Looking for Quick, Cheap Trip Ideas

[happily single]

As much as I would love to go to Disney at Christmas time I simply cannot afford to go this year. But the kids and I need a short get-a-away.

I have a flexible budget of $1,200 for travel/hotel and admission tickets. There would be myself, dd16, ds14 and ds9. We will be travelling from New England and would prefer someplace warm. We could drive or the Carolina's, etc would be feasible. Skiing is also a possiblity. Travel could be anywhere between 12-21-13 and the month of January.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[stargazer2892]

What about a quick weekend in January (not MLK weekend) at like Sunday River? they have packages that average between 109$-145$ per person and that includes lift tickets, lodging, ski lessons, and depending on which hotel breakfast. Since lift tickets are between 56$-87$ a day now the over night/nights would make the drive less of a hassle.

Or you could drive down here and hit Charleston or even Savannah depending on how far your want to drive. Wilimington NC is a nice beach area, though who knows if it will be warm enough for the actual beach.

 

[MarciaBrady]

Maybe you could try going to Disney anyways? Yes, it'd be a crazy long drive (two days maybe?), but it might work...Does this sound stupid?:
Day 1: Leave very early and make it as far as NC. Stay at a hotel.
Day 2: Drive to Florida. Stay at a hotel with shuttles to Disney parks, but not a resort.
Day 3: Park of your choice.
Day 4: Park of your choice.
Days 5 & 6: Drive home.

I'm allowing $500 for hotels and $600 for park tickets, which leaves only $100. (Grr, I thought this would work!-_-) You said 'flexible budget', though, so MAYBE it's still possible. Maybe try bringing lots of food from home in the car, which is what my family did. I know that saved quite a bit of money.

 

[trinchick]

I'm from New England, too, and it's hard to get anywhere that's warm within a day's drive. Just some brainstorm ideas:

Washington, DC (your kids are great ages for this)

Berkshires (skiing, Rockwell museum, outlets, day trips to Vermont and/or Hyde Park, NY)

Cape Cod (get a resort with indoor pool; weather is actually pretty mild for walking on beach)

North Conway, NH (besides skiing, there are nice hikes, skating, outlets, etc)

Quebec/Montreal (lots of culture; Quebec has winter carnival late January/early Feb; hockey game; you would need passport but your kids can use birth certificate if you drive)

 

[bjgonzo]

What about Great Wolf Lodge in VA? I saw some great deals on living social or groupon the other day. I'm trying to remember where I saw them, if I do, I will let you know.

 

[bjgonzo]

It was living social, but only valid on stays until December, expiring before you are wanting to go.

 

[pocomom]

What about Great Wolf Lodge in VA? I saw some great deals on living social or groupon the other day. I'm trying to remember where I saw them, if I do, I will let you know.

Great Wolf has a location in the Poconos too, and you could do a combo with Camelback for skiing - they have a package normally, so you would have the ski/snowtubing and the indoor waterpark... Plus a close drive!

 

[HeatherC]

We are New Englanders too. We are in Mass...near Sturbridge.

We are visiting my parents for Christmas...Hilton Head Island.

Long drive, but can be done in one LOOOONNNNGGG day. From our door it is 16 1/2 hours. On the way down, we stop in Lumberton, NC. On the way home though we go straight through. We leave at 6am and get home around 10:30 or 11pm.

The weather should be nice. Beaches are gorgeous. There are bike paths all over the island and it is an easy thirty min. to Savannah, Ga and 2 1/2 hours to Charleston. Lots of restaurants, shopping, etc..

A very affordable but clean place there is Hilton Head Resort. They have an indoor pool, tennis courts and a walkway to the beach. We rent through homeaway or vrbo.com.

Hope this helps!

Or....what about Williamsburg or DC? Not as warm but only 9 1/2 hours.

 

[happily single]

Maybe you could try going to Disney anyways? Yes, it'd be a crazy long drive (two days maybe?), but it might work...Does this sound stupid?:
Day 1: Leave very early and make it as far as NC. Stay at a hotel.
Day 2: Drive to Florida. Stay at a hotel with shuttles to Disney parks, but not a resort.
Day 3: Park of your choice.
Day 4: Park of your choice.
Days 5 & 6: Drive home.

I'm allowing $500 for hotels and $600 for park tickets, which leaves only $100. (Grr, I thought this would work!-_-) You said 'flexible budget', though, so MAYBE it's still possible. Maybe try bringing lots of food from home in the car, which is what my family did. I know that saved quite a bit of money.

beleive me, I've tried to make these numbers work. The park tickets are what is killing me

 

[MarciaBrady]

That's what I was noticing too. Grrr, this is the EXACT same trouble my sis and I are/were having trying to make it cost the least. (We want to go again in December.) Sorry about my dumb idea there.

