San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Perhaps best known for The Alamo, the city is also home to one of the least known big events in the country.

Each April, downtown San Antonio is overrun with all sorts of festivities. I am not using the term “all sorts” lightly here. There are nearly 100 separate events held between April 18th and 28th. At least 3 million people will take part in at least one of these parties. Texans like to brag about how big everything in their state is. Well, for once, they can back up their boasts.

Fiesta, as the event is called, started more than one hundred years ago. It began as a celebration to remember the Battle of The Alamo, but quickly became something bigger. Parades, food shows, and concerts have snowballed over the years, leading to the amazing array of events now held.

Should you visit during Fiesta? For sheer atmosphere and options, Fiesta is a good time to visit San Antonio. There will be crowds, but standing shoulder to shoulder and getting the occasional elbow (unintentional, mostly) is all part of the experience. People quite literally dance in the street as part of various parades, cultural shows, or as audience members of one of the many outdoor concerts. Some events are free, though many have a reasonable entrance fee.

San Antonio’s nightlife gets a little more festive during Fiesta. When people say that the party lasts for ten days, they mean 10 24-hour cycles, not simply 10 afternoons. Bars and restaurants try to keep the good times going indefinitely.

San Antonio has an especially wide selection of bed-and-breakfasts and cheap accommodation, even near downtown. Things fill up quickly during Fiesta, so visitors might have to search outside the city center to find a place to lay their heads. There are even some campground for those who really want to make this a budget experience.
Fiesta is not as well known as Mardi Gras. It’s a little tamer by comparison, but offers 10 times more variety.

A list of events can be found here.

Great. During a short five minute break from my exceedingly growing amount of homework I come to find that the Euro has once again reached an all-time high against the US Dollar (NY times link below). Thus, my future/pending backpacking trip is getting less affordable every week. So what I’m saying, is that Europe is really expensive for travelers! My forecasts (below) are not looking good for the dollar against the Euro for travelers is not looking good…
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So there was a new, free travel opportunity for all of those who were willing to take a year off to party all over the world. The “Smirnoff Ten” is a party tour for ten lucky (and beautiful) people that will visit twenty awesome international destinations including Moscow, New York, Paris, and Shanghai. I actually found out about this from YouTube (which is embeded below).

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Virtual Tourist made a new list naming the top ten up-and-coming travel destinations. Does Europe, Latin America, or Southeast Asia come out on top of the list?

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Quick travel news post here. A travel report was just released naming the top 20 worldwide hotel brands. The list is dominated by familiar American hotel brands, and I think it may be an interesting tidbit to budget travelers who like a bit of travel trivia. So here are the fifteen most popular hotel brands and hotel groups (by number of rooms) in the world… (more…)

As this is my first April Fools Day as a blogger and blog enthusiast, I am pretty entertained by the other April Fools Day jokes going around the blogosphere. Here’s a short list of my favorite April Fool’s Day jokes that relate to travel topics.

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