Vacationing in the US without kids...where would you go?

[neverlandsky]

San Antonio, Texas
Scottsdale, Arizona
Napa Valley, California

ETA: Personally I would stay away from Seattle WA, San Francisco & Los Angeles CA, Portland & Bend OR due to all of them having a major homeless problems.

If you decide on Lake Tahoe, Go Northern. Southern is more tourist and families.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We really enjoyed Mackinac Island in Michigan. The Grand Hotel is an experience all its own.

 

[evilmommie]

Napa is amazing. So many places to explore, the food, the wine! If you love resorts, as I do too…you will die for Meadowood. Just stunning, amazing service, impeccable food. We’ll be back there again sometime this Spring or early Summer. https://meadowood.com/

San Diego has a diverse menu of things to do and see, without the hassle of LA. Balboa Park has museums, of course the world famous zoo and animal park, Seaworld, Coronado Island…on and on. Great music and food places too! We love staying down in the Seaport Village area, so that we can walk around there…usually stay at the Manchester or the Grant.

Have fun planning!

 

[bcla]

I have never been to Napa myself, but I am into wine. That would be my "dream vacation".

I am assuming they would have some kind of sight seeing, shopping, relaxing and food too. If not... you still have wine.

Napa or Napa Valley? For the longest time the city of Napa was considered kind of an industrial town and nothing really all that spectacular. They have been trying to change their image, especially with the Oxbow Public Market and Copia (which ended up closing).

Sonoma County is kind of underrated for that sort of thing. They've got world class wineries and wine tasting too. On top of that they've got beer, including Lagunitas in Petaluma and Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa/Windsor.

 

[China Expat]

We just did an 8 day southwest driving trip of Utah state and national parks....it was fabulous! Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Moab-Arches National Park, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse SP. and finished in Monument Valley. Highly recommend.

 

[Toolulu22]

Chicago, San Antonio- both larger cities with good food and lots of choices of activities. When in Chicago we stay right downtown. In Texas, we start in San Antonio and drive through the hills and around to Austin.

I like Santa Fe, but don’t know that I’d go for a week and only stay there- unless you are very artsy. I spend a day or two in town and then go on to Albuquerque, or explore Sandia Mtn. Very laid back and different from here in the NE!

 

[sk!mom]

San Antonio, Texas
Scottsdale, Arizona
Napa Valley, California

ETA: Personally I would stay away from Seattle WA, San Francisco & Los Angeles CA, Portland & Bend OR due to all of them having a major homeless problems.

If you decide on Lake Tahoe, Go Northern. Southern is more tourist and families.

Hmmmm, We did encounter some pretty aggressive homeless people in Seattle but it certainly wasn't enough to make me tell someone to stay away. Having said that, it's not my favorite city.

We loved San Francisco and Sonoma. I don't recall any homeless issues. I want to go back to visit Napa Valley

I'm a Texan and San Antonio is my favorite weekend get away. San Antonio, Fredericksburg and the Texas Wine Road, and Austin could be a nice trip. To me it doesn't compare to some other places mentioned but that could be because I live here and have done those places 2-3 times a year for years.

Our other favorite non kid destinations...

Nashville- big love for lower Broadway and all the great music. We enjoyed the tourist sites, wineries, breweries, and a distillery in the day time. We put it off way too long as we aren't big country music fans. It was one of our best trips. It was also our first trip once vaccinated and after 14 months at home due to Covid.

New Orleans- lots of great food and live music there too. We're big fans of live music.

We did Western Michigan and Mackinac Island last summer. We loved it but really no reason why you couldn't save it and do it with kids.

 

[can'tgetenufofwdw]

We just did an 8 day southwest driving trip of Utah state and national parks....it was fabulous! Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Moab-Arches National Park, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse SP. and finished in Monument Valley. Highly recommend.

I would love to hear a little more about this trip. Where did you fly into? We are on the east coast and want to do this exact itinerary. Considering last 2 weeks of April and we would fly into Vegas.

 

[barkley]

Napa or Napa Valley? For the longest time the city of Napa was considered kind of an industrial town and nothing really all that spectacular. They have been trying to change their image, especially with the Oxbow Public Market and Copia (which ended up closing).

Sonoma County is kind of underrated for that sort of thing. They've got world class wineries and wine tasting too. On top of that they've got beer, including Lagunitas in Petaluma and Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa/Windsor.

yountville, st. helena and calistoga are the areas people are really thinking of when they think 'napa valley'. it's where the wineries (old school, not the newer-past few decades established) are, it's where the valleys with the rolling vineyards are that you see in movies and on tv. i grew up in and spent a majority of my adulthood in napa, i would suggest anyone considering a trip there these days to really research what they are wanting vs. what is available b/c covid has changed/closed allot of the laid back cool experiences, and the fires of recent years destroyed allot of the beauty. hands down though-best time of year to go is in the fall b/c of all the stunning colors in the vineyards.

op-if you end up coming up towards seattle (not that i would advise it personally) a lovely little side trip that kids might get bored with can be found in leavenworth washington. just a charming little place, lovely places to stay, some nice spas, great food-visually stunning landscape.

 

[Frwinkley]

My parents actually did this trip this past summer. They flew into Denver from Pittsburgh. They spent 10 days, putting over 2200 miles on their rental car. They had an outstanding time!

They drove from Denver and spent 2 nights to Moab. They followed that up with 3 nights in Bryce Canyon City. They went to Park City Utah for 3 nights and then to Steamboat Springs for 2 nights before their return trip from Denver.

They did Zion as a day trip from Bryce, since it's only about 75 miles away. They did Canyonlands from Arches because it's less than an hour away. They also did Capital Reef as a day trip.

