San Antonio is the gateway to the Texas Hill Country and South Texas. Its location is a wonderful hub-and-spoke destination for groups. The city offers a wide variety of theme venues, historical sites and unique Texas experiences in and around its beautiful locale. San Antonio’s seasonal festivals, parades and celebrations offer big-city entertainment with a small-town feel. The surrounding Texas Hill Country is home to antique and local heritage shopping, historical tours along the presidential corridor, the Cowboy Capital of the World and a myriad of beautiful beaches.

San Antonio is easy to navigate for groups as almost all of the sites and venues are within a 10-to-25 minute drive from downtown. The outlying points of interest vary in distance of 30 minutes to 2.5 hours. Please refer to Maps and Neighborhoods for approximate driving times to these exciting destinations. Each itinerary is based on an approximate arrival time of 9 a.m. at the initial site and a full day of touring.

Day 1

IMAX Theatre showing of “Alamo – The Price of Freedom”

Tour the Alamo the cradle of Texas liberty

Vist Main Plaza and San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest Cathedral in the United States

Lunch and shopping at Market Square, the largest Mexican Market outside of Mexico.

Tour Mission Trail and enjoy the beautiful Spanish Colonial Missions. The largest is Mission San Jose, known as the “Queen of Texas Missions”

Return to Cruise on the San Antonio River or arrange a dinner cruise on the River (arrangements may be made by any restaurant, full-service hotel or caterer) 

Day 2

Visit the San Antonio Zoo , the third largest zoo in the United States  

Lunch at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens

Tour the San Antonio Botanical Gardens and learn about the native flora and fauna of Texas

Visit the Institute of Texan Cultures, HemisFair Park, and the Tower of the Americas

Enjoy dinner and a live theatre experience at either San Antonio Rose Live, the historic Majestic Theatre, or the Empire Theatre

Day 3

Tour the King William Historic District, the Guenther House, and the Steves Homestead

Tour SAS Shoemakers Factory and shop at the outlet

Head South of San Antonio and tour an operating Olive Orchard and arrange to enjoy a gourmet lunch. Handmade olive products are produced on premise and are available for purchase

Return to San Antonio to enjoy the Museum Reach of the River Walk and visit the San Antonio Museum of Art

Stroll the new Pearl Brewery area or arrange for a food demonstration with the Culinary Institute of America.

Day 4

Visit Johnson City, home of our 36th president, Lyndon Johnson, and tour the Johnson Ranch and then visit the Sutter Ranch, a working ranch set in the 1800’s

Visit the State Capitol in Austin and have lunch on 6th Street or Town Lake

Tour the LBJ Presidential Library and tour the Texas State History Museum

Stop in San Marcos to visit the largest outlet mall in Texas before heading back to San Antonio

Return to San Antonio for a free evening to enjoy the diverse activities along the River Walk or just stroll along the River and let its meandering path and lush terrain rekindle romance.

Day 5

Head off to the Hill Country and visit Becker Wines. Enjoy wine tasting and handmade lavender products from this famous Texas Winery.

Lunch in Fredericksburg, a charming German town where the German heritage is still alive

Stroll Main Street, lined with original 1800’s stores stocked with unique treasures

Tour the National Museum of the Pacific War

Return the scenic route via Luckenbach, the Wildseed Farm and Sisterdale 

Day 6

Enjoy a day out at a Dude Ranch in Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of the World. A short drive from San Antonio takes you back to experience a day in the life as a cowboy.

Try your hand at roping, riding, working the ranch, and afterwards enjoy a chuck wagon dinner with singing and dancing.

Day 7

 Enjoy a trip to Corpus Christi, a short 2.5 hours to our South.

Corpus Christi sits on the Gulf of Mexico. It offers miles of open beaches to explore and hunt sand dollars, and it boasts the battle ship Lexington and the sea aquarium for touring. For those interested in deep-sea fishing, there are numerous fishing charters available. In nearby Rockport, a quaint fishing village, are seasonal birding excursions into the marshlands to view over 150 migrating birds.

Copyright (c) 2009 by San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau. All rights reserved. Phone: (800) 447-3372