Nashville to San Antonio drive: Distance, time & best stops
The best road trip stops on the Nashville to San Antonio drive are Memphis, Dallas and Austin. The distance from Nashville to San Antonio by car is 938 miles, with a 14h driving time.
Planning a Nashville to San Antonio road trip itinerary
The Nashville to San Antonio drive connects Tennessee’s country music capital of the world to a history-drenched Texas city.
Nashville is renowned for its country music, but the National Museum of African American Music is also in the Tennessee capital.
The best Nashville experiences include backstage tours of the Grand Ole Opry House, helicopter flights over the city and tasting tours at the Big Machine Distillery. You can also try line dancing classes, the Country Music Hall of Fame and haunted pub crawls. Or, for lavish old homes, visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum and Belmont Mansion.
Excellent Nashville accommodation choices include the gloriously evocative Belle Air Mansion and Inn, plus downtown’s grand dame, the Hermitage.
How to see Nashville the smart way
You can save money in Nashville by combining a tour ticket with admission to two top attractions. These combo tickets give you a half day tour of the main sights, plus entrance to the Ryman Auditorium and Country Music Hall of Fame. Find out more here.
San Antonio’s most famous site is the Alamo, a fortified Spanish mission that played host to a critical battle in the Texas Revolution. It’s far from the only historic building in the city, though – the San Fernando Cathedral and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are both visually impressive. It’s worth taking a guided tour of the missions for better understanding.
Further attractions include San Antonio Zoo, the Sea Life aquarium, the magic show at the Magicians Agency Theater and the Hopscotch Immersive Art Experience.
Other San Antonio experiences worth considering are the haunted ghost bus tour, downtown food tours, hop-on hop-off buses and Segway tours.
Book ahead for San Antonio accommodation deals. But try the Hotel Emma for five star opulence and the Canopy by Hilton for youthful energy on the Riverwalk.
Nashville to San Antonio distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Nashville to San Antonio is 938 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 14 hours. The quickest route is along the I-40, I-30 and I-35.
The best stops to add to a Nashville to San Antonio road trip itinerary are Memphis, Dallas and Austin.
Nashville to San Antonio road trip attractions: Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee, is a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans. The King’s Graceland mansion is one of the top tourist sites in the US. But the cultural heritage extends beyond music, as you’ll discover on an African-American history tour.
Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the 19th century Woodruff-Fontaine House.
Ways of seeing the city include ghost walks, Downtown food tours and musical bus tours. There are also guided walks down music central, Beale Street, and city tours that take you inside the legendary Sun Studios.
Nashville to San Antonio drive: Dallas
Dallas has plenty of high quality cultural attractions. These include the Nasher Scupture Center, Pioneer Square and the Perot Museum of Science and Nature.
But for many visitors, the main reason to visit Dallas is the JFK assassination. Yes, you can go up to the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly took his shot from.
Top Dallas experiences include a JFK Assassination and Museum tour, the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower and a self-guided scavenger hunt.
How to do the JFK sites in Dallas
The best way to combine the JFK sites in Dallas is a special themed tour. This takes in the JFK Memorial, Dealey Plaza and the Grassy Knoll before heading to Lee Harvey Oswald’s rooming house. It finishes in the Sixth Floor Museum of the Texas Book Depository. On the way, expert guides take you through the assassination facts and theories. Find out more here.
Best stops between Nashville and San Antonio: Austin, Texas
Austin is renowned for its live music scene, although it has plenty of more conventional attractions too. These include Austin Zoo, the Museum of Ice Cream and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Top Austin experiences include ebike tours taking in the city highlights, haunted pub crawl walks and segway tours.
You can also try highly-rated downtown food tours, half day wine shuttles in the Hill Country, brewery-hopping beer tours and sightseeing on a boat cruise.
- For more suggestions, read the guide to the Austin to San Antonio drive.
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