19 Unmissable San Antonio kids activities and family attractions

Last updated on December 22, 2024

San Antonio has become one of our favourite cities in the USA. It’s among the most unique, and certainly one of the most underrated, U.S. destinations. And it’s also great for families.

From experiencing Tex-Mex culture to visiting world class galleries and exciting theme parks, there are plenty of San Antonio kids activities and family attractions.

This guide takes you through some of our favourite things to do with family in San Antonio, plus advice on where to eat and stay. We were there with our 4 and 6 year olds.

Also see our full San Antonio vacation guide, which covers how to plan your trip to the city, including a suggested itinerary. And we also have a full Texas road trip itinerary, and guides to Austin, Fredericksburg and Bandera.

Our trip to San Antonio was part of a hosted media trip with Visit San Antonio and Travel Texas. Our accommodation, activities and most meals were provided by the hosts. But, as always, all opinions are my own. If I don’t think something’s worth sharing, I don’t write about it.

Our San Antonio family favourites

• We think Hopscotch is one of the world’s best immersive art galleries (and we’ve been to lots!)
• Eat out on the River Walk to soak in the vibes and appreciate its beauty.
• If you can, be in San Antonio for the annual Day of the Dead celebrations – it’s pure bucket list material.
• Buy your souvenirs in Old Market Square where you’ll find lots of beautiful Mexican crafts.
• Cool off in the water playgrounds – we especially loved the Pearl Brewery area where there’s plenty for both adults and kids to enjoy.
• Ask our kids and they’re tell you they loved the air vents – endless fun standing on top of them and letting the wind blow! It was good motivation for walking around the city!

Save money on your family trip to San Antonio

The San Antonio CityPASS can save you money on your vacation. It gives you access to four of San Antonio’s top attractions over nine days, saving you at least 38%. It includes entry to lots of the places in this post, including: Go Rio San Antonio River Cruises, San Antonio Zoo, The Tower of The Americas, The DoSeum, San Antonio Botanical Garden, Witte Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art, and The Alamo — Exhibit and Church.

The best San Antonio kids activities and family attractions

Hopscotch

Hopscotch is part of the new wave of immersive art gallery experiences that are popping up around the world. We’ve been to others in London, Barcelona and Miami, but Hopscotch has been our favourite so far, and had things we haven’t seen elsewhere.

The whole place is designed for active exploration and play. Kids and families can jump into the giant illuminated ball pit, explore impressive light displays, and even jump on a bouncy floor while splashing swirls of light with their hands across the walls. Each installation invites interaction, making it a perfect outing for curious, creative kids and families. It’s one of our top picks for what to do with kids in San Antonio.

Hopscotch is also known for its cocktails, and they have non-alcoholic options that our kids loved. The OTT drinks come with all sorts of novelties, like a little caramel dish holding jelly beans on the top!

The gift shop is also worth stopping at as they have lots of great childrens’ books and activities.

Surrounded! at the Alamo

Visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites like the Alamo can be a bit dry for kids, but the Alamo team have come up with some good ways to keep kids engaged.

Our little ones loved the interactive experience, Surrounded!, which lets you “time travel” with individual iPads, making the history of the Alamo come alive in a fun, hands-on way. You can even take a selfie and superimpose it onto historical figures. Our kids were entertained by Surrounded! for at least 30 minutes and insisted on seeing every exhibit, which is fairly unusual for a 4 and 6 year old! It meant Steve and I also got a chance to learn about the Alamo’s history. At the moment, Surrounded! is in one gallery of the Alamo, but they have plans to extend it.

The Alamo grounds are also open-air, so it’s a good place to simply walk and burn off a bit of energy. And they have a living history are where historians dressed in traditional garb teach about what life was like back in the 1830s. They do various demonstrations, including musket firing. This area would be great for slightly older kids, ready to properly learn about the history.

Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair

The best playground we came across in San Antonio is the Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair. The colorful garden is filled with impressive play structures, splash pads, climbing frames, and oversized games like giant chess and checkers. Our kids were obsessed by the climbing frame.

