Help me brainstorm some vacation ideas

[whitestavern]

I turn 50 next year (gulp). It's also our 20th anniversary. I wanted to go back for a last trip to Disney World to celebrate. The trip I want will be at least $5000. I also wanted to hit Universal for a couple of days but can't justify the additional $1200 for that. In the meantime, I'm reading horror stories about Disney cutting staff, the fact that FastPass+ is getting worse, and the price of everything is just skyrocketing. Now we've been to Disney four times and had great trips. But I'm starting to rethink this one. I don't want to spend that chunk of change and not enjoy myself thoroughly.

 

So - sorry that was so long - help me brainstorm where I might want to go. It will be during April vacation so weather needs to be nice at that time. We like all kinds of vacations. Here are some things we've done:

 

--New England - we live here and love it but we've done it to death.

--Most of the east coast (MD, VA, DC, etc.)

--Florida

--Saint Lucia

--Quebec

--Did a big cross country trip 3 years ago. Hit 10 nat'l parks in CO, NM, AZ, UT, MT, SD areas, and Chicago

 

We like active outdoor vacations (big hikers!) but we're really happy laying on a beach at a resort too. We also like exploring museums, historical attractions, etc.

 

A couple of other points: I hate to fly, but I will if I have to. Would like the flight to be short, though, like maybe three hours. Trains and driving are a-okay.

 

So please give me some ideas of what I could do within the US or Canada or the Caribbean. I'm looking for all kinds of places and all kinds of activities, or no activities! Budget about $5000. We're hoping to get airfare with credit card points, so that isn't part of the budget.

[Amira]

Mexico. You could go to the Yucatan for hiking, beaches, history, and museums. Or to Mexico City for lots of history and museums. Or to the central highlands to Guanajuato and/or Morelia for hiking and history. Or to Jalisco to Guadalajara and the Pacific coast for beaches, hiking, history, and museums. There would be good food in any of those places, of course.

 

I don't know where you live, but you can get to different parts of Mexico with fairly short flights.

[whitestavern]

Mexico. You could go to the Yucatan for hiking, beaches, history, and museums. Or to Mexico City for lots of history and museums. Or to the central highlands to Guanajuato and/or Morelia for hiking and history. Or to Jalisco to Guadalajara and the Pacific coast for beaches, hiking, history, and museums. There would be good food in any of those places, of course.

 

I don't know where you live, but you can get to different parts of Mexico with fairly short flights.

 

Oops, forgot to add that we've done Mexico a few times.

[Chris in VA]

Gosh, I would bear the flight and go overseas for that amt of $$. Are you SURE you couldn't do that?

There are some awesome programs at Tantur in Jerusalem, for example.

[Um_2_4]

Would you drive to California? Southern CA in April is fine. This week we had 2 days of light rain (to me I am from the Midwest, CAers think that was a lot of rain LOL) and now temps are in the mid-high 70s. You could have all of the above: beaches, pools, hiking, museums and maybe even a day at Disneyland? We have a universal studios here too. Unfortunately even a red eye flight would take you over 3 hours, so driving would be your only real option.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

...

 

Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty*

[hellen]

A flight from Boston to Cancun is 4.5 hours. A flight from Boston to London is 6 hours 20 minutes. If you can do Mexico, perhaps you can do Europe. It's just 2 hours further and opens up a lot of options.

 

If not there, then Puerto Rico, Savannah, or Asheville, North Carolina.

[whitestavern]

Would you drive to California? Southern CA in April is fine. This week we had 2 days of light rain (to me I am from the Midwest, CAers think that was a lot of rain LOL) and now temps are in the mid-high 70s. You could have all of the above: beaches, pools, hiking, museums and maybe even a day at Disneyland? We have a universal studios here too. Unfortunately even a red eye flight would take you over 3 hours, so driving would be your only real option.

Hmmm, this is a cool idea. Gets me a little Disney fix but could also go to beach and/or a NP. Wonder what is lose. Will check that out.

