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How to Spend the Perfect Girls Weekend in San Antonio
With its Texas history, vibrant culture, serene riverwalk, and Tex-Mex cuisine, San Antonio offers something for everyone.
With no international travel available right now, I’ve been pretty stir-crazy and needing a quick getaway retreat, and I figured San Antonio would be the perfect spot! I visited San Antonio as a kid on a 4th grade field trip to see the Alamo. While it was quite fun, I thought it’d be nice to go back to San Antonio and experience the city as an adult...with a margarita in hand! So, I asked a couple girlfriends if they wanted to join me, and we were off to the races!
One of my favorite things to do is to research a spot and try to build the perfect itinerary for the amount of time that I have in that location. This time was no different. Despite the fact that I was traveling with friends and not solo, I still wanted to at least have a plan. I collected the inputs from my friends of things they really wanted to do and I stuck in a few of my own preferences.
Next, I like to meticulously calculate the distances and times for everything - this is where the event planner in me kicks in. I completely nerd out and like to anticipate a schedule down to the minute - I know it’s completely unnecessary and excessive but what can I say? I like it. It feels like putting together a jigsaw puzzle…which if you follow me on Instagram, you’d know that I find that fun! (Btw, if you haven’t followed me yet on Instagram, what in the world?! Get over to @thejetsetblonde and let’s connect!)
So essentially when I put together an itinerary, my event planner brain kicks on and I try to maximize our time and experiences for the total time span. Meaning, that I’ll physically map out every spot that we want to hit and I’ll try to group them together so that they make the most sense. For example, Friday night, we stuck to the historic Pearl district while Saturday night, we hung out mostly around the riverwalk - if you don’t take into account location and drive time, you may end up in a car for most of your weekend getaway going every which way across the city.
Now, that being said, did we religiously stick to the itinerary? No. Absolutely not! That’s not even really the point of why I like to make an itinerary! I like to create travel itineraries to make sure that we do and see some of the best things that the destination has to offer. Simply put, I like to make the most of my vacations! More often than not, if you pre-plan something, you’ll end up seeing and doing more than you would’ve if you showed up and tried to get it all sorted out the day of.
Because of this “perfect girls weekend in San Antonio” itinerary that I’m sharing with you today, my girlfriends and I were able to make the most of our weekend stay with plenty of sightseeing, eating, shopping, laughing, and experiencing!
I’m going to share with you the “less obsessive” version of my itinerary - one that you can use as a more general guide. (If you really want the one that’s planned down to the minute, I’m happy to provide that for you too lol - just send me an email.) But I figure the vast majority of you out there would prefer a more leisure itinerary that you can make your own. SO, click below to get access!
When to Visit San Antonio
Because of its location in south-central Texas, San Antonio stays mild in the winters, which is why my friends and I chose to visit at the end of January. Not only is the weather fairly pleasant in the winter months in San Antonio, but it is also a less expensive and less crowded time to visit in the year. January is actually the coldest time of the year to visit San Antonio, with high temperatures around 62 degrees F, but when we were visiting - the last weekend of January - it was very pleasant during the day in the low 70’s then got a little chillier at night, but a coat was all you needed.
July and August are the hottest times to visit with an average temperature of 95 degrees F, so those months should likely be avoided. As far as rain goes, it’s pretty much scattered throughout the year - there’s not really a rainy season. When we were there, it was overcast in the mornings but then the sun would peak out in the afternoons. Luckily it never rained on us though!
Spring is probably the best time of year to visit San Antonio in terms of weather and activities, so if you’re planning a trip and you’d like the best weather possible, consider March, April, and early May for a trip.
How to Get to San Antonio
San Antonio is an easy drive from major Texas cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston, making it the perfect location for a weekend getaway. My friends and I drove from Dallas, which is a fairly long drive for a weekend getaway, but we took Friday off and left in the morning, so we had a decent amount of time to spend in San Antonio over the weekend.
From Austin: 1 hour and 20 minutes (80 miles) via I-35 S
From Houston: 3 hours (200 miles) via I-10 W
From Dallas: 4 hours and 35 minutes (275 miles) via I-35 S
If you are from Texas, you know that Buc-ee’s is a destination in itself! Seriously - it’s a massive gas station stop with clean bathrooms, tons of snacks and drinks, hot ready-made meals, and even a whole section dedicated to gifts, knick-knacks, clothing, and more.