The beautifully landscaped garden also has lots of shaded picnic areas and pathways, which is essential in the San Antonio sun. The nearby Bombay Bicycle Club restaurant is a great spot for families to eat a casual meal.

Boat ride on the River Walk

San Antonio’s River Walk is a must for any visitor to San Antonio and it’s a nice place to walk with kids (although do keep an eye on little ones as most of it doesn’t have any barrier between the path and the water).

A good option is to take a boat ride, which will give kids a break from walking and be a novelty in itself. While the kids simply enjoy the ride, you can learn more about the history and culture of San Antonio.

Another way to enjoy the River Walk as a family is to eat at one of the riverside restaurants. We had a lovely evening at Boudro’s where we sat on the River Walk right beside the water and watched as boats passed by and all the colourful started to come on while night was falling.

Souvenir shopping in Market Square

Historic Market Square is the heart of San Antonio’s Mexican culture. It’s a vibrant spot filled with strings of colourful papel picado, authentic Mexican food, and unique handcrafted souvenirs that kids love.

Our kids were crazy about all the colourful skulls and spirit animals (alebrijes). We spent a long time in the covered market while they chose what to spend their vacation money on. And I loved that because I’m a huge fan of the aesthetic too. In fact, our hosue is now full of Mexican crafts!

Morgan’s Wonderland

Morgan’s Wonderland is a really special place. Two parents, inspired by their daughters’ strength in the face of physical and cognitive special needs, decided to create a theme park that was completely accessible for people with special needs. They wanted to create a place where people could gain a greater understanding of each other through the common language of play. It was the first of its kind when it opened in 2010 and it’s a wonderful place to visit. There’s a big playground and a handful of rides, including a carousel, train, 3D theatre, and an extraordinary zipline. In the summer, there’s also a waterpark.

Our kids especially loved Jette’s Wonder Bikes where you cycle the pedals to get lifted higher into the air. I was particularly blown away by the Rocket’s Sky Flight Adventure – a sort of zipline that the kids were too scared to ride, but that looked amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.

The DoSeum

The DoSeum is like a dream come true for young children, offering endless hands-on fun. Kids can immerse themselves in interactive play areas that encourage creativity and learning. With exhibits ranging from interactive story worlds to STEM-focused activities, kids can engage in activities designed just for them.

We’re a big fan of the USA’s children’s museums (we don’t have them in the UK) and this was one of the best we’ve ever been to. I was particularly impressed by the woodwork area where kids can have a go using real tools. And the outdoor waterplay was great fun too. I don’t know who had more fun creating smoke bubbles – me and Steve or the kids!

Pearl District Market

For me, The Pearl District is an unmissable part of San Antonio, being the centre of its creative, artsy vibe and food scene. And luckily, it’s a very family-friendly place to visit. There’s loads of outdoor space, including playgrounds and water play fountains. And they also have games like cornhole set up on the lawns.

We especially loved being there on a Sunday when they hold a popular street market. The kids loved this too as there were loads of treats for them to try. Their favourite was the fresh mango sorbet with a fruit topping from Beary Sweet Factory. Kids will also enjoy a visit to The Twig, a cozy bookshop with an excellent selection of children’s books.

The Briscoe Western Art Museum

I wasn’t sure that the Briscoe would entertain the kids, but I really wanted to visit as we don’t often have the opportunity to see Western Art in Europe. As it turned out, the kids loved it, and despite being grumpy on arrival, cheered up quickly and really enjoyed the colourful art.

Their favourite part was seeing the cowboy exhibits, especially all the different spurs from across the states. And they also loved the model of the Alamo battle where they enjoyed the challenge of searching for specific characters amid the scene.

San Antonio Botanical Garden

Visiting a botanical garden is one of my favourite family things to do. It satisfies my love of plants and the kids are happy because they get to run about.