I think the Great Wolf Lodge idea sounds pretty cool, though! (I've been to the Williamsburg one a few years ago and remember it being lots of fun, although I don't remember many specific details.

 

[danygirl]

Maybe universal ? I saw a deal in tickets at travel zoo.

 

[happily single]

Maybe universal ? I saw a deal in tickets at travel zoo.

We "did" Universal in April two years ago and we did not care for it at all!

But I am toying with the idea of heading to Orlando. There is soo much to do

 

[Jenny-momof3]

We've had annual passes to Disney the last few years. They expired in July and we're going to wait til next summer to get them again. But I have to go somewhere warm around Christmas!

We're heading to SeaWorld! We're getting the combo annual pass of SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Garden because we'll go again in the spring. But they have a $99 fun card annual pass good for Sea World only. In addition to their regular shows and rides, there's also special Christmas shows and Polar Express. So plenty to do for a few days.

We're staying onsite at SeaWorld but there's plenty of cheaper options. I found 3 bedroom condos at Windsor Hills for under $100/night.

The drive is 1,000 miles for us each way. We drive it straight through. Runs us approx. $350 in gas.

We're also going to get our Disney fix and go to Downtown Disney, watch fireworks from the Poly beach, visit Ft. Wilderness campgrounds and all their awesome decorations.

If you could add a little more to your budget, you might be able to do a similar trip

 

[Colleen27]

We're going to DC that week - 12/26 to 1/1 - and it is a surprisingly budget-friendly trip. Airfare cost us $680 (for 5 people r/t) from Detroit and our suite is $890 for 6 nights with a hot breakfast included (Embassy Suites downtown - great location and an indoor pool, but parking is $$$$ if you're driving). We'd originally planned on taking the train down but airfare ended up being around the same price so we went with the quicker option.

I hear good things about being in the city that time of year because so much of the business side of everything is closed but all the Smithsonian museums and other attractions are operating as usual. We're renting a car one day to go out to Udvar-Hazy and spending the rest of the trip in the city, mostly on no-admission-cost museums and attractions. And coming from Michigan, DC winters are mild enough for walking around the city even though it won't be warm.

 

[danygirl]

DC during Christmas week could be 70 or bitter cold. Check the weather before you go so you bring the right stuff. If you have a car I highly suggest Brookside Gardens walk through lights. Montgomeryparks.org/Brookside. It is my favorite light show because it is nature themed. There are some drive thru ones but this is the only walk thru besides the one at the zoo which is not nearly as good. You should also be able to see the national tree and pageant of peace

 

[mrsklamc]

I would definitely not count on Wilmington area beaches being warm enough.

I was going to suggest Great Wolf as well.

 

[JanaDee]

Maybe you could try going to Disney anyways? Yes, it'd be a crazy long drive (two days maybe?), but it might work...Does this sound stupid?:
Day 1: Leave very early and make it as far as NC. Stay at a hotel.
Day 2: Drive to Florida. Stay at a hotel with shuttles to Disney parks, but not a resort.
Day 3: Park of your choice.
Day 4: Park of your choice.
Days 5 & 6: Drive home.

I'm allowing $500 for hotels and $600 for park tickets, which leaves only $100. (Grr, I thought this would work!-_-) You said 'flexible budget', though, so MAYBE it's still possible. Maybe try bringing lots of food from home in the car, which is what my family did. I know that saved quite a bit of money.

Tickets for 4 disney adults is close to $1200.

 

[quietgirll]

I think going to Orlando and doing some "other" things is a great idea- then if you want to get a disney fix, maybe do the Christmas party? I live in the Carolinas, and I don't think you can plan on it being warm that time of year...

 

[MarciaBrady]

Tickets for 4 disney adults is close to $1200.

I guess it depends on what park tickets you get...I'm 99.999% sure the one-day adult ticket my mom got was $89...
But, anyways, yeah, I know that idea of mine is stupid. Sorry!

 

[happily single]

We've had annual passes to Disney the last few years. They expired in July and we're going to wait til next summer to get them again. But I have to go somewhere warm around Christmas!

We're heading to SeaWorld! We're getting the combo annual pass of SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Garden because we'll go again in the spring. But they have a $99 fun card annual pass good for Sea World only. In addition to their regular shows and rides, there's also special Christmas shows and Polar Express. So plenty to do for a few days.

We're staying onsite at SeaWorld but there's plenty of cheaper options. I found 3 bedroom condos at Windsor Hills for under $100/night.

The drive is 1,000 miles for us each way. We drive it straight through. Runs us approx. $350 in gas.

We're also going to get our Disney fix and go to Downtown Disney, watch fireworks from the Poly beach, visit Ft. Wilderness campgrounds and all their awesome decorations.

If you could add a little more to your budget, you might be able to do a similar trip

I'm going to look into this! I am also considering all of the other great ideas, but Florida (and Disney) are calling my name!