I trust this board more than most others, and looking for (mostly) outdoor things to do and admittedly indoor places to eat.

My wife and I have friends visiting from Germany in mid-July. A couple and 12 year old daughter. River walk and Alamo are obvious (and I'll brush up on my Texas history to be a better guide…). We want to float the Comal or other close river, that's the biggest thing I need help with. Needs to be family friendly, probably 4 hour max float (sunburn concern for the Europeans). Also looking for other things to do that preteens will like (my boys are 14 and 11). I have Top Golf on the list as well, I know they'll like that. Zoo as well, got that one.

Restaurants recs are appreciated. What the heck is the Pearl? Seems like a landmark item.

Whatcha got OB? Thanks in advance!

Mi Tierra downtown Mex. rest.
Coopers BBQ in New Braunfels.
Paisanos if you want a high end place.
Check on flow of Comal River. It has been really low.

Cured at Pearl

For restaurants:
2M bbq (lunch only) in San Antone
Gristmill in Gruene

Bohanon's

Pearl used to be the Pearl Brewery. It has since been converted into a artisan craft shop area, cafes to eat at. Interesting walk through area. https://atpearl.com/

Mi Tierra Restaurant downtown. Open 24 hours a day. Mariachi's playing and singing on weekends. Good food. Breakfast also served 24 hours. https://www.mitierracafe.com/

After y'all go to the Alamo, walk across the street to watch "Alamo, The Price of Freedom" at the AMC Rivercenter. It is shown in IMAX. It really is a good representation of the battle. Not a bunch of Hollywood BS.
https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/san-antonio/amc-rivercenter-11-with-alamo-imax

If you have time, drive 35 minutes to the NNE of San Antonio to the Natural Bridge Caverns. It will be nice and cool underground when it is hot as blazes in July on top of the ground. The caverns are a beautiful walking tour to see a side of Texas many people have never heard of.
https://naturalbridgecaverns.com/api/tickets.php?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt4SmwM3G_wIVqUh_AB0RngjyEAAYASAAEgJLZfD_BwE

We used to always go to San Antonio growing up and always ate at La Margarita or Mi Tierra. Haven't been to either one in years so I don't know what they are like now.

The Comal should be fine to float as I can remember floating it in heavy droughts and it was fine. There's typically a long float or short float option, I think? Also, the San Antonio Missions may be playing at home this weekend but haven't checked.

We stayed in SA Sunday night and went to Paloma Blanca for lunch Monday (10 min from the Riverwalk) and it was excellent. Little pricey but everything is unless it's a hole in the wall. The Italian place mentioned above Paesanos is also very good. We ate breakfast at a place called Poblanos near the Riverwalk and it was great, too. If y'all want a restaurant that has a little bit of everything, Yard House is a short walk from the Riverwalk and has a ton of draft beer options.

Savor restaurant. Its on the Pearl grounds. It is the CIA students . Open kitchen so fun to watch too.

My go to for out of town folk is La Fogata on Vance Jackson. Not too far from downtown/riverwalk if your plan is to go there after dinner. My take is that the Riverwalk Restaurants /El Mercado can be crazy busy and if you have to wait for a table you are going to be drenched with sweat sitting outside waiting. La Fogata can get busy but they are quick to seat and have in my opinion a more relaxing atmosphere (less crowd) food is excellent, they have the mariachis & the decor. Hope y'all have a good time!

Wife and her friend who lives in San Antonio love going to Vibras. It seems to be tiktok and Instagram famous for the tourist and locals.

We like Paloma Blanca on Broadway

Since you'll be by the Alamo. Two places close close by that won't let you down are Fogo de Chao and Morton's.

Don't forget Fiesta Texas.

You really should take them to Mi Tierra. Schilo's is good for sandwiches. If you're taking them to The Alamo, walk across the street and have a beer(s) at the Menger bar.

La Fonda on main for Mexican Food.

Rosario's in South downtown for Tex mex.

Take them to Bracken Cave for a bat emergence after you do Natural Bridge Caverns next door. Sign up with BCI soon, slots to see an emergence sell out fast.

If you are already at the Alamo/downtown go to Taco Haven for breakfast/lunch and La Fogata for dinner. Mi Tierra's is not bad but definitely touristy. Bohanan's is great, but pricey, Boudro's is also good on the riverwalk. Chris Madrid's for an excellent burger. If you float the Comal or Guadalupe I would go to Huisache, Gruene River Grill, Pat's Place or McAdoos.

Skip Mi Tierra. Overpriced tourist crapola. Try Blanco Cafe for a good Mexican breakfast.

Second the recommendation for La Fogata for lunch or dinner. Consistently good.

Boudro's on the Riverwalk is good. Make a reservation well ahead of time and request inside seating for this time of year. Tableside guacamole is a go-to item. It's overpriced but very tasty.

Paesanos has a couple of locations away from the Riverwalk if you get tired of battling the crowds down there.

Cappy's on Broadway is always a good choice. Make a reservation.

Gristmill in Gruene or Huisache Grill in New Braunfels. Gristmill will be hot this time of year during the day. But you can show them Gruene Hall while you're there.

Lot of good BBQ options.

