Del Rio
Del Rio is a city in the South Texas Plains, across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña in Mexico.
Get in
By rail
Amtrak serves Del Rio, by the tri-weekly Sunset Limited, between Los Angeles and New Orleans, and Texas Eagle from Chicago. 1 Del Rio station is located at 100 North Main Street and also functions as an hub for the local bus network.
By bus
- Greyhound Lines, (bus stop) Stripes @ 1602 Veterans Blvd (Stripes Gas Station & Convenience Store at Veterans Blvd & E 15th St near downtown.), toll-free: +1 800 231-2222. Travels primarily on US Hwy 90 (Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Uvalde, D Hanis, Hondo, Castroville & San Antonio). Passengers transfer in San Antonio to get to additional cities or to transfer to a different bus lines.
By car
US 277 from Sonora on I-10 (about 80 miles north) or US 90 from San Antonio (about 200 miles east).
By plane
Rio International Airport (DRT IATA) is located 2 mi/3 km northwest of Del Rio and is primarily used for regional general aviation and cargo flights (FedEx and Ameriflight for UPS). Regularly scheduled commercial passenger flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are only available with Texas Sky. The next nearest major airport for additional scheduled commercial flights is in San Antonio (SAT IATA) located 161 mi (258 km) or 2.5 - 3 hrs east along US Hwy 90.
Get around
The best way is by personal car. There is at least one taxi company.
By bus
Del Rio bus runs hourly between 8AM and 5PM, Monday through Saturday. The fare is: $2 for adults, $1 for seniors 55 and older and disabled, children under three are free. The phone number is: +1 830 703-5324
See
Laughlin Air Force Base is located just outside Del Rio.
- 1 Whitehead Memorial Museum, 1308 S Main St.
- 2 The Firehouse. Del Rio's art center offers changing exhibits in the city's former fire station.
Do
- Amistad National Recreation Area. This recreation area is the major attraction in the Del Rio area, where camping, boating, and fishing are available (the Bassmasters Elite tournament was held here for four years in a row until 2008). At Lake Amistad, visitors can also find 4,000-year-old Indian pictographs, which are accessible only by boat at Panther Cave and at Parida Cave.
- Val Verde Winery. In the downtown area offers a wine-tasting of about a dozen of their wines for about $5 per person or a free tasting of only three. Their wines are excellent and range from sweet (notably the San Felipe del Rio red, their Texas Rose, and their Muscat Cannelli) to exceptionally dry (Cabernet Sauvignon), but their port has won awards. Most of their wines are blends with grapes from other vineyards, but one is made of only grapes grown at the winery.
Buy
Del Rio has one, relatively small, indoor mall with typical mall stores: Beall's, Penney's, etc. and the town cinema with several screens.
The downtown area has numerous shops, including several antique shops and a few selling rustic furniture.
- Adrian Falcon Gallery. Offers contemporary art by Del Rio native Adrian Falcon.
Eat
Standard fast food (Wendy's, Whataburger, etc.) and chains (Chili's, Luby's, etc.) are available.
- La Hacienda. A Mexican restaurant downtown that offers an excellent buffet of Mexican food for a very reasonable price. One item not on the menu is "cabrito" (goat), which you have to ask for and it is excellent, succulent meat, beautifully roasted. Each day the restaurant roasts one goat in the morning and sells it until it runs out. Get there early! Their coffee is great and compares well to Starbuck's.
- Lorina's Cantina. Outside of town on US 90 toward the Lake, has steak night on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 8:00. Call ahead to reserve a steak. The steaks are about 3/4 to 1 lb in size, thick cut, wonderful, beautifully seasoned, succulent, and come with a baked potato and salad (only lettuce and dressings) bar for only $13 per person. This is a real meal for meat-and-potato-kind-of-guys. They also have karaoke on Saturday nights.
- T&B (Todd and Bullet's) Bar and Grill. Next to the Day's Inn on US 90 has good food and a good bar. Anthony Bourdain of the Travel Channel once came here for their Corona Chicken, which is succulent pieces of chicken about the size of the neck of a Corona bottle filled with cheese and wrapped in bacon.
- Chinto's, Sixth street. Has excellent Mexican food and generous portions in a comfortable atmosphere for very reasonable prices. Hours about 6AM to 2:30PM (per many traditional Mexican restaurants).
- Jitra. There is one Thai restaurant, Jitra's, in town with mediocre Thai food.
Drink
Lorina's Cantina and TB's are excellent places for relaxing evenings with a beer and friends. TB's also offers excellent food seven nights a week, while Lorina's offers steaks on Wednesday nights from 6 to 8.
- Casa de Vino. For a glass of wine in a quiet, comfortable atmosphere, Casa de Vino on US 90 near Lake Amistad (not far from Lorina's) is the place to go. It offers about 300 different wines and a small appetizer menu in a comfortable, very clean setting. Casa de Vino also offers a small patio for watching the sun set on warm evenings.
- The Herald Martini Bar. Probably the classiest place in town and a good place to go for a nice dinner and drinks.
Sleep
- 1 Best Western Inn of Del Rio, 810 Veterans Blvd, ☏ +1 830 775-7511, toll-free: +1-800-336-3537, fax: +1 830 774-2194.
- 2 Motel 6, 2115 Veterans Blvd, ☏ +1 830 774-2115, fax: +1 830 774-4878.
- 3 Ramada Inn Del Rio, 2101 Veterans Blvd, ☏ +1 830 775-1511, fax: +1 830 775-1476. Free high-speed wireless, heated outdoor pool, indoor fitness center.
- 4 La Quinta Inn, 2005 Veterans Blvd, ☏ +1 830 775-7591.
- 5 Whispering Palms Inn, 1300 Veterans Blvd, ☏ +1 830 488-6270. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 12PM. $50.
Cope
Consulates
Mexico, Edificio South Park Plaza 2398, Spur 239, ☏ +1 830 775-2352, fax: +1 956 723-1741.
Go next
| Routes through Del Rio |
| Tucson ← Alpine ← | W  E |
→ San Antonio → Houston |
| Tucson ← Alpine ← | W  E |
→ San Antonio → Dallas |
| Van Horn ← Marathon ← | W  E |
→ Brackettville → San Antonio |
| San Angelo ← Sonora ← | N  S |
→ Eagle Pass → Carrizo Springs |
Ciudad Acuña ←  ← |
S  N |
→ END |