I didn't want to crap all over Wally's thread so I am having my own.
Late March. WED-SUN short getaway for me -n- the mrs. Warm. Can't do a very long flight/drive time. Nothing "all inclusive". Domestic or foreign is fine. No kids. No amusement parks. No boats. Wife isn't interested in an adventure so relaxing is the prime goal but I can't sit still so there needs to be something to do besides drinks near a pool.
Budget is $2k all in. Leaving from NE PA.
house rental with hot tub??
Not knowing WHERE you are......
My wife likes to look for low cost get aways all the time. Being near the coast and the mountains, there are plenty of rentals. This allows you to continue the low cost by cooking your own food(or buying easy to heat stuff).
It also tends to be safer since you are less obviously a short time stayer at a rental house then a hotel/motel.
Check out Destin FL. Beautiful beaches, reasonable cost and you can always swim or charter a boat to fish in the gulf if you get bored.
They claim these are the nicest beaches in the U.S. Of course, they also call it the Redneck Rivera, so YMMV.
Virginia Beach?
Where are you flying from?
Late March might be pushing it for warm, but one of the best short weekend runaways I ever had with SWMBO was down to Memphis. BBQ, blues and beer on Beale Street.
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
Daytona Beach.
Warm, place to do nothing.
Beach on the atlantic side- so if you want to try doing something in the waves- could do that, too.
Near two car destination- GRM's world HQ as well as Daytona (duh).
And near a cool space destination- for OUR first GRM challenge, we went to Canaveral when the drag race was rained out. Lots of stuff to see there.
I'm sure you can fly to somewhere near- Orlando is not that far from the area.
The only real drawback is spring break- so if you are on the outskirts of the spring break area, well- there's a LOT of beach in Florida, so it's not hard to avoid people.
Flying from PHL or Newark.
Car-related destinations are unlikely to pass muster.
BBQ, blues and beer is right up my alley but Memphis? Is it cleaner than Nashville? That place was a E36 M3 hole.
Been to Cape Canaveral. It was really cool.
Outside sources have recommended:
- Bermuda but not sure if in budget
- San Marcos Island, FL, no further info, will google
- Puerto Rico or Caribbean island. I like blue water but not being trapped in a resort.
Thoughts?
Stop at the Simeone Museum when in Philly. Plan about 2+ hours for a good tour.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: - Bermuda but not sure if in budget Thoughts?
It is not a cheap place to go. Bermuda is one of my favorite place I have visited and I'd highly recommend it but it is not going to be under your budget.
How about New Orleans?
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
Of the other areas, it depends on what else besides the beach you want.
Other than golf, Bermuda (and the Bahamas, for the most part) is just beach- it's pretty flat and small. Good food, for sure. Some history to see, too- it's been British for a long time before being independant.
Puerto Rico has that, plus mountains. There's also the Aricebo space telescope (the really really big one), as well as some caverns to look at. Basically, there's more variety there to see. Can be a pain- some will tell you Puerto Ricans are rude, but some will also tell you otherwise. The mostly American part is a small island- which is REALLY nice for a day or so- like Bermuda. At least you can get back to the main island. Could look into some resort pacakges that include flying- at least it's not a big deal to leave the resort to see other stuff. (note, I AM biased toward Puerto Rico, since I have in-laws who are still there.) One big plus- if you like pork.
In reply to 93EXCivic:
Been to New Orleans a few times... liked it but not enough to go back.
Fly to Miami. Immediately rent a convertible and drive to Key West. You get a car fix, the wife gets a great, scenic, relaxing drive. If you like seafood, hit some raw bars along the way. When you get there, grab a relatively cheap hotel and just chill. Watch the sunset at Mallory Square, maybe a day trip out to the dry Tortugas to snorkel, drinks on Duvall St. It can be done for $2k all in. Southernmost Resorts
pinchvalve wrote: Fly to Miami. Immediately rent a convertible and drive to Key West. You get a car fix, the wife gets a great, scenic, relaxing drive. If you like seafood, hit some raw bars along the way. When you get there, grab a relatively cheap hotel and just chill. Watch the sunset at Mallory Square, maybe a day trip out to the dry Tortugas to snorkel, drinks on Duvall St. It can be done for $2k all in. Southernmost Resorts
If you can handle ~40 min of extra freeway- include Ft. Lauderdale on the flight search- we normally have a cheaper flight into FLL than MIA.
