Getting Around San Antonio
San Antonio is a sprawling Texas city, and how you get around depends a lot on where you're staying and what you plan to see. Downtown, the River Walk, and the historic mission sites are compact enough to explore on foot, but many of the city's other major attractions are spread out, so you'll likely mix walking with buses, taxis, or a rental car.
Public Transit: VIA Metropolitan Transit
San Antonio's public bus system is operated by VIA Metropolitan Transit. VIA also runs the downtown trolley service — which is actually a bus dressed up as a trolley — for a small fare. This is a handy option for hopping between downtown sights without moving your car.
Fares vary by service type, and a one-day pass covering all routes is available for purchase at some retail outlets (check VIA's website under fare information for the current list). Discount fares are offered to children between the ages of 5 and 11, seniors 62 and older, Medicare recipients, people with disabilities, and students. A reduced-fare ID is required, and these can be obtained from VIA Information Centers; students can get the necessary forms from their campus administration.
VIA organizes its routes into four types, which is useful to know when planning a trip:
- Express — generally run from suburban areas (mostly Park and Rides) into downtown, typically about once every 30 minutes.
- Skip — run along high-traffic streets and skip many of the stops served by Frequent routes, so they're faster for longer trips. They also usually run about every 30 minutes.
- Frequent — also found on busy roads, with stops very close together and buses arriving roughly every 15 minutes. Because they stop so often, it can actually be quicker to wait a little longer for a Skip route if you're traveling a long distance — for example, along San Pedro Avenue it's usually faster to take the #3 (Skip) than the #4 (Frequent) if you're heading from downtown to North Star Mall.
- Metro — neighborhood routes with varying frequency, usually about once an hour.
Bus schedules and route information are available on VIA's website, by calling the VIA information line at +1 210-362-2020 (or +1 210-362-2019 for the hearing impaired), or at the San Antonio Visitor Information Center.
Rail and Intercity Trains
San Antonio does not have a local metro, light rail, or tram network for getting around the city — the downtown trolley is a bus service, not a rail line. Rail service in San Antonio is limited to long-distance Amtrak trains. Two Amtrak routes serve the city: the Texas Eagle, which provides a direct connection with Chicago, and the Sunset Limited, which calls in San Antonio on its way between Los Angeles and New Orleans. The San Antonio railway station is located at 350 Hoefgen Ave.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Cabs can be hailed downtown, at the airport, or at military bases. In other parts of the city, you should reserve a cab in advance rather than expecting to flag one down on the street. Local taxi companies include zTrip (+1 210 222-2222) and Alamo City Taxi (+1 210 439-7865).
Walkability
Walking works well in the core of the city, particularly around downtown and the River Walk, where the main attractions cluster together. Beyond that, San Antonio is a large, spread-out city, and many of the major attractions — including SeaWorld San Antonio and Six Flags Fiesta Texas — sit well outside the center, so you'll need a vehicle or public transport to reach them.
Getting from the Airport into the City
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) serves over 30 national and international destinations with non-stop service, plus many more with one-stop direct service; check with individual airlines for specific destinations. Ground transportation from the airport to downtown is available in three forms:
- Shuttle — approximately $19 one way per person.
- Taxi — approximately $25–35 one way, accommodating up to 4–6 persons depending on the size of the taxi.
- Public bus — the Number 5 bus stops just outside Terminal B and brings you downtown in about half an hour. The fare is $1.30 in exact change, and the bus runs approximately every 30 minutes.
Arriving by Car or Intercity Bus
Most visitors arrive by car via I-35, I-10, I-37, or US 281. I-10 comes from El Paso to the west and Houston to the east, while I-35 comes from Austin to the north and Laredo to the south. Driving times are roughly one hour from Austin, about four hours and fifteen minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth, and less than three hours from Houston.
Intercity buses also serve San Antonio. Greyhound operates from 500 N St Marys St in downtown, across the street from Bill Miller's parking lot. Megabus offers service from Dallas, Austin, and Houston, with its stop in the parking lot on the south corner of 4th St and Broadway St. Several Mexican trans-border bus lines also serve the city: Autobus Americanos (301 Broadway), Turimex Internacional (518 N Alamo), and Omnibus Mexicanos (930 Broadway). Vonlane offers a luxury coach service from Houston.
Note that San Antonio sits in the middle of Texas and is not accessible by boat, though there are plenty of tubing opportunities on the rivers around the city.