Rio Taxi has 39 stops along almost 10 miles of the San Antonio River Walk. The brightly colored flat-bottom barges shuttle passengers through a unique view of the city center from the historic Pearl Brewery complex into the canyons of skyscrapers.
With a day pass, you can get on and off the taxis with short walks to attractions along the banks of the San Antonio River. The taxis are separate from the narrated cruise boats that travel the main channels downtown. Even though the pilots of the taxis are witty and knowledgeable, their boats travel with a leisurely purpose.
In the northern Museum Reach section of the River Walk, where the narrated cruises don’t go, the riverbanks become more parklike with benches and tropical vegetation. Invisible to the people at street level, the undersides of the bridges are decorated by local artists with sculptures, lights, and murals.
The upper section of the River Walk also has the only lock and dam in Texas. The system to raise and lower the barges nine feet from one section of the river to the other is also the only purely recreational lock system in the U.S.
Rio Taxi operates daily from 9am to 9pm. The water taxis are a nice way to get around downtown San Antonio without the traffic and parking headaches. Tickets may be purchased from the taxi pilot (cash only) or at the four stations. For more information, go to www.riosanantonio.com.
1,236th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in April 3 • 2015.