San Antonio or Austin, TX

tmadden

My DH and I are planning to spend our 5-year anniversary in San Antonio and Austin in September. Any recommendations on places to stay and eat, things to do, etc.? I know the Riverwalk and the Alamo in San Antonio, and I don't know much at all about Austin. I know there is a wine trail in-between the two. Any suggestions welcome.

Chunstad

No advice on Austin, but San Antonio was a total kickass blast.  We stayed at the Hyatt on the Riverwalk.

blu-eyedwife

Austin is fabulous (I like San Antonio too, but Austin has a younger, hipper vibe).  It's been a few years since I've been to either, so I'll hold back on places to stay and eat (honestly, I don't even know if I'd remember anyway!).  But while in Austin, see if you can do a river tour around dusk.......you'll get to see something the city is famous for!

lisamonkee11

blu-eyedwife:

Austin is fabulous (I like San Antonio too, but Austin has a younger, hipper vibe).  It's been a few years since I've been to either, so I'll hold back on places to stay and eat (honestly, I don't even know if I'd remember anyway!).  But while in Austin, see if you can do a river tour around dusk.......you'll get to see something the city is famous for!

 ooh do you mean the bats? I want to go there. I spent some time in San Antonio when I was in the service & got to go to the Riverwalk a bunch of times (awesome) but I never got to go to Austin.  

blu-eyedwife

lisamonkee11:

blu-eyedwife:

Austin is fabulous (I like San Antonio too, but Austin has a younger, hipper vibe).  It's been a few years since I've been to either, so I'll hold back on places to stay and eat (honestly, I don't even know if I'd remember anyway!).  But while in Austin, see if you can do a river tour around dusk.......you'll get to see something the city is famous for!

 ooh do you mean the bats? I want to go there. I spent some time in San Antonio when I was in the service & got to go to the Riverwalk a bunch of times (awesome) but I never got to go to Austin.  

You gave away the secret!!  Yes - the bats are insanely cool.

lisamonkee11

Right after I clicked post I thought to myself - oops that might have been a secret. 

Sorry  

tmadden

That's okay - I knew about the bats We actually picked up a Groupon for a water bike/bat tour. We're looking forward to it! 

Stewartandmaura

If you are a bbq fan, I recommend eating at Franklin's in Austin. You will have to go stand in line early but it is sooooo worth it. (Named Best BBQ in US by Bon Appetit.)  Or if you don't want to stand in line, make a sidetrip to Lockhart TX and eat at Kreuz Market (pronounced Krites). Again very tasty BBQ.

If you like Japanese food, I recommend trying Uchiko in Austin (run by Top Chef Paul Qui.)

 I used to love going on the Texas Wine Trail, but it's been years. Our favorite wineries were Chisholm Trail and Becker.  Fredericksburg is a cute fun day trip if you like shopping in little boutique shops. Don't waste your time in the Fredericksburg winery in the town.

If you like to hike, there is a neat area outside of Fredericksburg called Enchanted Rock. There are lots of legends about Enchanted Rock. Supposedly at night, you can hear the screams of those who were killed by the Indian tribes.

If you are going to be in the Fredericksburg area, you may as well pay a visit to Luckenback too. There is really nothing there but a small post office/general store and a dance hall. But you can get your picture taken by the sign and pay homage to the song. 

In between San Antonio and Austin, there is a little town called Greune (Green) just by New Braunfels. There is a restaurant there called the Gristmill that is pretty famous in Texas. 

I'm not as well versed in San Antonio things to do.  HTH!

 

 

diego299

I second going to Gruene, great little town with good shopping. The salt lick is an amazing BBQ place near Austin and Barton springs saloon is good bar. Shady grove is a good place in Austin too. If you're into the bar scene 6th street in Austin is fun, younger crowd though. There are some great shops on congress and you HAVE to get a mighty cone they have a food truck as well as restaurant. Not sure about hotels Bc we always stay with friends. Have fun!

katecham

I live in San Antonio. I feel like San Antonio can be a little more romantic than Austin. The riverwalk is awesome. There is also Market Square like a little Mexico, full of shops, the missions, la villita like a "living history" village, Alamo, Hemisfair Plaza worlds fair was there, Tower of the Americas, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Sea World, Six Flags, San Antonio Zoo, Natural Bridge Caverns and Nature Reserve, and so on.