[whitestavern]

A flight from Boston to Cancun is 4.5 hours. A flight from Boston to London is 6 hours 20 minutes. If you can do Mexico, perhaps you can do Europe. It's just 2 hours further and opens up a lot of options.

 

If not there, then Puerto Rico, Savannah, or Asheville, North Carolina.

I will admit I'm scared to go to Europe now, though I've been there a few times. Also, if I were to convince myself to go, I think I would want a minimum of two weeks there, and unfortunately we have 10 days tops. My SIL is going to Italy this summer and her airline tix were crazy $$. And she is super frugal and finds the best deals.

 

What kinds of things are in Savannah and Asheville? We will have our two teens with us. They are up for most anything.

[hellen]

Savannah is really pretty. It's a historic southern city near the beach with pretty trees draped in Spanish moss. It's best just for walking around the city probably.

 

If you're driving you could stop in Charleston, SC and Savannah. Then you could loop around and do Atlanta, Greenville SC, and Asheville.

 

Atlanta has the Carlos Museum at Emory which has a very nice collection of ancient art. There is also the National Center for Civil Rights, Stone Mountain, World of Coca Cola, and some movie and TV locations if there are fans. Senoia, where the Walking Dead is filmed, gets a lot of traffic. After Atlanta, head to Greenville, SC which is a charming top up in the mountains. Then on to Asheville which has the Biltmore, the largest house in the US. It is also surrounded by fantastic hiking trails.

 

Do a Google Image search of Savannah, Greenville SC, and Asheville.

[hellen]

DP

Edited April 13, 2016 by hellen

[creekland]

If it weren't for the flying bit, Hawaii would be perfect.  It still remains our all time favorite destination and has awesome hikes and beaches.  Pending your preferences, Kauai is the prettiest and rural (don't miss the Grand Canyon of the Pacific), Oahu is pretty with typical city attractions (don't miss the North Shore and the shrimp trucks if you like shrimp), The Big Island is semi-pretty (pretty in areas) and has the volcano, the tallest waterfall, the southernmost point in the US States, true black sand beaches, and more.  Maui is similar to the Big Island, but we haven't had enough time there to truly explore it as it ranked 4th on our list of "want to do" while there.  It gives us a reason to go back - as if we needed one.   :coolgleamA:

 

But back to the east since you probably truly don't want to fly... have you done the FL Keys or Tampa/St Pete?  Busch Gardens in Tampa is fun and the beaches of Pinellas County are really some of the best our country offers - North Beach at Ft Desoto, St Pete Beach, Clearwater Beach, etc.

 

If doing the Keys, you could stop by The Everglades and Biscayne NP while heading there or back.  Biscayne is mainly an underwater park, so you could snorkel/scuba or take a glass bottom boat ride to see some of it.  If not opposed to a boat ride, heading out to Dry Tortugas NP - even camping there if you have the equipment - was a blast for my family.

 

FL is so much more than Disney and I'm not sure in your OP when you mention "Florida" what that means you've done already - hence my suggestions.

 

Heading the other direction (north or northwest) the weather is really iffy in April (as you know living in NE).  It's early for many of the NPs too.

 

GA/TN has options around Chattanooga.  Their aquarium is really nice and hikes/Civil War sites are numerous.  No beaches though, but there is a pedestrian bridge/park that is fun.

[FaithManor]

If you don't mind short flights, what about the Florida Keys? You get the beach, the outdoors, spectacular scenery, and yet a laid back environment that shouldn't be too expensive.

[FaithManor]

St, Simmons Island also comes to mind. It is a very romantic, beach get a way. However, I have never been so am not certain how pricey it would be.

[Janeway]

I turn 50 next year (gulp). It's also our 20th anniversary. I wanted to go back for a last trip to Disney World to celebrate. The trip I want will be at least $5000. I also wanted to hit Universal for a couple of days but can't justify the additional $1200 for that. In the meantime, I'm reading horror stories about Disney cutting staff, the fact that FastPass+ is getting worse, and the price of everything is just skyrocketing. Now we've been to Disney four times and had great trips. But I'm starting to rethink this one. I don't want to spend that chunk of change and not enjoy myself thoroughly.

