San Antonio – As the weather warms, Texans start to plan (or dream about) spring travel and San Antonio is ready to welcome everyone. Outdoor fun, new adventures, exciting exhibits and more, a trip to the Alamo City will thrill with new things to see and do right alongside everyone’s perennial favorites. San Antonio’s diverse lodging options have assembled special spring specials and deals appealing to all.

As always, the Alamo City puts a priority on health and safety of visitors and residents and Greater, Safer San Antonio is chockful of information and the commitment and protocols local businesses have put into place. In addition, San Antonio remains an ideal choice for those seeking a work from/learn from location that is both rich with entertainment, lodging options and hands-on educational experiences.

Here’s a handful of examples of what’s new to see and do in San Antonio this spring:

CULTURAL & ENTERTAINMENT ATTRACTIONS

  • Black History River Cruise – New this month, the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum, working with GO Rio River Cruises, has launched twice monthly African American history tours focused on San Antonio’s city center. The tours, on the second Sunday and fourth Saturday of each month, will be limited to 19 people per cruise in observance of social distancing. Private group tours also are available.
  • The DoSeum – San Antonio’s interactive children’s museum has exciting spring programming to share. Check out the Beautiful Minds exhibit (through March 28) to explore the successes of those who think outside the box when faced with the challenges of dyslexia. Through May 14, everyone’s invited to be “Under one Sky” an immersive display and photographs of the San Antonio sky will adorn the lobby.
  • LEGOLAND Discovery Center Master Model Builder Spring Break Bootcamp and Scout Month – March 8-12 and 15-19, LEGOLAND San Antonio is looking for mini-builders looking to take the next step to become a Master Model Builder. Participants in this week-long, fun, intensive LEGO building class to learn what it takes to be a Master Model Builder. Learn more about the schedule, ages for participants, and more.
  • McNay Art Museum – Opening March 4, Limitless! Five Women Reshape Contemporary Art, presented by Bank of America, features the artwork of individuals who create without boundaries. The new exhibition offers trailblazing installations in diverse mediums by female artists to include floor-to-ceiling art and video installations to a fan-favorite Infinity Mirror Room.
  • Morgan’s Wonderland – The world’s first ultra-accessible theme park is having a grand re-opening March 5 and guests can enjoy more than 25 colorful attractions including wheelchair-accessible rides in the park designed with individuals with special needs in mind and built for everyone’s enjoyment. Daily operations will be in place for spring break – March 10-14 – and Splash Day will mark the reopening of Morgan’s Inspiration Island splash park.
  • NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship – In a landmark year, the entire 63 games of the Division 1 women’s basketball tournament will be held in the San Antonio area. Having already been scheduled to host the 2021 Women’s Final Four, San Antonio is now honored to welcome the 64 teams and their fans for the full tournament. Limited capacity and health safety precautions will be observed to ensure fans can enjoy the games on television and live in person.
  • Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge at Phil Hardberger Park – Newly opened, the Land Bridge is the first in the world designed for the safe passage of both wildlife and people. At 150-feet long and 150-feet wide, it is the largest wildlife crossing constructed to date in the United States. Pedestrians and animals traversing the Land Bridge have the experience of climbing a peaceful hill, unaware of the roadway below.
  • San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum – Debuting this month, this new exhibit location is in the heart of the city at La Villita. The materials collected in the museum’s archives serve as family-friendly educational material, with programs specifically designed for children, as well as to inspire youth and adults from San Antonio and beyond. One of its permanent exhibitions presents a timeline illustrating Black history in the city through the archive’s photographs and documents.
  • San Antonio Zoo – Travelers are invited to a wild good time at Jungle Boogie Break March 6-21 with live music, dance parties and more. March 27-28, visitors can celebrate all things Monarchs, milkweed and migration at the Monarch Fest and receive free native milkweed and native nectar plant seeds. An exciting April is planned with Dream Night April 8, an exclusive VIP night for children with chronic health care needs and Festival de Animales April 24-25, celebrating the animals, culture and food of Latin America.
  • SEA LIFE San Antonio – Opening late Spring 2021, SEA LIFE is an all new aquarium located in downtown San Antonio. Visitors can explore an amazing underwater world complete with beautiful creatures from local and international waters. This fun, family-friendly experience amazes and educates visitors with a love for the oceans. Options include a spectacular adventure through the oceans of the world, learning how it feels to touch an anemone, sea stars, and sea urchins living in ocean.
  • SeaWorld San Antonio – Splashy fun for all includes rides, shows, and animal interactions. Thrillseekers will want to take on the Texas Stingray which opened last year as the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden coaster in Texas featuring a drop of 100 feet with more than 15 airtime hills with a top speed of 55 miles per hour. SeaWorld also offers an array of amazing animals to interact with from whales, to birds, to sea turtles. Visit all year long for special events like Bier Fest, Seven Seas Food Festival, and Fiesta Del Mar. There is something for everyone at SeaWorld.
  • Six Flags Fiesta Texas – get ready for the grand opening of Dare Devil Flying Machines arriving at Six Flags Fiesta Texas on March 6. Visitors will experience the thrills and sensations of weightlessness through aerial banks, loops and dives on the all-new attraction. The world’s tallest ride of its kind, the retro four-seater steampunk flying machines will imitate the maneuvers of acrobatic dogfights soaring nearly five stories above Crackaxle Canyon. Season passes at Six Flags’ parks in Arlington and Houston are honored at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.
  • Valero Texas Open – Once again the best players in the world will descend on TPC San Antonio’s The Oaks course March 29 – April 4, 2021. After having to cancel the 2020 tournament due to the pandemic, it returns to San Antonio and will do so with safety in mind and an ability to allow 5,000 fans per day of the four-day tournament. Early player commitments for the 144-man field includes seven past champions and six of the top-50 ranked players in the world including such as Tony Finau, Ryan Palmer, Abraham Ancer, Scottie Scheffler, Bernd Wiesberger and Matt Kuchar.

