San Antonio: The Don'ts of Visiting San Antonio

The Don'ts of San Antonio. What not to do in San Antonio. The do's & don'ts of visiting San Antonio.
Whether you are heading to Fiesta or the Rodeo or a Spurs game or a major conference San Antonio has a lot to offer, from eating and drinking on the River Walk, to visiting the UNESCO San Antonio Missions, or just to say you visited the Alamo. These are what tourists should know about the San Antonio before they visit.
Filmed in San Antonio, Texas
Copyright Mark Wolters 2022

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[kenno]

As a local I appreciate you shouting out the missions! Beautiful historical sites to see. Dont forget the barbacoa and bigred!

[jessicatobin]

Splashtown is permanently closed. A cool, free thing to do is the Japanese Tea Garden, which is across the street from Breckenridge Park (where the zoo is located). We also have the Natural Bridge Caverns and there is an African type safari that you could go on, very close to the caverns. 😁

[timh]

The best Mexican food is the mom and pop restaurants inside loop 410. Avoid the tourist traps ones.

[lifebehindthecurtain]

This video couldn't come at a better time. Going there in a month. As always amazing job Mark thank you!!

[philstone]

Ok, I saw your video here and as a lifelong San Antonian, I watched it and was waiting for you to mention it. You didn’t. It ALWAYS gets overlooked and I don’t know why! It’s one of the very first things I recommend to people from out of town. It’s like it’s invisible! It’s only the tallest structure in our city! The Tower of the Americas or just, The Tower as we call it. It was built for the 1968 World’s Fair and at 750’ high it’s the best view of the city. It’s got a bar and slowly revolving restaurant at the top. Go when the weather is good for a great 360 degree view out on the open air observation deck. You ride a glass elevator on the outside of the column so you get the sense of height immediately. Go on a clear, cool night and it’s spectacular. Seeing all the city lights going straight out from it is beautiful. Since we are an old city based on old Indian and Spanish trails, we don’t have as much of a grid system of streets like a lot of cities. Everything radiants from a central hub (downtown) like spokes on a wheel. Still, for the life of me I don’t know why it always gets overlooked. Always! It’s worth it, trust me. I’ve lived here for 55 years and it’s still one of my favorite places. So weird, it’s invisible. Ha Ha! Enjoy!
It’s a mandatory thing to do downtown if you ask me. It’s not like it’s hard to find, just look up.

[irismartinez]

Great video! I've lived in San Antonio for almost 12 years and love it. It's vibrant and friendly. It's not a tourist stop, but I highly recommend stopping by an HEB while in San Antonio. You know, in case you're looking for some homemade flour tortillas, barbacoa(slow cooked beef cheek meat), or cute snacks like Texas shaped tortilla chips and brisket queso dip. You won't be disappointed.

[symplypsychopathyc]