 

So - sorry that was so long - help me brainstorm where I might want to go. It will be during April vacation so weather needs to be nice at that time. We like all kinds of vacations. Here are some things we've done:

 

--New England - we live here and love it but we've done it to death.

--Most of the east coast (MD, VA, DC, etc.)

--Florida

--Saint Lucia

--Quebec

--Did a big cross country trip 3 years ago. Hit 10 nat'l parks in CO, NM, AZ, UT, MT, SD areas, and Chicago

 

We like active outdoor vacations (big hikers!) but we're really happy laying on a beach at a resort too. We also like exploring museums, historical attractions, etc.

 

A couple of other points: I hate to fly, but I will if I have to. Would like the flight to be short, though, like maybe three hours. Trains and driving are a-okay.

 

So please give me some ideas of what I could do within the US or Canada or the Caribbean. I'm looking for all kinds of places and all kinds of activities, or no activities! Budget about $5000. We're hoping to get airfare with credit card points, so that isn't part of the budget.

If you really want to do Disney, try off season.

[wendy not in HI]

We have friends who just went to Iceland a week or so ago.  They had a great time!  The photos looked awesome!  Probably cold, but still a cool place to go.

 

I was just looking at tickets to Puerto Rico -  I saw some under $400.  I haven't been there and don't know anything about it, but my daughter may be going with some friends this summer.  Looks fun!  But flights are about 6.5 hours.  

 

I love Hawaii, too.  Long flight, but it's my favorite place.  Great hikes.  Great beaches.  Great people.  Shave ice!

[Bluegoat]

I'm in eastern Canada, so I'll make a few suggestions that you might enjoy here.

 

For beach-sunning your best bet would be P.E.I.  Lots of nice sandy beaches, and lots of other touristy stuff, which might be nice or something to avoid depending on your perspective.  If you don't like that, some parts of the province are much more unspoiled.  Lots of options for accommodations.  Charlottetown is a charming small city.

 

Newfoundland is a really nice place to visit, most tourists really enjoy the people and culture.  There would be a sense of being in a different place, even from New England.  Most people either go to the St Johns' area, which has plenty to do - it's a fun charming small city, or to the other side near Cornerbrook where the national park is.  There is lots to do in the park plus you can drive up to the Viking settlement which is a very worthwhile trip.

 

Nova Scotia has a lot of options and is really close, you can even take a ferry from Portland.  Halifax itself has lots of things to do with day trips to plenty of fun areas.  There are two quite different national parks with opportunities for hiking or canoeing as well as other wilderness areas.  There are some great reconstructions/museums and towns that were some of the earliest in North America.  There are some sandy beaches too.  There are some interesting areas further away from the city, Cape Breton is a nice trip though maybe more popular in the Fall, or Briar Island is neat.

 

All three have different kids of boat and fishing trips and great seafood of course.

[creekland]

I'm in eastern Canada, so I'll make a few suggestions that you might enjoy here.

 

For beach-sunning your best bet would be P.E.I.  Lots of nice sandy beaches, and lots of other touristy stuff, which might be nice or something to avoid depending on your perspective.  If you don't like that, some parts of the province are much more unspoiled.  Lots of options for accommodations.  Charlottetown is a charming small city.

 

Newfoundland is a really nice place to visit, most tourists really enjoy the people and culture.  There would be a sense of being in a different place, even from New England.  Most people either go to the St Johns' area, which has plenty to do - it's a fun charming small city, or to the other side near Cornerbrook where the national park is.  There is lots to do in the park plus you can drive up to the Viking settlement which is a very worthwhile trip.

 

Nova Scotia has a lot of options and is really close, you can even take a ferry from Portland.  Halifax itself has lots of things to do with day trips to plenty of fun areas.  There are two quite different national parks with opportunities for hiking or canoeing as well as other wilderness areas.  There are some great reconstructions/museums and towns that were some of the earliest in North America.  There are some sandy beaches too.  There are some interesting areas further away from the city, Cape Breton is a nice trip though maybe more popular in the Fall, or Briar Island is neat.

