San Antonio in United States of America

Stay safe

San Antonio is a relatively safe city. As long as you take elementary precautions, you'll have a great time. Even when there are crowds for such events like the Alamo Bowl, it is still relatively safe. Just remember that the River Walk always has something going on, but if you're in one of the quieter spots at night, exercise some caution.

Get in

By plane

San Antonio International Airport (SAT) http://www.sanantonio.gov/AIRPORT/ May be reached in about 1 hour 15 minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth or less than 1 hour from Houston. Other destinations are available; check with individual airlines. Ground transportation from SAT to Downtown available by shuttle ($14 one way per person) or by taxi ($22 one way, up to 4 persons). You can also take a free shuttle bus at the airport that brings you to a city bus stop (bus number 5). Bus number 5 brings you downtown in about half an hour, for a dollar.

By train

Amtrak, SAS, 350 Hoefgen St

By car

Most visitors to San Antonio arrive by either I-35, I-10, or US 281. I-10 comes from El Paso to the west and Houston to the east. I-35 comes from Austin to the north and Laredo to the south. US 281 connects with Brownsville to the south and Blanco and Johnson City to the north. I-37 completed some years ago shortens the drive to Corpus Christi on the Gulf of Mexico.

By bus

Greyhound, 500 N St Marys St, Downtown.

By boat

San Antonio is in the middle of Texas. Therefore, it is not accessible by boat. Although there are many tubing opportunities around San Antonio, thanks to the huge abundance of rivers in the area. The River Walk, in downtown San Antonio, does offer a River Taxi that shuttles people to hotels, restaurants and shops along its banks.

Get around

Public Transit

San Antonio's bus system is known as the VIA Metropolitan Transit. It also runs the downtown streetcar service (actually a bus) for a small fare. Bus fares range from about $1.00 to $1.60 depending on the service. There are 4 different types of routes: Express, Skip, Frequent, and Metro. The Express routes usually run from the sub-urban areas (mostly Park and Rides) to downtown.Most of them run about once every 30 minutes. Skip service ususally runs along the streets with high traffic, they are called Skip routes because they usually Skip bus stops that are serviced by the freqent routes. Skip routes also ususally run about every 30 minutes. Frequent routes can also be found on high traffic roads and as the name implies, the stops are very frequent. Although Frequent routes come by about once every 15 minutes, it is usually faster to wait a little longer and take the skip routes if you are going a long distance, for example on San Pedro ave, it is usually quicker to wait for the #3(Skip) as opposed to the #4 (Frequent) if you wanted to get from downtown to North Star Mall. Metro service is usually found in neighborhoods around the city, frequency varies with each route, but they usually run about once an hour. Discount fares are available to children between the ages of 5 and 11, senior citizens 62 and older, Medicare recipients, persons with disabilities and students. A reduced fee ID is required for reduced fares and can be acquired from VIA Information Centers (students may get the necessary forms from their campus administration). Bus schedules and route information can be found at VIA's website http://www.viainfo.net, by calling the VIA information line 210-362-2020 or for the hearing impaired at 210-362-2019, or at the San Antonio Visitor Information Center.

A bus line of interest to the visitor is line #7 SIGHTSEER SPECIAL, which runs hourly daily ($1 one way) and links the various museums and attractions north of downtown (e.g., Botanical Garden, Witte Museum, San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Museum of Art) with Downtown. There are also four (Red, Yellow, Purple, Blue) downtown Streetcar lineshttp://www.viainfo.net/BusService/Streetcar.aspx, which run about every 10 minutes ($1 one way) from Alamo Plaza to the Market Square area, Alamodome, HemisFair Park, and the King William Historic area.

Taxi

You can reserve a cab and get taxi fare information from Yellow Cab online at http://www.YellowCabSa.com or by phone at 210-222-2222