Hello everyone! As you may have noticed on my Instagram, my life is filled with lots of travel and exploring. I love getting to see how beautiful our world is. It's so cool what you can find even in a quick 3-4 hour drive away from your home.
For me, that's St. Louis! I currently live in Memphis, TN and St. Louis is a short 4 hour drive.
When I was in middle school, I traveled there once a year for a band competition. We got to go to Six Flags and those beautiful memories have always stayed with me. So, once my nephew, Zachary, became tall enough to ride rollercoasters, it was ON. Each year since he turned 13, I've made an effort to take him on a trip to a new city and to a theme park. The first of which was to St. Louis and St. Louis Six Flags.
Zachary is now at the age where he sees everything in a new light. He's in his teenage years now and seeing the skyscrapers and monuments in a city is jaw-dropping for him. What a blessing it is to get to share my love of travel with him and to see places I've been in a new light.
And, what a blessing it is to share the following St. Louis itinerary and trip ideas with all of you. If this blog post helped you at all, comment below and share your favorite part of your trip! Found a new place I didn't mention? Share it below for all to see. Enjoy your trip - I know I did.
Where to Stay
My boyfriend works for Hilton so we like to stay in Hilton-owned properties. However, there's lots of great, affordable options in St. Louis regardless of if you stay in Hilton-owned or not. Below I'm going to feature where we stayed, but also give a list of other great properties I've stayed in as well and the benefits of each.
We stayed here for our weekend trip! It's a convention center as well, so it was a very spacious hotel with lots of great amenities. Since this was a family trip, we were very happy to have a pool, restaurant, and activities within the hotel as well. My nephew especially loved the complimentary evening reception and the free made-to-order breakfast. Typically, yes, the evening reception is where adults go and get their free beers, cocktails, or wine. However, the bartenders made my nephew feel extra special making him a "mocktail" called the Smurf. Apparently it's a real hit with all the kids! haha! For us, this was the perfect location with a lot of local charm. Below I've listed my favorite features:
Free Made-to-Order Breakfast, Free Parking, Free Evening Reception, Free WiFi
On-site Restaurant, Indoor Pool, Fitness Center, Room Service, Digital Key, Pet-Friendly
Local Charm! There's lots of local shops and restaurants a short walk from the hotel.
St. Charles’ historic Main Street is a five-minute drive away.
The St. Louis Lambert International Airport is only 7 miles away.
St. Louis downtown is about a 25 minute drive away.
Six Flags was about 35-40 minutes away, but we were okay with that since we loved the hotel.
Other Options:
Looking for a similar vibe, but want to stay downtown? Look no further than Embassy Suites St. Louis Downtown. You get all the same amenities as the hotel mentioned above, except free parking. Parking at this hotel (like most hotels downtown) is an additional fee of $39 for valet parking.
Try a Drury Hotel! Drury Hotels Company is actually headquartered in St. Louis and I've had great experiences with these hotels there.
Of course there's always AirBNB, and other hotel chains, but I have found the above hotels to be my favorite for what they offer.
Friday - Travel & Dinner
Friday was a chill day. We left around 2pm that day since Erik had to work a half-day. After a 4 hour drive, we got to our hotel and watched as Zachary's jaw dropped. I still can remember him saying, "We get to stay HERE. This is the nicest hotel I've ever been to!" That moment made my heart so full.
Anyway, we took a drive around St. Charles exploring Main Street and decided we had to eat some pizza. We stopped at Dewey's Pizza in the Streets of St. Charles and grabbed some dinner. Selfishly, I was very excited to see that the main street in this area was "Beale Street." (Remember, I'm from Memphis with the real Beale Street? hehe) There was lights everywhere and it was such a lively cute area even at night. After that, we headed to the hotel to get some shut eye. We had A BIG day of riding roller coasters ahead of us on Saturday.
Saturday - A Day at Six Flags St. Louis
Zachary has been to the Disney parks and Universal Studios, but he had never been to a theme park with this many Roller Coasters and thrill rides. So, let's just say he was VERY excited and VERY nervous. Haha! Anyway, below I've put some of our favorite rides, some tips, and additional info so that you can have the BEST day at Six Flags St. Louis.
Tips Before Going
Download the Six Flags app!! This is HUGE. The app has Theme Park Hours, Event Info, Wait Times, Ride Closures, Mobile Food Ordering, Dining Locations, Show Times, and MORE. Trust me, the app will be your best friend.
Download from Apple App Store or Android App Store.
Map out your day! Do your best to explore the app and find out what rides you'd like to ride most. Also, make sure to check out dining locations, because you'll want to get recharged at some point and take a break.
