So, you’re landing in San Antonio any minute now. You’re descent begins and you’ve already got in your head a list of places you and the family will visit. The San-Antonio Zoo, the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, and of course, The Alamo, one of our nation’s treasured historic sites. One question remains, however.

What are You Going to Have to Cut Out Because of Time?

A common mistake we’ve all made when traveling is trying to see everything on finite time. Do you want to spend all that time changing city buses, making sure you have correct change, waiting for an airport shuttle or having to flag down a taxi, or would you rather be in the privacy of your own rental car, touring San Antonio and enjoying your time with the family? San Antonio may be a large city, but their wide highways and multiple routes around downtown make renting a car an even more logical choice! With a vast amount of sites to see, historic monuments to view and sporting arenas to choose from, car rental in this Texas city makes all the difference! Renting a car helps you get to know all the intricacies of the River Walk and explore the fabulous shopping of the Shops at La Cantera without the worry of how you’ll get all your new treasures back to the hotel! Don’t get trapped on the transit! Everything may be bigger in Texas, but you’ll find a rental car that fits you and yours just right!

Everything is bigger in Texas, and shopping in San Antonio is even bigger. The eighth largest city in the United States of America, San Antonio offers plenty of eye-candy shops, galleries and malls. Here are several great venues where you can shop till you drop.

Alamo Quarry Market

Located just minutes from downtown, it has more than 60 shops and 15 restaurants.

Artisans Alley

Open for public all day from Monday to Saturday and half day on Sunday, it has abundant of unique shops and restaurants.

FIESTA ON MAIN

All about Mexico! Here you can find almost any Mexican decorations, arts and crafts, including great selections of cascarones, halos, hats, maracas, papel picados, paper flowers, paper maches, fiesta supplies, pinatas, sarapes, sequin figures, textiles and more.

Ingram Park Mall

With more than 100 shops and restaurants, it surely is a great site to visit with your family and friends.

North Star Mall

Internationally acclaimed as shopping destination, it has more than 200 stores and restaurants. Located near the San Antonio International Airport, it is home to the largest cowboy boots.

Prime Outlets – San Marcos

Recently ranked the 3rd Best Place to Shop in the world by ABC’s The View, it offers more than 130 luxury and brand names as Neiman Marcus, Giorgio Armani, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren and others.

Rivercenter Mall

If you want to have a unique shopping experience, this is one of the best choices. It is a shopping and entertainment venue on the banks of San Antonio’s Riverwalk where you can find American Eagle Outfitters as well as IMAX Theatre.

San Antonio is most well known for their basketball team and the Alamo. Most visitors don’t realize this, but San Antonio is also home to two world-class amusement parks. When you visit, you have the option of making it to Sea World San Antonio or Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

Sea World San Antonio gets the wonderful distinction of being the largest of the 3 Sea Worlds, and is also the world’s largest marine-life theme park. After Anheuser-Busch’s takeover in the early 90′s, the park has expanded it’s thrill-ride operations and de-emphasized the learning aspect. There are 5 major thrill rides at this park, and Journey to Atlantis is one of the most unique that the park has to offer. Somewhere in between a roller coaster and a water ride, the cars are actually boats with wheels on the bottom. There are traditional coaster elements like lifts and drops, but there are also areas when the ride is more of a water ride. Of course, no trip to Sea World is complete without a trip to see the killer whales. The Shamu stadium was completely remodeled, and the show now focuses on visual elements, acrobatics, and even has underwater cameras. A visit to Sea World is truly unique.

If you love thrill rides, then Six Flags Fiesta Texas is your best bet. Unlike other Six Flags parks, Fiesta Texas isn’t famous for it’s roller coasters. That’s not to say that the park’s 30 coasters won’t rock your socks off, that’s just not what the park is famous for. The park actually has some of the best shows in the nation, and has been awarded “Best Shows in a Theme Park” awards for the past 10 years running! The Xcelleration show mixes professional BMX riders as well as acrobatics, skate boarders, and bungee artists, and is a fantastic sports show. If you visit during halloween, “Mayor Slayer’s Monster Bash” has also won several industry awards.

After you visit the mandatory places like the Alamo, give San Antonio’s great amusement parks a chance. They’ve spent years building themselves up for your enjoyment, and have the awards to back it up.

San Antonio is a very popular travel destination and many families bring their young children along for the ride. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that the children get to have some educational fun as well. By taking advantage of a trip to the San Antonio Children’s Museum, you allow them to enjoy themselves while subliminally absorbing a large amount of information that could be useful to them in their schooling and personal growth. The museum offers exhibits that are hands on and educational with plenty of instruction from the museum staff on what to do. The location is a blast for any child that loves to have fun and is a great way to show your kids that this trip was about them too.

Taking on a great trip to San Antonio with kids can be challenging. It is important to shop around for a great car rental option that will be able to accommodate your family. You can find a wide array of options when you look online for your travel rental solutions. Family sized vehicles are very easy to come by when you choose to shop online for your rental needs. You can comparison shop through special services which call up results from several different rental companies at once. Ensuring that you get a lower cost vehicle is a great way to save and makes it possible to cover the costs of the attractions you wish to see in San Antonio!

If you’ll be finding yourself in San Antonio either on business or vacation and you think you’ll need a car for the duration of your visit, there are a few things you should consider before you commit to any one car rental company. The first thing you should decide upon is which type of vehicle you’d like to drive. While it’s true there are thousands of car rental services available, many specialize in certain types of vehicles, making them easier to obtain. This means if you’re looking for a specific luxury car or sports car, you’re more likely to find it at specialty car rental place than an economy car rental service.

