With Kids! 
San Antonio is such a unique slice of Texas. It has all the kid-friendliness of a big city, like parks and children’s museums, mixed in with the attractions of a major tourist destination, like Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Rainforest Cafe. All of those things are really just icing on the cake of a city that is founded on history and built in beauty and culture.
Wheelchair accessible San Antonio is a great family destination with plenty for people of all ages and abilities to love. Here are our highlights, and some things to know before you go!
Getting There and Around
Flights into Houston, and especially Dallas, are typically cheaper, but we found some great deals out of San Antonio! Don’t write it off.
San Antonio has reasonable public parking. Look for the lots with the blue circle in the yellow flower and you’ll never pay more than $10 for the whole day. Other lots say “public parking,” but they just mean the public can overpay to park. Public parking is free with a handicap placard.
Via Viva runs a wheelchair accessible bus. Schedules and stops are still being impacted by the pandemic, so check your route, first. A day pass is only $2.75 per person. A reduced fare is available for people with disabilities, but if you’re only staying a short time, it may not be worth the hassle of applying.
ZTrip also runs accessible cabs.
Overall, the city is pretty walkable. We parked once by the river to do that end of town, and the next day picked a spot farther out to see the rest of downtown.
What to See
The Alamo… Obviously
The Alamo is remembered for its battle, but the mission has a history of its own and its impressive to see the maintenance and restoration of such a landmark.
It’s tucked away in the middle of the city, like a big surprise waiting around the corner.
Admission is free, but advance reservations are required. You can also pay for a guided tour.
The building, grounds, and restrooms are accessible. There is a step to exit the mission, so wheelchair users just go back out the entrance.
If you love discovering this one, you’ll be happy to know there are four other historic missions in the city! Check out Conception, San Jose, San Juan, or Espada. Some of these are actually more impressive than the Alamo.
The Riverwalk
You can’t not do the riverwalk while you’re here. Just a heads-up, though: it’s not on street level. You can find accessibility maps here. We enjoyed the river bend because it’s an easy place to access both sides of the river. Museum Reach is another end with lots to see and decent accessibility.
Once you go down to the river, you can’t cross the water, since every bridge has a pile of steps, so plan ahead if there’s somewhere you wanted to eat, or something you wanted to see.
The restaurants along the river walk are all fairly pricey. This may be a better place for snacks and drinks on the water, with dinner in town, later.
Go Rio runs a boat tour down the river. The boat is wheelchair accessible.
San Antonio Museum of Art
The San Antonio Museum of Art is right off of Museum Reach and offers $2 admission with your disability ACCESS card.
San Antonio Botanical Garden
The San Antonio Botanical Garden was high on our list, but we ran out of time to make it. This is another one with $2 admission with your disability ACCESS card.
Where to Play
The Doseum
We don’t usually recommend children’s museums while traveling, because we love doing what’s locally authentic… but The Doseum is better than any other children’s museum… in all categories – including accessibility and age range appeal. They had a Spy Training House for slightly older kids that could’ve kept us busy all day. Actually, we probably could’ve revisited multiple times and no one would’ve been bored, but, you know… places to see… things to do.
The indoor and outdoor play areas also had great accessibility.
Admission is $2 with your disability ACCESS card or EBT.
Morgan’s Wonderland
Have you heard of this 2021 Accessible Travel Award Winner? Morgan’s Wonderland is the only fully wheelchair accessible theme park in the world… as in you can take your wheelchair ON the rides. There are only a handful of rides in the park (race cars, a train, a ferris wheel, and a carousel), but plenty of fun for all day. They have several all abilities playgrounds, a sensory area, and the equivalence of a small children’s museum with a grocery store, weather station, digital art room, and arcade. They also have games and free fishing.
When it’s warm enough, they also run an impressive water park.
Admission for any guest with a disability is free. No documentation needed. For the rest of the family, adults are $19 and children are $13 (park, only).
Yanaguana Garden
We didn’t make it to the Yanaguana Garden inside of Hemisfair (the location of 1968’s World Fair), but they have an all abilities playground and pop jets in the center of a nice public space.
The Biggies
If you have extra time and money to spend, don’t forget San Antonio has both a Six Flags and a Sea World! Both have a great reputation in accessibility and family friendliness.
Check out Go City for discounted passes!
Where to Eat
Ok, you already know the tex-mex is going to be good. Don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m recommending some of our favorites, but we didn’t try anything we didn’t like. Famous for their Mexican food? Try it. Hole in the wall with no reputation? Try it. Chances are high, it’s going to be good.
Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia
Ok, Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia was my favorite of everything we did in San Antonio. The food was authentic and delicious, they had exceptional variety, the restaurant was festive and lively, and the decor was more Mexican than anything I saw in Mexico (two weeks prior for Dia de los Muertos!). I didn’t realize the fame of the bakery before our tummies were full. Don’t make the same mistake. Save room for dessert!
The Cafe is also the center of a lively square and Mercado. Leave extra time to roam the street and explore the market.
Southern Chains
Blue Bell is the name in Texas Ice Cream. Their main country store is farther north, in Brenham, but you can order their ice cream in several different shops and restaurants in town.
Kilwins is a small southern chain with big flavor. We try to grab an ice cream or fudge every time we see one.
Torchy’s Tacos is another small chain. It’s nothing fancy, just tacos ala carte, but some of the best take out I’ve ever had.
Whataburger is a “must try” name when traveling through the south. That said… it seemed like another fast food burger joint to me. If you’re short on time, stick with tacos.
Buc-cee’s is a “big” name in Texas. I wanted to experience this one because of all the IG posts with the IYKYK hashtag… and I wanted to know! It’s a wildly large convenience store. Think 7-11 meets Wal-Mart and has a fancy baby?
Magnolia Pancake Haus is only here, and as a huge breakfast person I was sorry we didn’t get to try it. Don’t make the same mistake.
Where to Stay
There’s a Marriott in downtown with elevator access to the riverwalk. This makes it the most convenient option for a San Antonio trip, especially if you’re using Bonvoy points.
That said, we actually stayed with HomeExchange. We had a nice house just outside of the city, which was perfect for getting out of the noise and adding on day trips to places like Fredericksburg (highly recommend this “little Belgium”!) and Enchanted Rock.
San Antonio is a great getaway, making RetireGuide’s list of best accessible vacations!