Central Texas has a wide variety of activities, events, and sights that are sure to keep the kids stimulated and the adults fascinated. From theme parks and curiosity shops to museums with interactive exhibits and mysterious caves, it would take a family two weeks to soak up all the fun. Caution to adults—leave your inner adult at the hotel before embarking on family fun in Central Texas.

SAN ANTONIO
San Antonio is known the world over as a family town. The imaginations of both parents and children are sparked when visiting The Alamo, along with the other historic Spanish missions on the Mission Trail. A boat ride on the River Walk is another great experience for the whole family. The Alamo and River Walk aside, San Antonio is known by kids the world round for its internationally recognized San Antonio Zoo and Aquarium. All the animals kids have read about and imagined are here ready to be explored up close. While at the zoo be sure to climb aboard the Brackenridge Eagle, a miniature train that travels over two miles around Brackenridge Park.

San Antonio also has two gigantic theme parks. First there’s Six Flags, which has over 200 acres of fun for the whole family. Older thrill-seekers will enjoy the wild rides, and for the younger bunch there are less-scary kiddie rides. Six Flags also puts on campy shows that kids will clamor to see. The other mega–theme park is SeaWorld San Antonio. The main attraction here is the killer whale Shamu, who performs in front of an audience. Be prepared to be soaked if you sit in the first rows.

San Antonio also has some popular indoor family hot spots such as the San Antonio Children’s Museum. The museum has over 80 hands-on exhibits, where children can pretend to be a plumber, an H.E.B employee, an airplane pilot, or a construction worker, and learn about the hardships of being an adult while at play. There’s also the popular Witte Museum. Inside the grand halls of the Witte the whole family will marvel at Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex bones, mummies, dioramas, and history and natural science exhibits. There’s even a big tree house.

One of the more obscure things in town for the family is the Texas Transportation Museum. Here the whole family will marvel at miniature-scale model train sets meticulously built, painted, and erected with a frightening attention to detail. The scale models and their detailed environments are a must-see for the train geek and the curious.

Although your kids may not jump for joy at the idea of an evening of dancing, I guarantee if you drag them to Leon Springs Dancehall they will have the time of their life. Here families dance two-step to a live country band along with hundreds of other folks. This family-friendly dance hall has a massive 18,000 square feet of wooden floor that’s packed Friday and Saturday nights.

Every January the San Antonio River is drained, and the River Walk Mud Festival begins. All weekend this mud-based festival puts smiles on faces. A king and queen of mud are elected to preside over events that include music, games, and all sorts of festivities.

After a long day of fun, make sure to enjoy a meal at Liberty Bar. Parents can enjoy a great lunch or dinner with upscale food, while the kids will enjoy eating in a unique two-story house. Think Alice in Wonderland. Another popular place to eat with kids is MiTierra. Mexican food and ambience reach a zenith here.

AUSTIN
Family fun in Austin begins with watching the flight of the Bats of Congress Avenue Bridge. This is a sure-fire way to get the kids excited on a summer evening. Indoor fun is to be had at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, where families can have a multimedia sensory overload. Also indoors is the Austin Children’s Museum. Here kids can come completely unglued in a safe environment. Also inside is Toy Joy, the toy store for adults as well as kids.

Kids are crazy about dinosaurs. There are three great places that you can explore their secret past. First there’s the Texas Memorial Museum, which has an entire room filled with dino bones as well as pickled critters. A good way to get the kids interested in a walk through a botanical garden is by bringing them to the Dinosaur Walk in Zilker Botanical Garden. Lastly in the dino field, there’s the Austin Nature and Science Center, where kids can become mini-paleontologists and dig for prehistoric bones.

A train ride can do a family a lot of good. You can’t help but smile ear to ear while riding the Zilker Zepher, a mini-train that runs through Zilker Park. If mini doesn’t satisfy, there’s the real deal, the Austin Steam Train. This old locomotive takes passengers into the Hill Country for a chugging ride to remember.

A fun place to take the whole family for lunch or dinner is Tex-Mex Chuy’s. Kids can marvel at the junk hanging from the ceiling and color with crayons while parents can sip margaritas.

THE HILL COUNTRY
The primary sights in the Hill Country for both kids and adults are the various caves and caverns. Everyone will be interested in walking through the Natural Bridge Caverns or the Cave without a Name. For more of a theme park spin on a natural-cave experience there’s Wonder World Caverns in San Marcos. If you prefer being high up in the trees, there’s Cypress Valley Canopy Tours. Here the whole family can travel on cables, up in the tree tops, for thrilling views along with adventure.

The historic German pioneer town of New Braunfels is home to Texas’s largest water park, Schlitterbahn. A good way for a family to cool down in the summer is to ride chutes and tubes of water, and to splash in pools for a day. West from New Braunfels, in the art town of Wimberley, everyone loves to visit Wimberley Glass Works. Watch the world-renowned glass artists blow melted glass into beautiful shapes in a matter of minutes. In Fredericksburg, be sure to take the family to eat at the Airport Diner. It’s located at the county airport, right on the airstrip. Watch planes come and go while eating a burger.

A fun place for the whole family to stay in the Hill Country is at the Mayan Dude Ranch. Families can take horseback rides in the country, eat in Wild West–style mess halls, go on hay-bail rides, and hear ghost stories told around a campfire.