Originally built to host the 1968 World’s Fair, HemisFair Park is a beautiful urban park with everything from historic homes to museums, playgrounds, and more. Come with your group, your friends, your children, or just your dog for a beautiful walk in the Texas sunshine through lush landscapes, beautifully constructed waterfalls, and cultural attractions of HemisFair Park.

Beautiful fountains featuring cascading waterfalls decorate the lush landscapes for a comfortable and pleasurable walking experience. As a historic destination itself, HemisFair Park is home to several attractions that featured in the World’s Fair. The Tower of the Americas is perhaps the area’s most popular and most impressive feature. This 750 foot tower rises high above the park and surrounding city to provide breathtaking views with an added bonus of a fine dining restaurant and 4D theater ride. Skies Over Texas is an interactive multi-sensory theater experience that flies you over the Lone Star State. The park also houses the Institute of Texan Cultures and the Instituto Cultural Mexicano, two heritage museums with history and art exhibits to highlight the respective cultures.

Kids will find HemisFair Park exciting and enjoyable with the newly developed Yanaguana playground, a 7-acre recreational area with everything from an imaginative splash pad to indoor gaming areas. Magik Theatre, located at the park’s entrance, is the area’s premier children’s theater showing educational performances and entertaining plays meant to spark your child’s imagination.

Exploring America > U.S. Cities > San Antonio Tours

The Don Strange Ranch Adventure Challenge Course is located just north of San Antonio, Texas. It was constructed in 1998. The zip line was added to the location in 2008. As part of the experience, take time to visit the General store on the ranch. The location offers a variety of fun adventure activities for groups no matter the size. The activities encourage team building to complete the adventure at hand. Featured adventure options include the following: kayaking, climbing, and zip line tours. The programs can be tailored to fit your needs. Other entertainment options include: catch & release fishing, hay rides, live bands or DJ’s, line dance instruction, a casino, mariachi, skeet shooting, and much more! The theme of the programs focuses on the following areas: problem–solving, leadership, communication, and personal effectiveness. Come with your group and enjoy the entertainment this attraction has to offer. The trip will not only be fun but will also be one you will not forget.

Exploring America > U.S. Cities > San Antonio Tours

With complete flexibility you can tour San Antonio’s most prestigious, historic, and entertaining attractions while enjoying informative narration provided by your guide with Alamo Trolley. All day unlimited boarding allows you to stay as long as you want at each of the stops and simply hop on another trolley when you’re ready to move along. For the best and most comprehensive look at San Antonio, the Alamo Trolley is here for your group.

Start at the Alamo, San Antonio’s most famous destination where a small group of Texans held the mission fort for 13 days against the Centralist Army of General Santa Anna in 1836. From there, visit La Villita, San Antonio’s first neighborhood and now a highly concentrated art community with galleries, museums, and historic landmarks. Market Square is another must-see as the largest Mexican Market in the United States with over 100 shops, booths, and restaurants to explore. Other destinations include the San Antonio Zoo, HemisFair Park, Tower of the Americas, the RiverWalk, San Fernando Cathedral, Mission Trail, King William Historic District, and more.

The complete freedom and transportation offered through the Alamo Trolley is second to none in San Antonio. See San Antonio’s most popular attractions with one tour company. When your group is in the city and desiring a sightseeing tour, Alamo Trolley is perhaps the best and most entertaining option.

Exploring America > U.S. Cities > San Antonio Tours

From the populated city centers to historic landmarks and into beautiful wine country, Alamo Sightseeing Tours will take you to all of the best attractions to be found in San Antonio. Knowledgeable, informative, and accommodating guides lead you through Texas’ second most populated city and one of the most historic destinations in the country.

Alamo Sightseeing Tours offer several options to meet everyone’s desires whilst providing an excellent window into San Antonio’s best and most popular attractions. Choose from full day or half day options or even a few hours with varying levels of flexibility.

