The 10 best day trips from San Antonio, Texas

16.11.2024 - 14:23 / lonelyplanet.com

Nov 15, 2024 • 12 min read

Located between Texas Hill Country and the Gulf of Mexico, San Antonio is a great base for day trips into the wider region.

The surrounding area is a mix of rolling hills for hiking and coastal plains full of amazing wildlife, as well as a thriving wine region and charming towns with quirky attractions, boutique shopping, and charismatic art scenes. Once you've experienced the best things to do in San Antonio, this guide to top nearby day trips will help you experience the different flavors of Texas just a short journey away. 

Travel time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Austin and San Antonio vie for the top tourist destination in Texas, but the two cities are close enough together that you don't need to choose and can experience both in one vacation. Ideally, make it more than a day trip and plan to spend a night or two in the capital of Texas, home to fantastic barbecue, phenomenal outdoor spaces and a nightlife full of live music.

Start your day with a swim or hike. Lady Bird Lake draws travelers for its water activities, but it’s not the only place to take a dip in Austin. Zilker Park’s Barton Springs Pool and the Barton Creek Greenbelt are local swimming spots surrounded by open space and parkland. Hiking and climbing are extensive in the Greenbelt area, too. Downtown Austin is home to 6th Street – the entertainment district full of clubs, bars and restaurants. Be sure to check out the city’s many neighborhoods. South Congress Avenue and East Austin are two of our favorites.

How to get to Austin from San Antonio: Driving north on I-35 is perhaps the easiest and quickest route, though you could save some cash with a ride on a Greyhound or Megabus, or by taking the Amtrak Texas Eagle train. Just keep in mind that the Amtrak train ride to Austin is 3.5 hours, which is quite a bit longer than the hour and fifteen-minute drive by car.

Travel time: 1 hour 30 minutes

The pink granite dome of the Enchanted Rock has drawn humans for over 12,000 years and is still a great place for outdoor lovers who want to go hiking near San Antonio. Indigenous people have romantic, tragic and ghostly legends about the rock. For instance, the Tonkawa people thought ghost fires flickered at the top of the dome. 

The dome rises 425ft high and is the centerpiece of the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. Visitors come from all over to explore 11 miles of hiking trails and phenomenal rock-climbing spots in the park. As an International Dark Sky Park, stargazing here is amazing. You can stay overnight in one of the campsites to experience the dark sky firsthand or plan your trip around one of the park’s Rock Star Parties to learn about the constellations from the park rangers.

Be sure to book a reservation to Enchanted