The San Antonio Botanical Garden is a lovely one with winding paths, epic views and themed gardens to explore. The Family Adventure Garden is designed to inspire curiosity about plants and nature. And they also have events throughout the year. We went to the Happy Frights Night around Halloween, which was a fantastic interactive experience with light displays, acrobatic shows, live character meets and trick or treating. We all loved it!

The onsite restaurant – Jardin – is also great for families.

The Witte

The Witte is one of San Antonio’s most popular family attractions. It’s all about exploring the wonders of Texan nature, science, and culture through interactive exhibits. From prehistoric dinosaur bones to Texas wildlife and even special exhibitions (like one all about spiders!), there’s plenty here to pique a child’s curiosity. The whole place is designed with families in mind.

There’s a big dinosaur skeleton in the entrance hall, so kids are engaged from the get go.

Natural Bridge Caverns

Just outside San Antonio, Natural Bridge Caverns is a good outdoorsy family day out. The vast limestone caves are visually spectacular and kids will likely be in awe. The only issue is that the only way to see the caves is on a guided tour that lasts at least an hour. Despite the cave’s beauty, our kids did get antsy after about 20 minutes so we had to make an early exit and miss part of the tour. That said, even 20 minutes was worth it, and it’s good that you can exit early if you need to. Bear in mind that if you do leave early, you will miss some of the more spectacular of the caverns.

As well as the caves, the Natural Bridge Caverns site also has a high ropes course, gem panning, and a maze, so there’s lots to keep kids entertained.

Go to one of the festivals

We were in San Antonio for Muertos Fest and I can’t recommend it enough for families. The colourful 2-day festival celebrates Day of the Dead with live music, processions, community altar displays, and lots of stalls selling Mexican food and Day of the Dead crafts. We all loved getting calavera faces paint and exploring all the colourful altars. It’s a fantastic way to talk about death and grief with children in an open and positive way. We also got to see the epic Day of the Dead River Parade, where colourful floats travel down the river. Both of these events are worth adding to your bucket list. It was incredible!

San Antonio also has other events throughout the year, including its biggest: Fiesta San Antonio.   

Other family things to do in San Antonio

We tend to seek out the more individual and unique family attractions in the cities we visit. But San Antonio also has some big hitters – like the Legoland Discovery Centre and Sea World. Here are a few more kids activities in San Antonio that we didn’t do, but that you might enjoy.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Okay, I’d have actually loved to go to Six Flags Fiesa Texas as I’m a big rollercoaster fan. But the kids aren’t quite there yet, so we gave it a miss. However, if your kids are into big rides then add it to your list.

SeaWorld

I’m not a big fan of SeaWorld after seeing the film Blackfish, but I know many say their practices have improved since then. The one in San Antonio still has live shows with killer whales and dolphins, so the animal ethics are questionable. That said, SeaWorld is a very popular San Antonio day out and also includes rollercoasters, water rides and splash play areas.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center

There are LEGOLAND Discovery Centers around the world and San Antonio is home to one of them. Designed for families, the indoor play space is filled with hands-on LEGO activities like building workshops, a mini LEGO San Antonio, and fun rides. There’s even a 4D cinema.

San Antonio Zoo

The San Antonio Zoo has over 750 species from around the world, including everything from big cats to colourful birds and reptiles. Highlights for families include the petting zoo, where little ones can interact with gentle animals, and the zoo train, which offers a scenic ride through the grounds. Special areas like the Tiny Tot Nature Spot are tailored for young children, and there are fun add-ons like giraffe feedings too.

San Antonio Aquarium

The San Antonio Aquarium is home to a variety of marine life, from colorful tropical fish to larger creatures like sharks and rays, as well as exhibits featuring reptiles, birds, and other small animals. It has lots of opportunities to interact with marine animals. Families can pet stingrays, feed fish, and even hold starfish in the touch pools. One of the highlights is the interactive lorikeet aviary, where kids can feed the friendly birds.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is a chain of exhibitions that features a collection of oddities from around the world. Explore unusual artefacts, optical illusions, and interactive exhibits. I’ve never been to one, and I’ve heard mixed reviews, so I think it depends on what you’re looking for.