For those of you who enjoy a good array of sites and photographic opportunities, there is the San Antonio Grand Sightseeing Tour, lasting eight hours traveling from the historic Alamo to the Spanish Governor’s Palace, Market Square, the Missions of San Jose and Concepcion, the Japanese Sunken Gardens, as well as a riverboat cruise down the Paseo Del Rio. Hill Country Tours drive you out to the LBJ Ranch and into the German town of Fredricksburg where you can tour the local boutiques and shops.

If you enjoy flexibility and a laid-back schedule, the Hop-on, Hop-off Trolley Tour may be just for you. With this option you can ride the trolleys to the Alamo, the Institute of Texan Cultures, Rivercenter Mall, La Villita, San Fernando Cathedral, and more with ease. Stay as long as you want at each of the sites and when you’re ready to go, just hop on another trolley.

Groups of adults may enjoy the wine country tours. Lasting approximately seven and a half hours, the wine tour options take you outside San Antonio proper to enjoy wine tours and tastings at two wineries. This tour also includes free time in Fredricksburg and amazing Texan vistas.

Exploring America > U.S. Cities > San Antonio Tours

Groups exploring Omaha and the surrounding area will want to make time for a guided two-hour tour of the fascinating Strategic Air Space Museum  in nearby Ashland, Nebraska – a 300,000 square foot institution featuring a 528 panel glass atrium, aircraft display hangars, a traveling exhibit area, 200 seat theater, an aircraft restoration gallery, interactive children’s gallery, planetarium, seven exhilarating motion simulator rides, a museum store  – and  snack bar- after all, this is exciting stuff, and you’re sure to work up an appetite exploring the Museum’s magnificent collections of historic aircraft, spacecraft, missiles and out-of-this-world artifacts. The Museum hosts popular annual events and special presentations such as Wings Under the Wings and the Family Fun Carnival, the Strategic Air & Space Museum Science Fair, Helicopter Day and the Indoor Air Show; be sure to check with your travel team to find out what will be happening when you’re in SASM’s neck of the woods. Conveniently situated near Platte River State Park, Mahoney State Park, Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari and several golf courses, there’s almost no reason to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime viewing experience. The museum’s expansive collection includes examples of most aircraft operated by the Strategic Air Command and you and your travel partners are certain to come away with a new-found respect for our heroes of the sky – and beyond.

Groups on Omaha excursion will definitely want to spring for an enchanting and relaxing roll out on the wide Missouri aboard this 1940’s era, two-level 149 passenger excursion vessel – formerly a Las Vegas cruiser, now proud to call the Missouri River home. A variety of fantastic trips are offered on Omaha’s only riverboat – narrated sightseeing, lunch, dinner, holiday and themed cruises treat you to the glorious seasonal sights and sounds along the scenic riverfront, an array of wonderful live entertainment and full, cash-only bar; commemorative merchandise is also available – be sure to take home a little piece of your time aboard the River City Star, and don’t forget your cameras!

Groups exploring “the best of”  Nebraska’s  Gateway to the West will want to dedicate the better part of a day to visiting the fantastic Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, a world-class  zoological park opened in 1894,  nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research. The Zoo, home to more than 17,000 animals across nearly 1000 species features scores of remarkable exhibits, including the largest cat complex in North America, the world’s largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp, one of the world’s largest indoor rainforests,  the world’s largest indoor desert, and is home to the largest glazed geodesic dome on the planet! This magnificent 130-acre tribute to the animal kingdom is Nebraska’s number one attraction, having welcomed more than 25 million visitors over the past 40 years. An all-day rides pass gets you around the grounds in style: hop the Zoo train and ride the rails, grab a bird’s eye view on  “Skyfari,” take a turn back in time with a spin on Sue’s old-fashioned Wildlife Carousel , or sit back and explore from your comfy seat on the Tram; if you’re feeling extra-brave and want to plunk down a five-spot, there’s even a camel with your name on it! The residents of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion, Kingdoms of the Night, Exhibition Madagascar, the Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion, Hubbard Orangutan Forest, Durham Family Bear Canyon and the Lied Jungle await your rapt audience; if these don’t intrigue you, how about a close encounter at Stingray Beach, a prowl through Cat Complex, a trek through the unforgiving Desert Dome or a walk on the bottom of the ocean beneath a tunnel of ravenous, circling sharks at the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium? The Zoo hosts an array of special events throughout the year -  check with your travel team to see what’s happening when you’re in town – and a variety of exciting, interactive daily animal encounters May through October get you “face time” with many of the creatures and their dedicated keepers; Short-tailed Fruit Bat Feeding, Komodo Dragon Training or Aardvark Dig, anyone?

