There were many options for hotels in downtown San Antonio, with most in close proximity to the San Antonio River Walk. The World’s Fair in 1968 brought in many large hotel chains, and continued tourism along with the large Convention Center keep them filled throughout the year. We opted for a stay at The St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel (by Marriott), located a few blocks from the San Antonio River Walk. The large lobby, cozy second floor library, sixth floor pool deck and rooftop sun deck gave us plenty of spaces to relax between the crowded holiday excursions around town. We also appreciated that the hotel was just a block from the Majestic Theater, where we saw Elf: The Musical. Anyone visiting San Antonio should book tickets to see a show in the ornately decorated venue, from a touring Broadway play to a comedy or musical performance.

We arrived on Christmas Eve and took a rideshare to our hotel. Pricing out the difference between renting a car and using rideshares and found with the overnight parking cost at our hotels it made more sense to not have a rental car for the three-night stay. The ride between the airport and downtown was between $25-$35 each way. 

Daytime Go Rio Boat Tour of the San Antonio River Walk

While this is a free holiday lights display, many visitors choose to enhance the experience with a tour on one of the Go Rio electric boats.The approximately 35-minute tour was $15.50 per person during our visit and could be booked online or at a kiosk near the boarding zone. There were no reserved times, and extremely long lines formed just after sunset. We waited about 30 minutes to board by getting in line at 5pm, and it was almost completely dark by the time we left the dock at 5:30pm. By the time we returned at 6pm the lines had tripled at all three of Go Rio boarding locations.

The discounted tickets attracted a massive crowd for the ZooLights; we arrived at 7pm to a lot of traffic and high attendance. However, with a 9pm closing time, the crowds had thinned significantly by 8pm.

We enjoyed the holiday lights and were pleasantly surprised to find many indoor habitats were still open. We hope to return another time for a daytime visit to spend more time seeing the animal habitats and the recently opened Congo Falls Gorilla Habitat.

During the Christmas Celebration the park offered both the year-round animal encounter themed shows and holiday-themed entertainment. Nearly all of the rides were also open, but with lowered capacity. During the peak attendance hours we found long lines for rides (45+ minutes) and standing room only for anyone who arrived as shows were starting. 

The highlight of the visit was the Pacific Point Preserve habitat, where we purchased fish to feed the sea lions. 

We enjoyed the holiday decorations on both our daylight and after sunset loops around the park. With limited time in San Antonio and long lines for food at the park we decided to skip the 7:30pm parade to head back downtown for a quieter dining experience. The ride each way between the River Walk and the park was nearly 30 minutes, and the roundtrip rideshare cost nearly $70. We did appreciate the convenient guest drop-off area compared to driving and walking to and from the parking lot. 

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