The Amazing Mirror Maze Escape

Our kids caught sight of this after visiting the Alamo (it’s just across the street) and were desperate to go in, but we didn’t have time (not money!). It does sound fun, but the escape room aspect might make it more suitable for slightly older kids than ours. 

Where to eat with kids in San Antonio

We ate so well in San Antonio and we always had the kids with us, so it’s certainly possible to experience the city’s exciting and diverse cuisine as a family. The Mexican restaurants tend to be a good shout as most kids will eat quesadillas!

These were some of our favourites.

Mi Tierra Café y Panadería

A San Antonio institution, Mi Tierra is brilliant for families as the restaurant is so colourful and highly decorated that its entertainment in itself. It’s also really lively and with mariachis wandering around, so you don’t need to worry about your kids being noisy! The food is authentic Tex-Mex with good kids’ options (ours had quesadillas).

La Panaderia

Our kids loved the sweet treats at La Panaderia, and our elder son was a big fan of the eggs on toast too. It’s a casual spot ideal for families, and it’s a San Antonio staple so definitely worth trying. The first branch was opened in 2014 by two brothers who wanted to share their love of Mexican baking, and it now has several sites across the city. The downtown branch gets an epic line on weekend mornings, so I recommend going to one of the others if you’re with kids who won’t tolerate the wait.

Bombay’s Bicycle Club

Bombay Bicycle Club is a family-owned, local spot with two locations in the city. We went to the newer Hemisfair location and had some excellent veggie burgers and margaritas. The kids loved the tato tots and grilled cheese.

The outdoor area is ideal for families as it has lots of space, and it’s super close to the Hemisfair playground, so you can swing by there after.

Down on Grayson

Down on Grayson is a good family option on the edge of the Pearl Brewery area. The casual, modern-American restaurant serves a mixture of classic and contemporary dishes in a lively setting that absorbs the chaos of children nicely!

La Gloria

We loved La Gloria, an atmospheric Mexican restaurant in the Pearl district. The kids particularly loved the setting at night when it’s all lit by fairy lights, and it feels pretty magical. The menu includes street-style tacos, ceviches, and other traditional Mexican dishes, including options for kids.

Boudro’s on the River Walk

Boudro’s has been one of San Antonio’s most popular restaurants since 1986. Kids will particularly enjoy the tableside guacamole making and sitting by the river where you can watch the boats go by. They have kids’ options, but nothing for vegetarians. They made a good pizza bread for our kids, but this was off-menu, so it would need to be requested.

Best Quality Daughter

Best Quality Daughter is a fairly sophisticated Asian restaurant, so isn’t an obviously family-friendly option – but they do welcome kids. And our kids ate well there, going for some veggie noodles. I’d recommend eating here at lunch or very early evening if you’re worried your kids might be a bit disruptive to the cosy atmosphere. It’s definitely worth it though as it was one of our favourite restaurants in San Antonio.

Family hotels in San Antonio

InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk

We stayed at the InterContinental San Antonio River Walk. It’s on a quiet section of the River Walk, but just a 10-minute walk from the tourist hub. It’s a fantastic option for families, especially if you get the interconnecting rooms, which combine to create a beautiful apartment-style suite, complete with a kitchen and lounge area. They even set up a tipi and toys for the kids.

A highlight is the rooftop pool, which is surrounded by stylish cabanas, perfect for relaxing and taking a break between swimming (or for watching the kids while you relax).

There’s a lovely café on site with good coffee and pastries by a James Beard chef. And the onsite restaurant, Cavalier, serves an excellent breakfast in an elegant setting. We ordered breakfast in bed one day, which was a luxuriously delicious treat. That slow morning in the hotel is one of my favourite San Antonio memories.

We were at the InterContinental for four nights and it was the perfect base to come back to after a busy day sightseeing.

Map of what to do with kids in San Antonio

Family trips to take from San Antonio

If you’re visiting San Antonio, also consider spending some time in the Texan Hill Country, including Fredericksburg and Bandera. And also head up to Austin. We love them all!

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