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21 of the most overrated things to do in San Antonio

By San Antonio Current Staff

Sure, there's plenty of amazing stuff to do in San Antonio. But not everything that draws lots of visitors is all it's cracked up to be. And some of those spots, while fun at first, start to feel tired after repeated visits.

If you've lived in the 210 long enough, you've likely had more than your fill of some of the city's most popular attractions — or discovered that some simply don't live up to the hype.

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Taking a tour of the Alamo
Easy there, hoss. You might be shocked that taking a tour of the Alamo made it on the list of the most overrated things to do in San Antonio. Don’t get us wrong -– there’s nothing wrong with visiting the Alamo, or even taking a tour. But there are four other historic missions that don't get nearly as much love from the public. Why not give them a visit instead?
Photo via Instagram / officialalamo

Riding in a barge on the San Antonio River
Riding a barge through downtown SA? This may be one of the oldest tourist traps on this list. Even though these chugging boats have since had a facelift, they've been floating down the San Antonio River since the ‘60s. Hasn’t everyone done this already? Plus, you can now kayak down the river yourself, and that sounds a like a fun new spin.
Photo via Instagram / goriocruises

Visiting the ghost tracks — because it doesn't work anymore
As the lore goes, if you put your car in neutral on the ghost tracks, a bunch of ghost kids will push it safely off the tracks ... in the same place where they were killed many years ago when their bus stalled and was smacked by a train. The story was debunked ages ago, and then the tracks were levelled, removing the incline that created the phenomenon. It's time to let go, San Antonio.
Photo via Google Maps

Taking a selfie at the Hays Street Bridge
Everyone and their mother, sister, brother, father and both grandparents has this picture. You might even know someone who proposed here. You could even be a person who proposed here. Join the other 5,000 posts on Insta with the tag #haysstreetbridge if that’s what you want to do with your life.
Photo via Instagram / city.of.sanantoniotx

Going to NIOSA just to get drunk
What could be worse than getting drunk in 100-plus degree humid weather? If you stay in one place for too long, chances are that you’ll get sweat-stuck to the person next to you. Sure, some of us will never kick the NIOSA bug, but let's try to vary our Fiesta events just a bit.
Photo by Jaime Monzon

Dining almost anywhere on the River Walk
Let’s face it: as popular as the River Walk is, it’s that way because of tourists. While dining and drinking on the River Walk is something that almost every San Antonian does at least once during their time here, it’s just not worth going to over and over again and paying an exorbitant amount to do so. That said, if you do feel the need to dine on the river, make sure it’s a local spot and not a cringey chain.
Photo via Instagram / sariverwalkfun

Dining at the Tower of the Americas
The Tower of the Americas has surprisingly lackluster reviews for what some people call a San Antonio must-do. The consensus seems to be that while the view is great, the food is just OK — and pricey. Here's what we recommend: get some puro San Antonio cuisine somewhere else and head to the observation deck for the gorgeous views.
Photo via Instagram / toweroftheamericas

Going to the San Antonio Aquarium
Everyone has seen some variation of this headline by now: "Shark Stolen From Aquarium in Baby Stroller!" And that was only the beginning. This attraction was shut down in 2018 for code violations, shut down again in 2020 for violating the city's pandemic emergency order and in 2021 PETA asked thee feds to yank its license, alleging that a convicted wildlife trafficker is involved in its operations — something the aquarium has denied. Those sound like reasons for folks concerned about animal welfare to look for other options.
Photo via Google Maps

Two-stepping at a giant country nightclub
Why go to a ginormous nightclub and dance to DJ music when you can go to Floore’s or some other storied honky tonk and experience great live music? It will be a more authentic experience, not to mention less crowded.
Photo via Instagram / cowboysdancehallsa

Floating down the Comal
Drunk people littering. Need we say more? There are some things that you shouldn’t do even if you’re drunk – and this is one of them. Maybe once Texans learn how to behave we can revisit this.
Photo via Instagram / vietspanic40