 

All three have different kids of boat and fishing trips and great seafood of course.

 

I love the maritimes and was going to suggest them, but a vacation in April made me leery of the weather.  ;)

 

If weather isn't an issue, then yes, Nova Scotia, The Bay of Fundy, The Cabot Trail, PEI -  all great places IME.

[J-rap]

I vote for Costa Rica.  From Florida, you can get a non-stop, 3-hour flight.  There's such a range of things to do in Costa Rica:  beach, mountains, rainforest.  Take your pick!

[Bluegoat]

I love the maritimes and was going to suggest them, but a vacation in April made me leery of the weather.   ;)

 

If weather isn't an issue, then yes, Nova Scotia, The Bay of Fundy, The Cabot Trail, PEI -  all great places IME.

 

Oh, yes, April is really not our best month.  I missed that was the date they were looking at!  I have a bit of a hate on for April at the moment.

[Ravin]

Puerto Rico sounds great. Tourism in Cuba is opening up for Americans now. Hmm...you haven't been to the West Coast? It's a long way to get there, but once you're there, there is a LOT to see up and down the coast. My personal favorite/recommendation is the central coast. Monterrey Bay Aquarium is amazing, and the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, plus the Redwood forest (Also Santa Cruz) makes a great day or two. It would be too chilly for actually doing much on the beach in April in Santa Cruz, so Santa Cruz-Monterrey-then SoCal for the beach would be my recommendation. San Diego has a LOT of awesome museums, their zoo is first class, and they have beaches.

[meena]

I would look into Central America destinations. I've been to Costa Rica and Belize and found them very affordable with a variety of landscapes and experiences. In Costa Rica we spent a few days in San Jose for the city experience, a few in Jaco for the beach experience, and a few in Arenal for the inland volcano experience. Highlights were hiking through Manuel Antonio, sunning on black sand beaches, ziplining through the forest at Arenal, and soaking at the geothermal pools. Arenal was active at the time, so seeing hot rocks tumble down at night was also very cool.

 

When we went to Belize, we flew into Cancun, took a bus to close to the border, then walked over the border into Belize. That was quite an experience in and of itself. We spent a day in a small coastal village, a few days inland, and a day exploring ruins. That was a quick trip to visit friends, so there is a lot we didn't see and do. The water activities there are supposed to be amazing.

[Lanny]

How long are you planning to be in Orlando and touring parks? We rented a 2 B.R. Timeshare, for USD$400 for 7 nights. Taxes, service charges, etc. included.  We have *no* obligation to attend a Sales Presentation.   The rental car (Toyota Corolla, etc.)   including all the insurance, taxes, etc., as I recall, was about $300 or $350.  Our airline tickets, from Cali, Colombia to Orlando were just under USD$301 or 302 for each person.  The BIG expense for us is the park admissions.  We will probably buy those from the company the MouseSavers email newsletter recommends and save a few dollars doing that (and print out etickets, which will us save some time at the park entrances).  If you were planning to stay in a Disney property, I can see the cost being $5000 or more, but you can stay off site, as we are and probably have much nicer accommodations. The property we are going to stay at has free transportation to both Disney and Universal. I believe that's very unusual and that usually, if a property has free transportation, it is to either Disney or Universal, but not both parks.  I am hoping we will take the free transportation to Universal, which is much farther from the property and let someone else do the driving, the day after we arrive in the USA..  GL with whatever you decide to do.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

....

 

Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty*

[madteaparty]

I am going to Mexico next month, staying in cancun but renting car to go hiking and such. Costa Rica also came to mind when I read your post as well as the US Virgin Islands, St. John especially.

I already hate Disney, and DH was going to take the kids on his own later this year. However, it has already been such a hassle to plan (and everything they want to do is fully booked already) that I'm further soured from it. We have to do it once for DD because she loves Mickey (she is perfect otherwise ;)) but I'm not at all happy about it.

[aggie96]

My neighbors went to Puerto Rico last summer for 10 days and LOVED it.  My brother and family went to Belize year before last and LOVED it.  I want to see both!