Driving out to Key West was cool.
I personally would avoid Daytona/Panama City/Keys/etc during Spring Break. From Newark I would say Costa Rica, Bermuda and PR are great options. I've done all of them for VERY inexpensive...especially PR. Bermuda is so close it's hard to look away from. I did a trip there from Newark and had a great time.
I had not considered Key West and I've never been there but I did google San Marco and it looks like Key West is a freakin' bargain comparatively.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: BBQ, blues and beer is right up my alley but Memphis? Is it cleaner than Nashville? That place was a E36 M3 hole.
I've not been to Nashville, so I don't have a reference point. Memphis is a river town, so it's not the cleanest place in the world, but no river town is. Wasn't accosted by a lot of homeless folks, anyway.
Beale Street is an open container, buy beer through the bar window kind of place, so it's not the cleanest. But the free performers they had on the street in the evenings (this was mid-May, and getting HOT during the day) were amazing.
Very nice hotel right in the middle of the action though-- The Peabody. You can watch them march the ducks to and from the fountain in the lobby everyday.
We didn't stay in that hotel-- we stayed in one near by that hadn't probably been updated since Elvis stayed there last.
San Marco as in south side of Jacksonville?
Or Marco Island on the gulf?
In reply to PHeller:
I expect the latter as it's an island.
Marco Island is Fort Myers or Venice Beach just further south. It has no culture. No history. It's a pretty boring spot, but boring can be good I suppose. Nice beaches though, and very close to the Everglades.
It is nothing like Key West.
Key West can appears "dirty" or "wild" to some, because the whole place is a big party/historical/vacation town.
If I was looking to kick back for a few days I'd aim for Marathon or Key Largo. If I was looking to eat dinner a different place every night, meet new and interesting people, and go on some hikes/adventures, I'd probably aim for Puerto Rico.
Florida really is the best call. Anything on the Texas coast is out that time of year. Between spring break and SXSW, plane tickets are not cheap then usually.
You may watch your dates. It looks awfully close to spring break time. So your quiet getaway maybe a loud beer bonging party with college kids running around everywhere.
I'd suggest South Florida to be sure you get warm weather (i.e., beach weather) this early in the season. I prefer the East Coast because it seems more active. For your $2k budget investigate Hollywood, Dania Beach, Lauderdale By the Sea, Pompano Beach (all close to the Ft. Lauderdale airport). Ft. Lauderdale will be too crazy with college students on spring break. A little further up the coast is Hillsboro Beach and Deerfield Beach, nice beaches and reasonably priced. My favorite hotel is The Beachcomber in Pompano Beach. It's right on the beach and has all the amenities, and there's a great dive bar/ pizza joint called Stinger's directly across the street.
Wants cheap, thinks Nashville is disgusting.
I have no suggestions than.
Just to keep some score- counting the partial replies- there are about 9 posts about Florida. (couple of half questions)
The only other place that has more than one is somewhere in Tennessee and Puerto Rico/Bermuda (which are very similar).
Interesting that so many suggest Florida, but it IS easy to get to, and reasonably cheap.
The last two winters we spent a week in Islamorada. We got some decent deals on Priceline for rooms on the water and did next to nothing. We spent one day in Key West but the rest of the time around the hotel sitting on the beach, riding Jet Skis, and hitting some of the parks. Even in January it was warm enough to swim and the scenery is beautiful. It is on the short list of places I'd move if I ran into some money.
You'll need to log in to post.
