Getting There

By Plane

The San Antonio International Airport (tel. 210/207-3411; www.ci.sat.tx.us/aviation), is 7 miles (11km) north of downtown. It is compact, clean, well marked, and has two terminals. Among its various amenities are a postal center, ATM, foreign-currency exchange, game room, and well-stocked gift shops. Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty all have rental car desks at both of the airport terminals.

Loop 410 and U.S. 281 south intersect just outside the airport. If you're renting a car here, it should take about 15 to 20 minutes to drive downtown via U.S. 281 south.

Most of the hotels within a radius of a mile or two offer free shuttle service to and from the airport (be sure to check when you make your reservation). If you're staying downtown, you'll most likely have to pay your own way.

VIA Metropolitan Transit's bus no. 2 is the cheapest ($1) way to get downtown but also the slowest, stopping first at the North Star shopping center. Unless you've come without luggage and want to stop off at the mall to buy a few things, the trip should take from 40 to 45 minutes. You need exact change.

SATRANS (tel. 800/868-7707 or 210/281-9900; www.saairportshuttle.com), with a booth outside each of the terminals, offers shared van service from the airport to the downtown hotels for $14 per person one-way, $24 round-trip. Prices to other destinations vary; call or check the website for specifics. Vans run from about 7am until 1am; phone 24 hours in advance for van pickup from your hotel.

There's a taxi queue in front of each terminal. Airport taxis charge about $30 to get downtown.

By Train

San Antonio's train station is located in St. Paul's Square, on the east side of downtown near the Alamodome and adjacent to the Sunset Station entertainment complex. Cabs are readily available from here. Drink and snack machines are available inside the station, and there's an ATM at the Alamodome. Lockers are not available, but Amtrak will hold passengers' bags in a secure location for $2 per bag. Information about the city is available at the main counter.