Bryce was by far their favorite.

 

[WDW Lover]

I live in San Antonio and I don't think it would be that great of a vacation. I grew up in Seattle and there is far more to see and do there, plus you can also drive down to Portland and see that as well. I would say San Diego is a great place to spend a week and would probably be my top choice without children. If you are into smaller towns/cities and great hotels - Laguna Beach in California is pretty special and has some high end hotels in the city limits. You don't have to do the "beach" thing there and can just linger at the hotel and be pampered, and wander the city with some cool shops!

 

[bcla]

yountville, st. helena and calistoga are the areas people are really thinking of when they think 'napa valley'. it's where the wineries (old school, not the newer-past few decades established) are, it's where the valleys with the rolling vineyards are that you see in movies and on tv. i grew up in and spent a majority of my adulthood in napa, i would suggest anyone considering a trip there these days to really research what they are wanting vs. what is available b/c covid has changed/closed allot of the laid back cool experiences, and the fires of recent years destroyed allot of the beauty. hands down though-best time of year to go is in the fall b/c of all the stunning colors in the vineyards.

I like the vibe in Sonoma though. It's certainly possible to visit both the same day.

 

[MillauFr]

If you like wine, check out areas other than Napa. Of course if you are into $500 bottles of overpriced cabernet sure go for it. Oregon's Willamette Valley is much more reasonable and there are plenty of great wines there < $30.

 

[MillauFr]

San Francisco is a cess pool of human excrement. Literally. They have a massive city budget for cleaning up human poo from the city streets.

go to Santa Fe instead.

LOL. Fake news. I've been there many times and never have seen any but my own. I've seen more excrement at Disneyland.

 

[Sanchez]

LOL. Fake news. I've been there many times and never have seen any but my own. I've seen more excrement at Disneyland.

Perhaps you are trying to be smart and witty as usual, but fake news? It is a real problem in San Francisco and even elected officials understand that. I guess you don't believe that the Mayor actually issued a state of emergency related to the homeless, drug and feces problem. I could link dozens and dozens of articles.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investig...owest-level-in-3-years-amid-pandemic/2407474/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/us/willie-brown-san-francisco.html
https://www.sfgate.com/bay-area-pol...-problem-stats-streets-feces-new-16311073.php
I guess the good news is that in 2020 the feces reports were at a three year low. Anecdotally, I have been to San Francisco four times in the last six years and take no pleasure in telling you that you are absurdly and incredibly wrong. I hope that I never have to go back.

 

[sarah4770]

We went to San Francisco the September before the pandemic started. Being from the east coast, I was really surprised to see people just sleeping in tents on sidewalks around the bay. And the same with LA & People sleeping on sidewalks in Anaheim, too.
In the area I live, people just would be arrested. I don’t know what they do with people after they lock them up. Where do they go? ( I realize I sound pretty stupid here).
I don’t know what the answer is.
Because it really would be horrible to be homeless.

 

[VandVsmama]

Perhaps you are trying to be smart and witty as usual, but fake news? It is a real problem in San Francisco and even elected officials understand that. I guess you don't believe that the Mayor actually issued a state of emergency related to the homeless, drug and feces problem. I could link dozens and dozens of articles.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investig...owest-level-in-3-years-amid-pandemic/2407474/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/us/willie-brown-san-francisco.html
https://www.sfgate.com/bay-area-pol...-problem-stats-streets-feces-new-16311073.php
I guess the good news is that in 2020 the feces reports were at a three year low. Anecdotally, I have been to San Francisco four times in the last six years and take no pleasure in telling you that you are absurdly and incredibly wrong. I hope that I never have to go back.

Amen to all of the above. It's not fake news. It's very real. So are the major crime problems in San Francisco. It's so bad that residents and visitors are advised to not bother locking their vehicles anymore. Crime all over the city is way up. It drove my sister to move. She lived in a suburb just south of SF and had to commute daily into downtown SF. She's been back repeatedly since she left...to visit friends...now when she & her friends go to Union Square, some of the stores have the doors locked during business hours, so you have to knock in order to be let in, and then the shopkeeper locks the door right behind you.

So to the OP:
Don't go to SF. SF has been an amazing city in the past and has a lot of fun things to do and see, so many great restaurants, and I'm sure that SF will become a safer place to visit at some point down the road. But don't go right now.

 

[VandVsmama]

If you like wine, check out areas other than Napa. Of course if you are into $500 bottles of overpriced cabernet sure go for it. Oregon's Willamette Valley is much more reasonable and there are plenty of great wines there < $30.

One can have a nice time in the Napa and Sonoma area without buying a $500 bottle of wine. I second the suggestion above to go in the fall.

 

[disney4us2002]

Pacific Northwest is on my bucket list. In the Seattle area alone there are wineries that number in the hundreds!!

 

[China Expat]

I would love to hear a little more about this trip. Where did you fly into? We are on the east coast and want to do this exact itinerary. Considering last 2 weeks of April and we would fly into Vegas.

We drove from So Cal where we live to St. George, UTah via I 15 through Vegas for one night, and then did Zion and Bryce. From there headed to Moab where we rented a fabulous condo with red rock views in Moab. SPent four days there relaxing, 2 days in Arches, and one day doing Dead Horse SP and Canyonlands. The drive from Moab to Monument Valley was three hours; stayed in the famed Gouldings Lodge of John Wayne fame. Did a few hours the next day in Monument Valley and drove 10 hours straight back to LA. I believe I caught Covid on that drive home in a terrible Cracker Barrel in KIngman, AZ! Late April will get you through the parks before the summer heat. We had snow which made our photos gorgeous.You must do the hike to Delicate Arch...epic views.