Everything is bigger in Texas, so it’s easy to create Texas-size memories with your kids in San Antonio. This beautiful city not only offers history and culture but family-oriented fun as well. Despite being the second largest city in Texas, the city is compact and easy to navigate. The River Walk, which is just below street level, winds its way through the city, connecting you to many of the sites and attractions. It’s also a great place to stop for a snack, shop for souvenirs, or just people watch. So find your San Antonio vacation rental, and get planning!
1. The DoSeum
Let your kids play to learn while you learn to play when you explore engaging interactive exhibits and creative programs, just perfect for tinkering and creating. Ideal for kids 10 and under, six major exhibit halls keep them busy, while two outdoor yards filled with play equipment help them burn off some energy.
2. San Antonio Zoo
Zoom around the banks of the San Antonio River aboard the 3.2-mile Zoo Eagle miniature train ride that makes several stops at local attractions. Built in 1956, this gorgeous zoo has over 8,500 animals and 56 exhibits, enough to delight any heart. The kids can feed the giraffes — Cosmo, Alan, and Brayden — in the Savanna exhibit, as birds and zebras look on. Cool off on Friday nights at the Jungle Boogie to enjoy live music, food-truck fare, and activities for the entire family.
3. SeaWorld
Sit the kids down for a dolphin and beluga show prepared just for them, then explore the largest marine life adventure park in the world. The kids can enjoy dozens of non-aquatic rides such as The Great White, the first inverted roller coaster in the Southwest.
4. River Cruise
Get acquainted with the city sights when you climb aboard a 35-minute cruise down the river. The breezes off the water keep everyone cool and refreshed. With cruises leaving regularly from the River Walk day and evening, you can easily work this relaxing activity into your busy day.
5. San Antonio Botanical Garden
Give the kids a chance to burn off some energy and run with abandon in the 2.5-acre play-and-learn family adventure garden. This lovely space is 38-acres chock full of amazing flora, including a new culinary garden and outdoor kitchen. Grab a cool drink for the kids or a latte for yourself at the on-site cafe.
6. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch
Reach out and touch some furry ears and noses on this amazing African safari done Texas style. The kids can touch and commune up close and personal with the animals on more than 450-acres of rolling hills with refreshing creek beds and stands of majestic oak trees. Over 500 exotic animals live on this reserve, including native and endangered species from around the world.
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7. Kiddie Park
Kids of all ages are in heaven at this wonderful park that opened in 1925, one of the oldest of its kind in the country. Lots of nostalgic rides, a 1918 working carousel, pony rides, and carnival games make this a go-to destination for the entire family.
8. Natural Bridge Caverns
Explore the beautiful caverns 180 feet underground, the largest of which is bigger than the football field at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium. Kids of all ages love exploring the limestone caverns, flying over the treetop canopy on zzip lines and discovering how to escape the intriguing maze. Stick around for the nightly bat flights if you dare.
9. Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Believe it or not, you can entertain the kids for hours as they wend their way through oddities of every sort from President Trump’s wax figure to shrunken heads. Hear the shrieks of delight as they watch the Angry Birds take on those ornery piggies in realistically thrilling 4D or cheer for the Road Runner as he attempts to escape from Wile E. Coyote.
10. The Alamo
The Alamo is a not-to-be-missed historic destination the entire family can enjoy. For a real-time Alamo adventure, visit on the first Saturday of every month. The grounds morph back in time to the 1830s, and you can spend an entire day living Texas frontier life, take in some neat demonstrations, and view crafts created by talented local artisans. And don’t miss the amazing collection of Alamo and Texana artifacts that includes relics, weapons, and original manuscripts. This collection was generously donated by Singer Phil Collins, who was fascinated and inspired by the Alamo’s history at the tender age of five years old when he saw the Disney production of ‘Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.’
11. Six Flags Fiesta Texas
There are thrills and chills for kids of all ages at this 200-acre theme park with rides, games, live performances, and fireworks. Let the bigger kids go it alone on the Bahama Blaster, the steep water slide that plunks them down in the Texas-sized wave pool, or really let it all hang out on the Big Bender raft slide. Tiny tots have their fantasies too and love Daffy’s School Bus Express, an up-in-the-air bus tour, and buzzing around on the Kiddee Koaster. You can join them on the Crow’s Nest Ferris wheel, or clobber the competition in a family bumper-car smash-up that’s sure to end in delighted laughter.
12. Witte Museum
This science, culture, and nature museum captivates kids like nothing else with its exciting dioramas that encompass prehistoric Texas, state ecosystems, and rock art. Exhibits such as ‘Whales: Giants of the Deep’ give kids a hands-on, interactive experience, immersing them in science storytelling about marine animal evolution and the role these magnificent creatures play in human culture.
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