If you’re driving from Dallas like we did, there’s a Buc-ee’s in Temple, TX past Waco (4155 N General Bruce Dr., Temple Texas 76501) that’s a good “half-way stop” for your drive. Stop and gas up, get some “beaver nugget” snacks, and use the “cleanest restrooms in America”.
Where to Stay in San Antonio
Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk
I’m not a big Drury Hotel customer, but this truly was the perfect spot for us. We looked into some AirBnB’s but Drury ended up being perfect for our group for several reasons.
Really nice location in the city with direct access to the riverwalk
Very interesting historical hotel (it used to be the old Alamo National Bank)
Reasonably priced
Suite upgrades available for more space with full-size refrigerator
Free Wi-Fi
Free hot and cold breakfast every morning
Free happy hour from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. with 3 drink vouchers and hot snacks every evening
Because of the time of year we visited, we didn’t go swimming, but this hotel also has a rooftop pool with two whirlpools, which I imagine we would have taken advantage of if we were there in the warmer months.
The rooms themselves were pretty basic but it covered all your needs and frankly we weren’t in our room that much for the trip anyway.
The lobby is impressive and unique because Drury used to be the old Alamo National Bank - when you enter the lobby, there are high ceilings, and grand columns gilded in gold. Drury maintained a beautiful, original stained glass window and they also have an old Ford car on display. To check in, you walk up to the “teller glass” just like you would a bank. (COVID-friendly precautions already built in!)
The happy hour and breakfast are served on the second floor overlooking the main lobby. COVID-19 precautions were taken seriously in this space as well. I figured the happy hour would be just beer and wine but I was impressed to see that you could also order free mixed drinks as well (they were somewhat weak, but I expected that!) The breakfast spread included sausage, eggs, biscuits/gravy, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, yogurt, and pancakes.
It’s another historical building located in the Historic Pearl District that is stunning. The building is very masculine in style with exposed brick, industrial lighting fixtures, eclectic leather furniture pieces, and gears/machinery for décor. The food and drinks are excellent and the ambiance is enviable. Hotel Emma is priced as a luxury hotel and is not near the main section of the riverwalk. For those reasons, we didn’t stay at Hotel Emma, but we did start our evening here with cocktails!
Travel Itinerary for a Perfect Girls Weekend in San Antonio
Friday Evening Travel Itinerary
After checking in to our hotel on Friday afternoon, my girlfriends and I went down to the lobby to grab some complimentary drinks during happy hour. We sipped on these while getting ready for the evening.
I tried “The Three Emmas” with rose cordial, gin, and grapefruit juice, while my girlfriends opted for the “Professor McGonagall” with gin, honey, lime, and ginger beer.
Cured is a rustic-chic restaurant and market specializing in hand-crafted cured food. If you enjoy charcuterie boards - THIS IS YOUR PLACE. Many don’t actually know this but charcuterie actually is only a meat board. In the U.S., it often gets misinterpreted as both a meat and cheese board but technically, it only implies meats.
So, my friends and I ordered a meat board and a cheese board to split. It all came out in one incredible spread along with fresh baked bread, and simply put, it was delightful. I loved the ambiance of this restaurant as well because they too kept in theme with the historic nature of the district like with Hotel Emma. Much of the original building and brick was preserved, and you could even look through the section of glass floors to see the original foundation.
The Historical Pearl District is a perfect blend of the historical and contemporary. I honestly could have spent the entire weekend here.
This district also hosts a local farmer’s market on the weekends in the morning. Needless to say, there’s a lot to check out in this lovely district of San Antonio.
Next up was a rooftop nightcap and Cabaret show!
When you pull up, the site looks extremely industrial. We climbed a series of stairs (maybe 5?) to get to the top...and we did this in heels...so be warned! We didn’t see an elevator, so be prepared for that. Once up top, you can go right for the rooftop lounge area or if you purchased tickets for the Paramour Peep Show, which were about $15 each, you were seated within the bar area on swanky, eclectic pods of social-distanced rugs and couches. The Cabaret area opened up to the lounge so you could get the breeze. (They also have a drag show brunch on the weekends if daytime drinking is more your thing!)