If you're floating the Comal, head to Krause's Biergarten afterwards. They usually have live music and the beer hall will give them a little taste of Texas meets Germany. The Downtowner is another nice place for families and good food as well.

Most of the other NB restaurants mentioned are solid, but Pat's Place is awful. They basically heat up Sysco premade food and serve it to you

Some of these have already been mentioned

Absolutely walk to the Menger bar after the Alamo. Teddy Roosevelt recruited many of the Roughriders there. A big chunk out of the bar where some tea tottling lady slammed an ace into the bar during prohibition. Several bullet holes in the bar, and it's very haunted. Adults grab a drink and the kids can read the ghost stories to the table. It's fun.

https://ghostcitytours.com/san-antonio/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/menger-hotel/menger-bar/

Don't take them to Schilos. It's a good place, but its a bad idea to take Germans to a German restaurant.

You can also take a River boat from downtown all the way to The Pearl. It's called the Go Rio River Shuttle. It's like a bus in that it stops all the time to let people get on and off, but the Pearl is the last stop on the line. Takes a while to get there but it's fun. I would only take the River shuttle one way though. Uber or taxi back.

Lots of good food at The Pearl. I also like the bar at the Hotel Emma. They have a few tables that are inside of the old beer fermenting tanks that are fun.

Natural Bridge Caverns is fantastic. Just focus on the main cave. The rest can be a bit touristy, as it has really grown.

Went to Carriqui in the Pearl last time I was in town. A little pricey but would be a cool place to take out of country guests since its South Texas cuisine.

Personal favorite area to stop in is Queso Pan Y Vino for pizza with the some of the best cocktails you've ever had at the bar in the back. Tacos across the street are good too at Taqueria Los Cuates.

The Alamo is special but so are some of the other more intact missions all around the city.

San Antonio Missions

Pearl Go To's: Allora (coastal Italian) = amazing. Have a cocktail at Hotel Emma- nice ambiance and selection.

River walk: bohanans , paesanos

Tre trattoria

Pray that your vehicle doesn't get stolen

If the weather is anything g like the last week or so, make sure everyone's hydrated and try to spend more time indoors. The river walk would be brutal in this heat. There is no breeze down there at all.

Breakfast at the Guenther House.

Thanks to all for the info!

I didn't think to ask for BBQ specific restaurants, so those are appreciated. Last time they visited we did beef ribs, Turkey and Brisket and it got the Dad into BBQ. We went to visit them a few years later and he had a pretty nice outdoor set up at his house. German BBQ is not the same, but he did pretty dang good! Coopers in New Braunfels will be a good target since we will have a river float day up that way.

We will definitely hit a couple different Mexican places too, thanks for those as well. And the bar recommendations, that will get some use.

Take them to Mi Tierra for sure. Also while you are there you can walk around the mercado.

You might also consider Los Barrios Restaurant on Blanco Rd. Great traditional Mex food. The Tip Top Cafe on Fredericksburg Rd for some Texas comfort food…get the chicken fried steak & mashed potatoes.

Reel Aggies said:

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If the weather is anything g like the last week or so, make sure everyone's hydrated and try to spend more time indoors. The river walk would be brutal in this heat. There is no breeze down there at all.

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Yeah, we have warned them about the heat. July is the only time they could come so we will have to keep them drinking water and do a few hours at a time. They won't be used to the heat at all.

For breakfast the Guenther House is always good but also always crowded so get there early

https://www.guentherhouse.com/restaurant/

Mi Tierra is touristy, but they are tourists so that's the point. Definitely better food but a fun experience for them especially coming from Germany. Fredericksburg might be interesting to them, especially since it's our take on a German town. Enchanted Rock also is an option to get a taster of the hill country.

As always, Paloma Blanca. Show them the Menger and the Menger Bar next the Alamo.

I'll chime in on Mi Tierra. The food is good, but certainly not the best in town. It's touristy, but you will have a bunch of tourists with you. I think it's a great time. I lived in San Antonio most of my life, and while I didn't go to Mi Tierra often, we did go every two or three years, and always had a blast. It's fun for people watching, and as someone else mentioned, it's fun to walk over to the Mexican Market after lunch.

It's also a good time when you are **** faced at 2am...but you probably won't be in that scenario.

Burnt Bean in Seguin

If you want to give them a taste of the hill country, you could always drive up towards the Salt Lick for BBQ one day.
My favorite Tex-Mex has always been Salsalito's on Nacogdoches, but definitely not a touristy part of town.
+1 for going to the Pearl, even if you don't take the river taxi there it is worth it to take a river boat ride down the Riverwalk, it's always fun for kids.

Second Bohanon's

If you want to brush up on your Texas history, go see some of the other missions. San Jose is the best IMO. The others are not restored as much but are still worth seeing what life was like 300+ years ago in the area. All of them have some place with A/C to get out of the heat for a while.

If you really want a Texas history lesson, take them to the Institute of Texan Cultures next to theTower of the Americas. Tells the story of our state from prehistoric to almost current. Takes about 3 hours to get through

Natural bridge caverns is good. Cave Without A Name in Boerne is almost as good and much smaller crowds.