 

My vote would be for 10 days in Ireland (but there is a flight involved).  We spent 3 days last April, and I can't wait to get back!  My sister took a 7 day tour all over Ireland that was awesome!

[whitestavern]

If you don't mind short flights, what about the Florida Keys? You get the beach, the outdoors, spectacular scenery, and yet a laid back environment that shouldn't be too expensive.

 

I know I could look this up but it's easier to reply to this :) What is there to do in the Keys? I mean probably great beaches, right? And probably things like snorkeling too. What else? And it's not necessarily bad if there is nothing else, as I'm not sure exactly what I want yet. But just getting the facts together.

[whitestavern]

If you really want to do Disney, try off season.

 

I know, we've done most of our trips during low attendance times. But now the kids are in school and we have to go by their vacation schedule. Waaaa.

[whitestavern]

I love the maritimes and was going to suggest them, but a vacation in April made me leery of the weather.   ;)

 

If weather isn't an issue, then yes, Nova Scotia, The Bay of Fundy, The Cabot Trail, PEI -  all great places IME.

 

I know I did ask for Canadian suggestions, but ugh, I'm not sure I want to go some place cold. Is western Canada still cold like skiing cold in April? I guess something like Whistler, BC could be cool.

[whitestavern]

Puerto Rico sounds great. Tourism in Cuba is opening up for Americans now. Hmm...you haven't been to the West Coast? It's a long way to get there, but once you're there, there is a LOT to see up and down the coast. My personal favorite/recommendation is the central coast. Monterrey Bay Aquarium is amazing, and the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, plus the Redwood forest (Also Santa Cruz) makes a great day or two. It would be too chilly for actually doing much on the beach in April in Santa Cruz, so Santa Cruz-Monterrey-then SoCal for the beach would be my recommendation. San Diego has a LOT of awesome museums, their zoo is first class, and they have beaches.

 

I'm kind of liking this west coast idea. When we did our cross country trip a few years ago we really wanted to do CA, but just didn't have the time. I'm thinking maybe we do a couple of days in Disney, head up the coast (3ish days?) then head to either Kings Canyon Sequoia or Yosemite (another 3ish days?). I know weather isn't ideal for that, but the week we have is the week we have. If we blew off family for Easter, we could do 13 days. Does that seem like an aggressive schedule for this itinerary? Catalina Island or Channel Islands look like a couple of cool places too.

[whitestavern]

I would look into Central America destinations. I've been to Costa Rica and Belize and found them very affordable with a variety of landscapes and experiences. In Costa Rica we spent a few days in San Jose for the city experience, a few in Jaco for the beach experience, and a few in Arenal for the inland volcano experience. Highlights were hiking through Manuel Antonio, sunning on black sand beaches, ziplining through the forest at Arenal, and soaking at the geothermal pools. Arenal was active at the time, so seeing hot rocks tumble down at night was also very cool.

 

When we went to Belize, we flew into Cancun, took a bus to close to the border, then walked over the border into Belize. That was quite an experience in and of itself. We spent a day in a small coastal village, a few days inland, and a day exploring ruins. That was a quick trip to visit friends, so there is a lot we didn't see and do. The water activities there are supposed to be amazing.

 

I can't seem to get excited about Costa Rica, Mexico, etc. My sister lived in Costa Rica for a bit and didn't really sell it to me. Also, I have friends that went there on vacation and there seemed to be a lot of critters. I'm really not into a lot of critters. The in-laws went to Belize and really enjoyed it. Think I can do that within my budget? Sounds expensive, lol.

[creekland]

I know I could look this up but it's easier to reply to this :) What is there to do in the Keys? I mean probably great beaches, right? And probably things like snorkeling too. What else? And it's not necessarily bad if there is nothing else, as I'm not sure exactly what I want yet. But just getting the facts together.

 

Actually, no.  The Keys are not known for great beaches.  They have some short ones, but nothing spectacular like the wide white sand beaches of the Gulf Coast of FL.