I heard the mixed drinks are pretty pricey at this place, so we opted for beer and wine before the show started. The show started and a tall drag queen dressed in a pink sparkly outfit came out to introduce herself as host. She interacted with the crowd and lip-synced to a song before introducing the first performance, which was more or less a strip tease dance - she kept her pasties on! The next performance, which was my favorite, was the aerial silks performer - it was beautiful to watch and she was quite strong and talented! The first part of the show ended with another drag queen performance by a performer who was super energetic and flexible! Very entertaining. There was an intermission around midnight before the second half of the show. At that point we decided to leave and Uber back to the hotel to get some sleep before our next morning of exploring the city!
Saturday Morning Travel Itinerary
Saturday morning, my friend and I woke up around 8:30 a.m. and started getting ready in casual clothes to go walk around the city for the morning. My other friend chose to sleep in (she loves sleeping even more than I do, if you can believe!)
Mission San José turned 300 years old in 2020. Known as the “Queen of the Missions,” this is the largest of the missions. It’s free to the public - we got there around 10:00 a.m. and there weren’t many people there. It was overcast and cool - a lovely time to explore the church and grounds.
After we finished looking around, our Uber driver offered to drive us by one of the other nearby missions.
If you only have time for one Mission, I recommend San José - it’s the largest and has a beautiful church inside.
We then had our Uber driver drop us off at the originally planned location, which was Minimalist Coffee, an adorable tiny coffee cart located right in the heart of the Historic King Williams District. I tried the Honey Lavender Latte - which is a must! (Note that it’s naturally pretty sweet, so no need to add any extra sweetener or sugar!)
A few other notable houses include:
- Villa Finale: Museum & Gardens (this museum was also unfortunately closed but we walked around the gardens!)
After our “promenade” in the neighborhood, feeling like the ladies of Bridgerton, we walked back along the riverwalk to our hotel to freshen up for lunch.
Saturday Afternoon Travel Itinerary
By this point, our other friend was awake and ready for some food! We left the hotel and walked over to the riverwalk for lunch.
It was delicious food, however I feel like I was duped. I ordered a Southwest Salad and the server asked if I wanted some shrimp. I said sure, thinking that it would be not too much more. The meal was very good, but then the check came and the three shrimp on my salad was $18!!! That was DOUBLE the cost of the salad. I was shocked and annoyed. I asked the server if that was right and he nonchalantly confirmed. So - a word of warning - be prepared to pay a pretty penny if you want to add protein to your dish!
This is a cute boutique area with artisan shops, boutiques, and a few restaurants. My favorite stores there, which you MUST visit, were Bird & Pear and Villa Tesoros. I bought a gorgeous blown glass candle at Bird & Pear that was Chamomile Lavender scented, which smells AMAZING throughout my whole house! At Villa Tesoros, we were offered bloody mary’s and mimosas to sip on while shopping, which was such a treat. I got a really cute mint green bralette from this store that is super comfortable!
This next stop was the highlight of my trip.
I would have ADORED this park as a kid - there’s an incredible playground, a splash pad, a sand play area, giant chess, and a beautiful garden (Yanaguana Garden). And the BEST PART is that you can enjoy beer or wine in a can or container while visiting!
Just off the park area is Re:Rooted 210 - a BRAND NEW tasting room, which opened in February 2021. It’s San Antonio’s first urban winery and this tasting did not disappoint. We were there the weekend before Re:Rooted 210 officially opened, but I figured I’d reach out anyway just to be sure they were not open yet. The owner, Jennifer Beckmann, graciously opened up the shop JUST FOR US! It was such a dream - we had a private tasting all to ourselves, WITH THE WINEMAKER HERSELF!
Some of you may not know this, but I have long had a passion for wine. In fact, in college, I thought that I would enter the wine industry. It’s why I got a Level 2 certification from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and it’s why I wrote my Master’s thesis on the growing wine and hospitality industry in South Africa. I may still do something more with wine in the future, but for now, I’m content with it being a fun hobby of mine.
Here’s why this experience was so unique. If you visit a winery, you may expect to meet the winemaker - pretty much only if it’s a small winery. At tasting rooms, you pretty much never meet the winemaker because the shop represents multiple different wines. But Re:Rooted is different - it’s an urban winery, meaning that the actual winemaker herself makes and serves the wine herself.
Not only did I love that she’s a female winemaker and small business owner (which unfortunately is still rare in the wine industry) but she also is an impressive wealth of information on wine! Jennifer is a certified wine educator and sommelier. In 2019, she earned the incredible title of CWE by the Society of Wine Educators - the 441st person to ever earn that title in the history of the program! This girl knows her stuff!