Tip: Unlike Disney Parks and Universal Studios, Six Flags does NOT allow you to bring in outside food or drinks. However, guests that have special dietary needs to include food allergies, religious requirements, or restrictions, and baby food/formula are exceptions they make.
Check to see if there are any Ticket Deals. Six Flags often runs various sales so it's good to check the site and see what kind of promotions they're running.
Flash Pass: Do it or Don't do it? We opted out of buying a Flash Pass, because we bought Season Passes and figured we could go another day if we missed some rides. However, if you are planning on only spending one day in the park and want to ride everything, it may be in your best interest to take a look at the various Flash Pass options.
Favorite Rides
Zachary's Top Pick: MR. FREEZE: Reverse Blast
Erik's Top Pick: Justice League: Battle for Metropolis
My Top Pick: BATMAN: The Ride
There are tons of other rides, but those were our absolute faves.
Where to Eat
JB's Smokehouse BBQ and Sports Bar: This is where we ate to get a bit of air conditioning and shelter from the sun for a bit. They had an array of options from Chicken Tenders, Sandwiches (Chicken, Pork, & Nashville Hot Chicken), Nachos, Wings, and Salads. We chose some Chicken Tender Meals with Fries and it did not disappoint.
Johnny Rockets Express: Looking for a Burger or Chicken Tenders? Check out this place!
Friar Tuck's: On a mission to find a Turkey Leg? Look no further than Friar Tuck's.
Colonnades Grill: Come sit down and enjoy some Burgers, Waffle Fries, and Chicken Tenders.
Chop Six: Looking for something different than typical theme park food? Check out Chop Six where they serve Asian Cuisine in some air condition!
Booths & Kiosks: There's PLENTY of these around with quick snacks and typical fair food like Funnel Cakes and Pretzels.
Additional Info
Last, but not least, I recommend taking a look at peak seasons and weather before planning your trip to Six Flags. We went in late July and it was fairly busy when we went, but we were able to ride everything we wanted. However, it was a VERY HOT day, which means we bought lots of waters while we were there and that got pricey.
Sunday - A Day in the City
Sometimes days don't exactly go to plan, so we ended up having to flex and make some changes due to a torrential downpour in the city. Luckily, it just so happened that Outer Banks had a new season released on Netflix that very day. So, we hopped on the pull-out couch and binged the new season.
Once the rain went away, we had a second wind and headed downtown to explore the city.
Our First Stop: The Gateway Arch
Summer Hours: Daily 9:00am-8:00pm* | Winter Hours: Daily 9:00am-6:00pm*
*Last Tram Leaves one hour prior to closing. Make sure to plan accordingly.
Park Grounds Hours: 5:00am-11:00pm Year Round
Tram Ride to the Top Cost - Adult: Starting at $15* | Child (3-15): Starting at $11*
*Peak Season Adult: $19 | Child (3-15): $15. Make sure to check out the calendar for updated pricing.
Looking for more? You can check out the additional packages here. You can see a Documentary Movie and ride a 1-hour Riverboat cruise if you'd like!
Next Stop: Walk through Kiener Plaza Park to view the Old Courthouse and Busch Stadium.
After the arch we ventured through Keiner Plaza Park and took pictures with the Old Courthouse, various statues, and fountains. Both Zachary and Erik really wanted to venture over to Busch Stadium (the home of the St. Louis Cardinals), so of course we headed that way next.
Old Courthouse: Temporarily Closed. (You can still take pictures outside of it though!)
Busch Stadium: We weren't able to catch a game, but definitely will next time. Check out the schedule here to catch a Cardinals game.
Last Stop: Salt+Smoke for Dinner!
Our last meal was some St. Louis-style BBQ at Salt+Smoke. Since I'm a Memphis girl, I'm usually pretty picky, but always love to try out barbecue in other cities. Salt+Smoke did not disappoint. We tried a little bit of everything, but my favorite was the Brisket. Oh, I could eat all that right now, again.
Monday - Traveled Home
We had such a fun, amazing time in St. Louis that was over way to soon. We already have a trip on the books to go back and explore more. For those with longer stays or those looking for other things to do, look below at some of the hot spots on our list for next time:
Cardinals Game at Busch Stadium: Schedule Here
Check out the Shops & Restaurants in The Grove
Explore City Museum & Union Station
Visit the St. Louis Zoo & Delmar Loop
Grab a Drink at Three Sixty Rooftop Bar
Visit the Hill (St. Louis' Italian Neighborhood)
Hit some balls at Top Golf
Stroll through the Missouri Botanical Garden
We had such a great time and I know you will to! Comment below with your favorite activity of your St. Louis trip!
Until Next Time,
Jessie
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