The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
PAX South 2015 Travel/Transportation
Hello,
I'm going to start this thread because this should be a popular topic since a large percentage of us are new to San Antonio. Some of this has been discussed in the FAQ thread. I'll start this off by asking if anyone has good suggestions for getting from airport to the PAX convention/hotel area. I know this has been already talked about in FAQ but I'd like to have it in this thread also so people can find it easy. East and Prime have really nice offerings for this (Prime's light rail and East's silver line bus route) What's South's equivalent?
I'm going to start this thread because this should be a popular topic since a large percentage of us are new to San Antonio. Some of this has been discussed in the FAQ thread. I'll start this off by asking if anyone has good suggestions for getting from airport to the PAX convention/hotel area. I know this has been already talked about in FAQ but I'd like to have it in this thread also so people can find it easy. East and Prime have really nice offerings for this (Prime's light rail and East's silver line bus route) What's South's equivalent?
0
Posts
http://www.sanantonio.gov/SAT/GroundTransportation/Shuttle.aspx
I've used the shuttle before, it works pretty well.
However.
They don't start running from hotels to the airport until after 4:00 AM, and they won't make you a reservation for less than two hours ahead of your flight. So if you're on a 6 AM flight out, you're stuck with a taxi going back.
$19 each way or $34 round trip is not bad, I'll keep that in mind if I end up going (and will book flights accordingly). Thanks!
I guess it depends on price of gas and how comfortable I feel about city driving.
I used to make this drive every so often when I was stationed at Tinker. IIRC, you can take 210 pretty much straight south but you'll wind up being on the road for 10+ hours. It's faster, though a longer trip, to take I-35 and come down through Dallas and Austin. I think that trip took closer to 6-8 hours depending on the traffic around those two cities.
San Antonio does have a decent system of public transport busses called Via. That could/should be useful for anyone looking to get around town without a car.
Avoid taking 35 through Austin at all costs. Traffic is uniformly horrible, and it's not that great coming into San Antonio either. My advice would be to take 130 around Austin, then jump on the new toll road, State Highway 183, that runs from Austin to just outside SA. It's a bit of a longer trip in terms of mileage, but the traffic is much lighter so you save quite a bit of time. You don't need change; they take pictures of your license plate and send you a bill in the mail. The trip ends up costing about ten bucks and is well worth it, in my opinion.
Pins!
Thanks for the advice, gents! If 35 is bad through DFW and Austin, I think we'll take 44 to Wichita Falls and follow 281 into SA. Google maps puts that at just under 8 hours.
Trade me pins! - https://pinnypals.com/pals/TheAggroCraig
@koleypunch it won't be the best experience you've ever had, but, you're looking at about thirty bucks, one way with no tip. It all depends on how much your time and comfort are worth honestly.
Check out my YouTube Pinny Arcade Videos!
I take that route pretty regularly, it's not "bad", but I much preferred 35, but that is considering I hit Dallas and Austin at off peak times.
Check out my YouTube Pinny Arcade Videos!
http://www.citytoursinc.com/airport-shuttle
Looks like a good way to get from the airport to your hotel if they don't already have shuttle service. Can anyone living in SA comment on them?
2015 PAX Prime Omeganaut (I will forever hate Katamari)
Maybe try flying through Austin instead? It's a 1-1.5 hour drive depending on traffic. Most of the worst traffic shouldn't be a problem as the Austin Airport isn't in the city proper.
San Antonio is not bad at all to drive through when compared to Chicago/NY/Atlanta/Boston. Totally months late but hopefully someone will find useful.
Cheapest flights: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) flights dropped as low as $107 round-trip. That's still a hefty drive (6ish hours) + rental car costs. If traveling in a group, and time driving isn't an issue, that's the way to go (assuming you're 25+ and don't get screwed on rental car fees). If you're under 25, then look for flights to Houston and planning ahead for the Megabus or something similar to get to San Antonio. Houston flights were around $200 on the low end. Direct flights to San Antonio from MSP never dropped below $350 yet (screw you, Delta). Southwest never did better than $370ish, and with terrible travel times + connections compared to Delta. If you're also looking at staying places on the cheap, check out Airbnb and VRBO for larger groups, otherwise there are a fair amount of reasonable priced hotels within 1 mile of the convention center. I was glad to see hotel prices cheaper than Boston and Seattle for once :-)
I hope someone in the future at least finds this useful.
2015 PAX Prime Omeganaut (I will forever hate Katamari)
(but yes, it can be done 8-) )
Pins!
Twitter:kube00
Kyan, I'm in Phoenix and looking for a travel buddy, I can definitely chip in with costs.