San Antonio has become one of our favorite places to visit.  We have done many day trips and even a few weekends away and there is always so much to explore.  The San Antonio Riverwalk is somewhere that you hear about even if you do not live in Texas and it was one of the first places we wanted to go and see when we moved here. The Riverwalk is such a unique place to explore, shop and eat.

When we went for the first time with our kids we knew right away we needed to take the boat ride on the river with Go Rio Cruises and we are really glad we did!  The Narrated Cruise lasts approximately 35 minutes and we learned so much about the area and the history.  The boat captains/narrators are very entertaining and make the ride a lot of fun.  There are multiple locations on the Riverwalk where you can start your cruise so no matter where you are there should be one close by.  There is not a specific location to park for these tours, however there are multiple parking garages in the area with paid parking and you can walk down to the Riverwalk from there.  You can see the exact ticket booth locations for Go Rio Cruises here: https://www.goriocruises.com/visitor-information/.  Tickets are available for purchase online or at a ticket booth and you can use the tickets for any Narrated Cruise throughout the day.  One of the things I really like about the Go Rio Cruises is that the boat rides leave every 15 to 20 minutes so you do not have to plan your entire day around it.  As we all know with little kids sometimes it is difficult to make it somewhere at an exact time so this way you can go on a tour whenever it fits your schedule that day.  You can find all of the details on pricing here: https://tickets.goriocruises.com/gorio/narrated-cruises.html.

Once you are on the boat they take you on a slow ride down the river.  During the entire tour the captain is pointing out buildings and talking about the history, and throwing in some jokes here and there to try and get you laughing (most of them I noticed go right over the kids heads!).  I really enjoy these types of tours because they give you a snapshot of the local history even if you are only visiting San Antonio for a short time, and it all happens while riding a boat!  It is also a great way to see all of the restaurants and shops available on the Riverwalk because there are so many to choose from.  One thing I will mention is that if the boat is at full capacity it can feel a little crowded.  The first time we went on this tour it was not busy so we had a lot of space to stretch our legs and spread out, but the second time we went it was a full boat so we had people sitting right next to us as well as in front of us.  This is especially important to note if you are trying to avoid crowds or if you do not like sitting in tight places.  It feels similar to sitting on an airplane, but the people sitting in front of you are facing your way.  For my family we did not mind too much because the entire tour was outside and my kids were very entertained so they did not need to move around much.  If you would like to see Go Rio’s current Covid protocols you can read the most updated information here: https://www.goriocruises.com/covid/.  Another important item to mention is that the entire ride is outside so the weather is a factor.  We were lucky both times to have sunny skies, but if it is chilly outside or raining you will want to prepare for that as well.

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San Antonio has so much to offer and this Riverwalk Cruise is one of our favorite things to do there.  It is hard to find an activity that is both educational and entertaining for the entire family, but this tour fits the bill.  I also just discovered that they have Holiday Cruises available (https://tickets.goriocruises.com/gorio/holiday-cruises.html) so I am excited to check one of those out soon. The Downtown Lights Cruise looks like something our eight year old would love.  Happy Cruising!