In addition to this, no matter the car rental service you choose, you should always read the rental agreement in its entirety. It’s important to know what you’re signing to avoid hassles further down the road, especially in the case of renter’s insurance, as you don’t want to be stuck with paying for damages on a car that is not truly yours.

By following these tips, you can make the most of your rental agreement and enjoy the great sights and sounds San Antonio has to offer without being constrained by your car or worrying whether or not you’re protected in the event of an accident. For excellent service reviews of the many rental places available in San Antonio, the internet is a great resource and wealth of information.

If you’ve been to Texas before, you know how big it really is. If you haven’t, then take this advice and book a rental car ahead of time. There’s no public transportation at the Alamo! Sure there might be sightseeing tours but who wants to spend all day on a cramped bus full of strangers? Renting a car is the surest way to go when traveling in Texas.

In San Antonio, you’ll find plenty of shopping, history, culture, restaurants, nightlife and more. As you’ll soon find out, everything is bigger in Texas including the deals to be found! Outlet malls offer great discounts on name brand clothing and merchandise and you’ll find them here. Visit some of the great museums here like the Texas Air Museum or the San Antonio Children’s Museum. There is so much history to take in you’ll almost be overwhelmed with the amount of things to discover in San Antonio. Or take a break from the historic scenery and spend the day at Six Flags, which is sure to be a big hit with the family.

Renting a vehicle for your stay in San Antonio is made easy with online car rental. Locate your vehicle of choice in your price range, find a rental company convenient to your destination, identify online discounts and coupons and book your rental all from the comfort and convenience of your home. Then, when you arrive, simply pick up your car and go! You’ll be sure to have a wonderful time in San Antonio, especially with your own set of wheels!

Many people talk about the state of Texas and automatically think about cowboys with their spurs, hats, and horses; however, Texas goes way beyond all that! Within an eight hour tour around Texas you not leave the state and will not see the same thing over and over.

From the huge, shiny stars and the wide, horizons over the plains to the metropolitan city, everywhere that you travel to there will always be an unimaginable, unique story and a place to tour at San Antonio, Texas.

San Antonio lies within the heart of Texas, coming in as the Texas’ 3rd largest city, along with Dallas and Houston. San Antonio is one of the cities that is the closest to Corpus Christi and also Austin. They are approximately an hour or two away. So, start your vacation in San Antonio, Texas and check out all the wonderful attractions that this huge city has to offer.

If you are considering a shopping spree, then be sure and check out the North Star Mall or even the Rivercenter Mall! You never know what kind of deals you might come across. However, if you are not into the shopping sprees, there are plenty of places that are full of fun and adventure such as: San Antonio Zoo, Enchanted Springs Ranch, Natural Bridge Caverns, Sea World San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and much more!

So, what are you waiting on get your bags packed and come check out all the fun and unbelievable attractions that San Antonia, Texas has to offer!

The Japanese Tea Gardens is a place the one should see. It is enormously popular among the residents of San Antonio. The garden is regarded as a place for reflection and meditation. The atmosphere created by tranquil and picturesque views of ponds and exotic plants is ideal for calm and relaxing walks.

It has always received highly positive reviews from the lovers of true and natural beauty. It is one of San Antonio’s hidden gems. While in the garden you can find out about the history of the place and its original owners.

Formerly the garden was neglected by the city and was left to deteriorate. But the year 2008 brought changes. The garden was renovated and reopened. The renewed garden has fine walkways, stone bridges, amazing flora species and a 60-foot waterfall. The visitors can now enjoy sparkling water and watch turtles swimming.

What is also a good thing about it, is free admission. You are also allowed to take pictures.

In case you are lucky to be in San Antonio, do not miss your chance to visit the Japanese Tea Gardens. It will fill you with spiritual energy and help relax. It is a perfect place for family walks: fresh air, beautiful nature, murmuring waters. Real heaven on earth.

The place has a number of other famous attractions at hand. You can go to the Witte Museum, Brakenridge Park, and the San Antonio Zoo that lie nearby. It is a great opportunity to visit all the main sights within a short period of time.

If you are planning a trip to San Antonio and want to get a good deal on your hotel room, here are five of the top value options for you to consider:

Comfort Suites Stone Oak: The average price of a room here runs at $109 a night. For this low price, you can count on a friendly staff and a delicious breakfast each morning. One thing to remember is that if you end up booking a room here, it can be a little tricky to find, so make sure that you have a GPS to help you out.

Cambria Suites: If you want a nice place to stay at the airport that isn’t going to cost you a fortune, Cambria Suites are an excellent choice. The average price of a room here is $125, which is excellent considering it is located at the airport.

Omni: This is one hotel that prides itself on delivering top notch service. While you will only be paying around $144 a night to stay here, you will receive service that may make you forget you are staying at such a reasonably priced hotel.

Holiday Inn Express: If you are planning on spending time at the Riverwalk, and would like to stay someplace located near by, you can accomplish this goal by staying at the Holiday Inn Express, where rooms can run as low as $107 a night.C

Alamo Inn Motel: If you are truly looking for the best deal that is available in San Antonio, the Alamo Inn should be the number one option on your list. For as little as $75 a night, you can book a room here. While it is a motel, it’s a nice one, so you don’t have to worry about being stuck in a seedy place where you don’t feel comfortable.