorld to Garner takes about 1.5 hours. The most recommended trail in the park is Old Baldy. Search for it on Google Maps—the entrance is between two small cabins, and you can park by the river. The view from the top is absolutely stunning! 🌄 The trees along both sides of the river are beautiful, and you can also rent boats for paddling. Note that there aren’t any restaurants nearby, so remember to bring your own food for a picnic! 🥪 #Thanksgiving #SanAntonio #Texas