HOTELS & RESTAURANTS

  • Canopy by Hilton – Adding to San Antonio’s repertoire of exceptional hotels, Canopy by Hilton is set to make its River Walk debut in March 2021. The hotel will integrate the Civil War-era Alamo Fish Market building into its 20-story design. Incorporating the building into the hotel is not only an integral element of the authenticity of the Canopy brand, but also maintains an important historic element to the corridor. Canopy San Antonio River Walk will feature 195 rooms and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace overlooking the River Walk.
  • Thompson Hotel – This month, the Thompson San Antonio Hotel opens as a luxury development to the River Walk Arts District. The Hotel and The Arts Residences are a $116 million mixed-use hotel-condominium tower on the River Walk, walking distance to the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The 20-story, 162-room Thompson Hotel is one of a collection of design-forward, boutique lifestyle hotels and resorts. It features amenities including a high-end restaurant, Landrace, a 20th floor rooftop bar The Moon’s Daughter with panoramic views of downtown, a 5,000 square-foot pool deck with pool bar on the fourth floor, a fitness center, spa, valet parking, 24-hour concierge and in-room dining services.
  • Hugman’s Oasis and House of Má – Named for Robert H. H. Hugman, the visionary architect behind the River Walk, Hugman’s Oasis is a new destination tiki lounge from local restaurateur Chris Hill. It will be complemented by South Asian comfort food from House of Má. San Antonio mixologist and bar owner Jeret Peña and bar manager Maren Erickson have created elevated takes on tiki bar staples, including the Golden Triangle, a tequila-based sour cocktail with Sriracha honey syrup, cilantro, and a black sesame rim, and the Pinagroni, a spin on the traditional Negroni made with pineapple wash campari. Chef Louis Singh and Eric Treviño, from San Antonio’s Singh’s Vietnamese, will be in charge of House of Má, in the street-level space above Hugman’s Oasis. Singh and Treviño will also provide Hugman’s Oasis with a casual, izakaya-style snack menu, which encompasses smaller bites like candied jalapeno rangoons and seasonal yakitori skewers. In turn, Peña and Erickson have curated a South Asian-influenced cocktail menu for the restaurant. It features such original creations as a Ramos gin fizz with a candied egg yolk garnish. Both are to open this month.
  • Landrace – Noted San Antonio chef Steve McHugh is at the Landrace helm, at the new Thompson Hotel. Focused on Texas-grown ingredients prepared largely on a wood-burning grill, the new 200-seat restaurant will serve dishes such as steak au poivre in which the beef is crusted with ground chile pequin, charbroiled Gulf oysters topped with New Orleans-style barbecue sauce, Berkshire pork chops with pear butter and other dishes. The setting will evoke warm mid-century modernism with upholstered seating and custom-designed patterned screens in rose gold. A showstopping bar and a semi-open kitchen showcasing a wood-fired grill will contribute to the inviting ambiance.
  • The Moon’s Daughter – The restaurant and bar at the new Thompson Hotel will be helmed by chef Robert Cantu, a San Antonio native who’s cooked in kitchens across Texas and the Midwest. The 20th-floor rooftop restaurant will have a more Mediterranean approach with a menu of small plates designed for sharing, many made with local ingredients. The offerings will include house-made feta burrata cheese with pesto, lamb ragu with hummus and pita, stuffed leek kebabs with squash and cashew cheese and other dishes.
  • New La Villita Dining Options – Little Rhein Prost Haus will soon occupy the venerable spot long held by Little Rhein Steakhouse in La Villita, overlooking the River Walk. Think pretzels, brats, sauerkraut beer and craft beer, and an outdoor biergarten with long communal tables and German polka bands. With both indoor space, and terraced outdoor space, the location is perfectly situated in the historic Otto Bombach’s house, a nod to the German settlers of this part of Texas. Next door, two spaces (to include one that was long the Fig Tree Restaurant) will open as new dining options. The Dashiell House will become a casual, sports-oriented establishment opening in April. What was the Fig Tree will be an upscale dining experience with small plates and craft cocktails, opening in May.
  • BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB AT HEMISFAIR – Bombay Bicycle Club partners Bill Leighton and Satchie Seidlits have teamed up with Paula Sullivan of Carmen’s de la Calle for Bombay Bicycle Club’s second location. The team will highlight the best of both restaurants with a menu featuring Carmen’s globally inspired empanadas and Bombay’s famous burgers. Bombay Bicycle Club first opened in San Antonio in 1973 and is known for its laid-back atmosphere, margaritas and classic American menu. The restaurant and bar will open in the historic Espinoza House at Hemisfair’s Yanaguana Garden this spring.
  • THE BOX STREET SOCIAL – A popular local food truck and catering business, The Box Street Social will be opening its first brick-and-mortar location at Hemisfair this spring. It will feature a 5,000-square-foot patio with view of the Tower of the Americas and other downtown landmarks. The tasty and eclectic menu will feature favorites such as pulled pork and spicy crab-stuffed avocados, Thai chile wings, chicken and doughnuts, and more items that will expand from its current food truck offerings. Its truck and catering business will continue operation.
  • RE:ROOTED 210 URBAN WINERY – Re:Rooted 210 Urban Winery brings Texas wine to Hemisfair, making it the first winemaking and tasting room facility in downtown San Antonio with its February 2021 opening. Featuring six wines on tap and dozens of bottled wines, this urban winery specializes in local wine education and serving only Texas wines.

To plan spring travel to San Antonio, visitors should check out VisitSanAntonio.com/Spring.

###

San Antonio Spring 2021 travel images for media available here.