I’m from a small town between downtown and New Braunfels, and let me tell ya. 1. It’s really cool to see a video done about my home. 2. It’s insane to hear that you’ve only barely scratched the surface! 😱
I’ve lived here for almost 26 years, and growing up, there was always something to discover, explore, and enjoy. There were so many things I was waiting to hear you mention, and since you didn’t, I thought I’d tell you about some things I enjoy about SA, and for you to maybe check out next time you come!
1. Natural Bridge Caverns and their Wildlife Ranch! Exiting I-35 N for 3009, you’ll find yourself heading straight into two of the coolest places I love to go. Our Natural Bridge has nothing on Virginias, but walking in caves, spelunking, seeing underground springs is always a magical experience to enjoy. If I’m not there for the caves, I just walk around the main building and down to the gift shops where I can eat some homemade fudge, walk in the air, or buy a bag of dirt to sift through for gems and fossils! It’s nextdoor neighbor is in my opinion the best part of the whole place, the wildlife ranch! Driving through acres and acres of land seeing and feeding animals from all over the world is always a surreal feeling! Getting close to the giraffes, having ostriches come up to you, and having a zebra whinny right next to you? Woah! If I remember correctly, they’ll be opening their new habitat for cheetahs soon! But I don’t think those will be free range though lol.
2. Alright, I’ll admit New Braunfels is a pretty cool place, the shops, the beer, and the texas take on German food, is all fine and dandy, but if you keep going through it, you’ll make your way to Gruene, TX, home of the Oldest Dancehall in Texas. Line dancin and wine tasting are just the beginning of this itty bitty town. They have antique shops, bed and breakfasts, live music, good food, and lots of good ol’ southern hospitality. But my favorite part personally is the old drug store where I always end up feeling like Mary Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, sitting at the bar waiting to have her ice cream.
3. The Wildlife Ranch is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but there’s one place offers other insane experiences and at half the price not too far down the road. The Snake Farm. Try not to be fooled by the name, it’s not just about the snakes, I swear! There’s white lions, hyenas, capybara, camels, fox, mandrills, and the actual star of the place, Big Sammy, the alpha American Alligator. A total mixing pot of animals that you can’t even find at the San Antonio Zoo!
4. The Glass Bottom Boat tours at the Institute of Research of San Marcos. Not only can you see all the little critters and plants on the River floor, but you can also have a chance at watching the divers do research down there too! And afterwards, you can go and visit their little museum and aquarium as well!
This one is a bit far, I know. Some people don’t consider this area San Antonio anymore, but in Texas? If it’s not more than an hour and a half away, it’s “just outside of town”. I bet you could tell, time and distance mean something completely different than it does in other states. 😂
Regarding New Braunfels and San Marcos, there’s a lot to do, whether it’s shopping, swimming, or eating. Check out when the farmers market is open in New Braunfels, feed ducks or wade with them at Landa Park, or shop at the San Marcos Outlets!
5. There are so many other places of interest for art lovers, nature lovers, book lovers, food lovers, etc. The McNay Art Museum, the Witte Museum, the Big Enchilada, the Tower of Americas observation deck, the Tower of Americas Restaurant, the Ghost Walk, Worlds Largest Boots at North Star Mall, La Cantera, San Antonio Aquarium, Japanese Tea Gardens, Brackenridge Park, the Cat Graves (it’s two plaques, but it’s still special), the sculpture garden, the Riverwalk Grotto, the Wooden Nickel Company, the haunted Black Swan Inn and the Hotwells Ruins Hotel, the infamous Donkey Lady Bridge, Bracken Cave to see the bats, the Buckhorn Saloon, and strangest of all….the toiletseat museum. Yup. That too.
(And if you’re military, the Fort Sam Quadrangle Museum.)

[brandtc.]

Local here, I LOVE my city so much! There is so much to do and so many secret gems all over the place!

[homerthompson]

As a San Antonio native, one don't I'd highly highly recommend is don't come to San Antonio between mid December and mid February, because we have a horrendous tree pollen (called cedar pollen here, though it comes from a tree called juniperus ashei) that can make your life miserable with congestion and a throat that feels like you have been gargling razor blades. For the last month half the city has been asking themselves do I have omicron or is it the cedar pollen since the symptoms are actually very similar.

[julianholmes]

Love your channel Wolters. As a native San Antonian, you hit the nail on the head with this video. Great job!

[angeldelavega]

Being born and raided in SA, great job on this video :) Thanks so much for starting off with the missions, my husband was baptised at San Jose. He and I both worked the Riverwalk most of our adult lives, it's where we met and eventually got married on Marriage Island, right in the middle of the river. We love our hometown, and proud of the culture. Southern hospitality at it, s best.

[SmokeTheHolyChalice]

Native Texan, San Antonio resident for 15 years and I just want to say, "Well done my friend!" Come back and see us soon.

[joelaldodiaz]

Great video ! If you want to go to the river walk but experience the local way, walk from downtown to the Pearl. It’s more residential, and the restaurants closer to the Pearl have way better food and way better vibe.

[mikemuniz]

I'm from San Antonio and I approve of this message!

[April-mkxu]

We absolutely LOVED San Antonio. I think we missed seeing a few things, so hopefully we'll make up for it on our next visit. too peopley for me. Felt like Black Friday.

[ServantofGOD__]

You have been an amazing preparation channel for our many trips around the world. Thank you for always putting in the time with such awesome detail and positive feedback that runs true.

There are a few areas that we hope to add for future posts about San Antonio:

-The Pearl is an awesome visit just a few minutes away from downtown. Historically the area was a beer dispensary. Now filled with many hip food spots, farmers market, and a cool play area for the kids and family.

-Warning, drive at your own risk. Worst drivers in the Nation. Be careful with merges, freeway entry and exits. The infrastructure also doesn’t help with traffic lights on freeways and turnarounds.

As always we appreciate everything you do, keep up the awesome content!

[jesseortiz]

Rays Drive Inn is where the puffy Taco was born here in San Antonio. Henry was the Brother that Branched off . Both Places have the Best Puffy Taco in Town

[brianc]

I live in Austin but San Antonio is my favorite city in Texas. Great food, culture and great vacation spot. So much to do there.

[robertesensee]

As a San Antonio resident, I approve this video. Great job! :-) I would HIGHLY suggest finding a Mariachi band and have a few beers listening to them.

[BrendaMac]

I live 4 hours from San Antonio and honestly I loooove taking a road trip there.