As Jennifer poured her wines for us, she eloquently taught us about the story behind each of her wines. Her stories and explanations of the wines and their flavor profiles made them come alive. Furthermore, Jennifer has this uncanny ability to take the pretentiousness out of wine. She is so easy to talk to, and her passion for wine is contagious. She makes wine tasting fun and casual but also chic.
Jennifer offers seven of her wines on tap - 2 whites, 1 rose, and 4 reds. And honestly - I loved them all, it was really hard to pick a favorite. The 2019 Ghost Tracks white wine is a must-try (and the story behind its name is great!) And if I had to pick a favorite red, I’d have to say the 2018 Carignan - which was a unique grape varietal I had never before had the pleasure of trying! In fact, I loved all 7 wines so much that I joined her quarterly wine subscription! I can’t wait to get my first order in April.
Needless to say, Re:Rooted 210 was by far the highlight of my trip, and if you do nothing else from this itinerary on your girls weekend in San Antonio, MAKE SURE YOU VISIT RE:ROOTED 210.
Though on the pricier side, Ostra was worth the price. We had lovely views of the riverwalk while enjoying fresh oysters and quite possibly the best warm bread and salted butter I’ve ever had. I love white sauce seafood pasta, which was not actually on the menu, but our server made it happen. And I can honestly say it’s the best white sauce seafood pasta I’ve had in the United States thus far. It paired perfectly with a chilled Sauvignon Blanc, and I was in heaven.
We tried to squeeze in a 35-minute boat cruise on the river before our dinner reservations, but we ran out of time for that one. But, if you prefer a later dinner, then you should have time to make this happen on your girls weekend trip!
But things quickly took a turn for the worst right after dinner. We were walking along the San Antonio Riverwalk back to the hotel (a brief 5-minute walk) as I was admiring the Christmas lights hanging in the trees (they keep them up through mid-February), when PLOP! My cell phone dove head first into the riverwalk!!!! Ugh I was so annoyed and embarrassed, but I swear my phone practically leapt out of my hands and into that dark abyss of water. For a few brief moments I seriously considered jumping in after it but some of the locals who saw the incident occurred convinced me otherwise.
Alas, I lost a ton of the photos and videos that I took that weekend. Luckily, I at least documented some of the trip in real-time on Instagram Stories, so a little of the experience was still captured. And at least this happened toward the tail-end of the trip so it could have been much worse. In case you’re wondering, I am now with a phone once again (make sure you have mobile insurance like I did - it was a life saver!) But, I’ll admit that this event kind of put a damper on the rest of the planned itinerary.
There were a couple other places that we had planned on visiting, but after the loss of my phone, and already spending enough money on shopping and food earlier in the day, we decided to scratch the rest off of the list.
But for your reference, here’s what else was on the itinerary before we decided to veer away from it:
A local recommended to us Francis Bogside on St. Mary’s Street as well as Bar 1919 in the Blue Star Complex on S. Alamo. She said both would be great spots to visit after dinner. Bar 1919 Bar sounded intriguing to me because it has speakeasy vibes. Another spot with speakeasy vibes just a stone-throw away from our hotel was The Esquire Tavern. Before “the incident” we likely would have tried one of these 3 places for a nightcap after dinner.
But at this point, my bank account was crying, and we had a long drive ahead of us, so we opted for the free Drury breakfast, then hit the road.
Aside from plunking my phone into the riverwalk, I had an amazing weekend getaway with my girlfriends in San Antonio. I wanted a quick respite from my day-to-day in Dallas, and San Antonio was exactly what I needed. Yes, I know, this itinerary did not include the Alamo, which may have you wondering, since it is the first thing you think of when you think of San Antonio. But since all 3 of us had already seen the Alamo, I felt that this was the perfect girls weekend trip that made sure that we each did and saw a few of the things that we wanted to do while in San Antonio.
For more San Antonio girls trip inspiration, be sure to visit the website VisitSanAntonio.com for all the best things to do, places to stay, places to eat, and more.
So, what do you think of the itinerary? What would you choose to do? What would you add or change? If you’ve been to San Antonio, what’s your favorite spot? What would you recommend?
author bio
Known as The Jet Set Blonde, Brittany Ryan inspires others to add more adventure to their childfree travel experiences. Brittany has visited 23 countries (and counting!) Connect with her to get access to detailed childfree travel itineraries, travel guides for weekend getaways, and updates on adult-only hotels, resorts, cruises, and other travel amenities.