 

They are known for their Caribbean color and (more) similar lifestyle.  Islands and water.  There are Key Deer that are easily seen on one of the islands.  There are some state parks that offer small trails (including canoe trails with some).  Pennecamp and Bahia Honda are two we like.  Taking a boat from Key West will get you to Dry Tortugas National Park that I mentioned earlier.  Key West itself has its own type of lifestyle.  Ernest Hemingway's house is there complete with cats, and they have a waterfront area where they celebrate sunset every evening.  On other islands there are small communities with local dining options.

 

It's much more of a relaxing vacation with seeing the scenery as the main attraction.  At the end of FL's peninsula you have both the Everglades and Biscayne NP.

 

But long hikes and great beaches in the Keys... no.  Snorkeling is available in places (sometimes via boat), but... that's not the greatest either compared to other areas (though Dry Tortugas is awesome for snorkeling).

[whitestavern]

Our biggest expense is always food. Always. And now they have seriously jacked up prices because of Shanghai Disney being over budget. The character breakfasts we normally do are usually $18-$22  person. They are now between $30-$34 a person. And we went in May of last year! Food has gone up, resorts have gone up, and tickets have gone up- all fairly recently. 7-8 day tickets for a family of 4 would cost us about $1750, and food would be at least $2000, and that's making breakfast in the room almost every day, and eating mostly quick service. If eat like we normally do; 4-5 character breakfasts, sit down every day, etc. we'd spend closer to $3000 on food.

 

We normally spend $6000 for two weeks at Disney, and we are also struggling to keep it under $5000 for 8 days this year.

 

Usually, we stay offsite, and that helps a lot... but this is for our 15th anniversary, I don't want to be scrimping and making all my meals offsite for my 15th anniversary trip, you know? I expect the OP feels the same.... I know when my 20 year anniversary and/or 50th birthday comes up, I will not be making all my own meals and such, just to afford Disney- when I could go and stay in some deluxe accommodations and eat at very good restaurants for all my meals, for less,somewhere else....

 

I love Disney, but I'm no dummy, lol...

 

You are spot on, lifeoftheparty.

 

We've stayed offsite a few times, and it was great. We love the Windsor Hill town homes. But for this trip, I really wanted to stay onsite. And I really wanted to go to Universal. But it's so dang expensive and I'm hearing all these stories about FP+ being a mess and food costs going up insanely. I'm happy paying $$ if I have a great time, but not if it's very questionable whether we'll enjoy ourselves.

 

 

[*lifeoftheparty*]

...

 

Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty*

[wintermom]

I want to go back to Iceland, and they have a new airline called Wow Air that has low fares.  It's a gorgeous country with lots of hot pools, hiking, Icelandic pony ride possibilities and culture/historic places of interest.  I'd choose something active and new like this over Disney, which could be done in a wheelchair for your 80th birthday. ;)  

[whitestavern]

I want to go back to Iceland, and they have a new airline called Wow Air that has low fares.  It's a gorgeous country with lots of hot pools, hiking, Icelandic pony ride possibilities and culture/historic places of interest.  I'd choose something active and new like this over Disney, which could be done in a wheelchair for your 80th birthday. ;)

 

Have you been to any other Scandinavian countries? We've done Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. I'm wondering if Iceland is very different.

[FaithManor]

We have friends who just went to Iceland a week or so ago.  They had a great time!  The photos looked awesome!  Probably cold, but still a cool place to go.

 

I was just looking at tickets to Puerto Rico -  I saw some under $400.  I haven't been there and don't know anything about it, but my daughter may be going with some friends this summer.  Looks fun!  But flights are about 6.5 hours.  

 

I love Hawaii, too.  Long flight, but it's my favorite place.  Great hikes.  Great beaches.  Great people.  Shave ice!

Iceland is THE BOM!!!!

 

I would go back in a heartbeat. Now that said, even in July it is not WARM in the American sense, LOL, and it is five hours from JFK alone, so if you are from "the heartland" you've got 2-5 hours of plane ride into JFK, Boston, Dulles or a few other airports that run routes to Keflavik.