Credit: Joslyn Art Museum

Nebraska’s largest art museum was a generous gift to the people of Omaha from Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, George. Wanting to construct a memorial perpetuating their shared interest in music and art that would be beneficial to many, she built an extravagant concert hall surrounded by art galleries, which opened in September of 1931. This extraordinary Art Deco building, hailed as an important addition to the city of Omaha, constructed of the finest materials available, took nearly three years to build and in 1938 was listed among the finest 100 structures in the States. In 2006 a lavish and expansive sculpture garden replete with flowing reflective water features, landscaped green spaces and rich granite pathways was added to the Museum’s grounds, dramatically updating the face of the compound. While the museum itself is a work to behold, its  impressive collections, both temporary and permanent, ranging in genre from Ancient, European, Latin American and Native Indian to Modern and Contemporary, showcase many  important master works, including a major reinstallation of Joslyn Art Museum’s American and American Western galleries – “Art of the Americas,”  the Maximilian Journals (The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied ,) touring exhibition, “The Maximillian-Bodmer Expedition: Travels in the Interior of North America,” and two recently acquired works by Rembrandt and Beirstadt.

Located on the west side of the Missouri River in Omaha, this museum houses many historic ships as well as aircraft. Travelers the world over would enjoy exhibits such as the USS Hazard, USS Marlin SST-2 Submarine, rocket launchers, and much more. The display of the USS Hazard allows adults alike to come aboard and take a closer look at this WW2 ship. See the 40mm guns aboard this unique attraction. While at the park don’t forget to step on in the USS Marlin Submarine. No hatches to climb down here, thankfully the sub has been modified allowing groups to enter through the side of the ship.

This upscale 55 acre, 15-block shopping district and exclusive neighborhood just south of downtown Kansas City tenders visitors a perfect mix of high-end shops, mainstream retailers, dining establishments, luxurious accommodations and popular entertainment venues and is named as one of the World’s “60 best places” by Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit organization based in New York dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities. Opened in 1923 as the first shopping center to accommodate those arriving by automobile, the basic design of the Country Club Plaza reflects lovely classic European influences, with multi-themed works of art – sculpture, murals, mosaics and architectural reproductions – tastefully showcased throughout the area and fabulously intricate fountains sprouting from the beautiful landscape; parking is completely concealed in multi-
level garages beneath and behind shops or situated out of plain view on rooftops, eliminating the sprawling gauntlets of unsightly lots. The district’s many storefronts include Anthropology, Ann Taylor, Barnes and Noble, Bath and Body Works, Banana Republic, Chico’s, The Coach Store, Cupcake A La Mode, Eddie Bauer, Mac Cosmetics, Moosejaw, N. Valentino, The North Face, The Better Cheddar, Soft Surroundings, Sur La Table, Tommy Bahama, Tiffany and Company, Three Dog Bakery, Restoration Hardware, Sunglass Hut, Urban Outfitters, Very Bradley, Victoria’s Secret and Williams Sonoma; dozens of cafes and restaurants including The Cheesecake Factory, Jack Stack BBQ, Gram and Dun, Bucca de Beppo, McCormick’s and Schmick’s, Chaz on the Plaza, Panera Bread and Starbucks ensure your favorite menu – casual sweet bite, homestyle Italian, classic surf and turf or elegant repast – is right around the corner from your last shopping spree. The Plaza’s annual “Season of Lights” is kicked off on Thanksgiving Night during a grand televised celebration in observance of the longstanding tradition of ushering in the Christmas Season with a special guest or celebrity “flipping the switch” to a dazzling display of holiday lights that shine thru the New Year. Whether you’re coming to shop, dine or even stay for a few days, the Plaza is the place to be!