The Alamo & parking

When we go, we always park down at Market Square which is right off I-10 downtown. You can catch several different trolleys from Market Square which will take you to The Alamo, Riverwalk, La Villita, and the River Center Mall. I've found it easier to park there and ride the trolleys than hassling with going further downtown.

San Antonio is a fun town. Bring your appetite!

You might want to take a pre-look at the area in Google Earth to check out available parking. In 'Street View', you can sometimes even read the signs. You can also check the entrances to the lots you might use for overhead obstructions. I used that to find a downtown lot in Raleigh, NC. It had a low roof over one entrance but had another that was unobstructed.

Jim, "Mo' coffee!"

If you plan to eat on the Riverwalk, I would recommend Boudro's, it is southwestern, even with that name. Just down 1/2 a block from Boudro's, is Zinc. It's technically a bar, but with a great menu. You can sit outside, or in if you prefer. It is very pretty, tropical, and a really neat place. It really isn't a tourist spot and if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't find it. It is on Presa, between Commerce and Market. Boudro's is on Commerce, but down on the Riverwalk and you can sit outside on the river. Lovely spot!

Seems we just found a parking spot when driving through the area. Been a long time since there. Last time in just a car.

We enjoyed our visit to the Institute of Texan Cultures. It wasn't too far from the Alamo & River Walk.

We also did some walking away from the River Walk. Buckhorn Saloon and Museum was interesting, espc. Buckhorn Hall of Horns, we have visited it in down town, but we first saw them when at the old Lone Star Brewing Company. Lone Star had purchases the world-famous Buckhorn Collection and had the Lone Star Buckhorn Hall of Horns as part of their tour.
:C Buckhorn But it has been nearly 13 yrs. since we were there.

On one trip we managed to do a driving day trip in our RV to see the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park ---we took a good part of a day to drive to them and visit some on one trip to San Antonio, but may have visited the Alamo first(?). They are not in just one spot, takes some driving & following directions. Pretty neat. If into photo taking, may get some nice shots. The Missions Trail

On the way to the Corpus Christi area, but off beaten path somewhat: Goliad State Park is located by Goliad with a nice campground on the San Antonio River. (a lot of Texas History in this area, some from same time as the famous Alamo fight) Been to it and would go back. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/goliad

Northwest of San Antonio (Westbound on I-10): The Museum of Western Art near Kerrville is really good, a must see for sure if possible. http://museumofwesternart.com/

Between San Antonio & Kerrville: I found Cascade Caverns at Boerne to be extremely neat (my first cave) when I was about 12 or 13. Not sure how it would hold up now for me. Ha! And I see they do have camping there now. Info on the Cave

A nice area for sure. Rockport & Fulton Area on the Texas Gulf Coast close to Corpus Christi. In & on the Texas Coastal Bend.

Goose Island State Park, surrounded by the St. Charles and Aransas Bays, is located north of Rockport & near Fulton in Aransas County. Nice area by the Gulf of Mexico. I want to do this one someday. We have driven by this area, but have not stayed here. It is one I have on my to do list.

Mustang Island State Park with about 5 miles of beach on the Gulf of Mexico in Nueces County, south of Port Aransas. We liked this one for the beach. We spend several days here one summer. Also near Corpus Christi & Mustang Island, Padre Island Nat'l Park could be also a nice stop.

We enjoyed the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. It was really neat. There is an old Navy Aircraft Carrier next to it as well, the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay. Enjoyed them both. The South Texas Institute for the Arts might be cool to see.

We enjoyed getting a batch of Shrimp from a Sea Food Market on the way to & from Padre Island. So fresh, so good. We just had to buy some crab boil and boiled them, one of my favorite ways to do them, just behind doing them on the BBQ grill. There are markets in Rockport/Fulton Area as well. I can not remember the one on the way from Corpus to the Island, we got ours from on Causeway Blvd. We did the same thing in Port Isabel when staying on South Padre Island.

We enjoyed the Texas Free Ferry from Port Aransas to Mustang Island. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge might be neat to see as well, time allowing.

Ocean Drive is neat: Scenic Drives

---- Corpus Area

About 1 1/2 blocks east of the Alamo there is the River Center parking garage with several stories. pay parking
or, across the street from it, there is a large open parking lot (pay parking)
From Ft. Sam, you can go West to N. Alamo Street, then stay on it all the way downtown. You'll pass the Alamo on your left. Turn left on Crockett and go east until you see the parking lots. Not far. You might get lucky and find a parking place right on the street..if you're lucky. Parking is as safe there as anywhere else. Plenty of good eating places in the River Center, just go inside the Mall.

Sorry, I get my rights and lefts turned around sometimes, lol

There are a lot of single level open air lots in the Alamo and River Walk area. I had no problem parking my F350 crew cab long bed truck nearby. Shouldn't have a problem with a B.
Certainly no safety concerns during the day or at least early evening.

Ft Sam is a nice place to park for the night, all paved sites and pull thru. Get directions from militarycampgrounds.us
If you're going in the winter, be sure to get reservations first.

Don't forget to spend some time at the Mexican market close to the riverwalk and LaMargarita's has great food and Margaritta's....

Many pay parking lots close to the Alamo. When we were there it was $10.00 a day. No safety concerns.

We parked in a pay parking structure that was a very short walk to the Alamo and the River Walk. We had no concern for our safety. We were there only in the day time, but I doubt we would have felt any differently at night. Downtown New Orleans was a different story.