Any North Eastern get away ideas that do not cost an arm and leg?

[rafiki]

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[JulieH]

We've had a lot of medical expenses this year. Dh has 2 weeks vacation to use before the end of the year. With him working from home and us homeschooling, plus all the diagnosis this year, we really need to get away. Something simple, no crowds, just time to relax, clear our minds, and be together. Our boys are 11, 9, and 7, they are entertained by the simple things.

 

Where would you recommend? :bigear:

 

Cape Cod baby! The BEST beach in the whole wide world (IMHO) for kids is Bay View Beach. Since that's resident parking only, go to Mayflower Beach (right next to it) and it's basically the same. :)

 

Kingfisher Lodge or Briarcliffe on Rt 6a have reasonable prices.

 

My parents live on the Cape and we're there all the time. If you have any questions, let me know!

 

ETA: places mentioned are in Dennis, MA :)

 

ETA: oh, and if you wait till after Labor Day..you'll have the beaches to yourself..it's sooooo relaxing! Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is heaps of fun for the kiddos! Chatham is nice to walk around and chill out..

Edited August 8, 2011 by JulieH
to add info

[NanceXToo]

A Lancaster County Farm Stay might be fun! (Pennsylvania)

[Mrs_JWM]

Well, the Northeast is pretty big, so can you narrow it down for us? ;)

 

If you're into camping, NYS parks offer what I think are the best value. We usually rent a one-room cabin with electricity and a full-size fridge for $190 for the week. You can get a "3-room with electric stove, refrigerator, table with chairs, sink, flush toilet, screened porch, fireplace and 4 single beds" for $365, according to the description on Reserve America of the bigger cabins. We stayed in that type one year, but found we didn't care about the extra space for the added price, but if you were to go after Labor Day or into the fall, you might want the woodstove at night and the stove and oven are certainly nice for more ambitious meals. Once you're in one park, admission to any othef park is included as well, and we have a TON of parks. Lots of hiking, bike riding, and fun! We didn't camp this summer, and now I'm sad as I write about it because I love it so much!

[dsmith]

We love coastal Maine. We rent a house every year when we can. House rentals can be reasonable to quite expensive. Boothbay Harbor is a nice area, but we usually spend more money there. Bar Harbor is cheaper for us because we do a lot of hiking, etc. I've heard others say there is great camping to be done in Maine, but I like my amenities.:D We always go in September to save money. It's cold at night, but we love a nice fire in the fireplace.

http://www.homeaway.com is a great site to find rentals, or even get ideas for different areas.

[creekland]

We just got back from (literally - in the last 30 minutes) a trip to the 1000 Islands Region of NY. I HIGHLY recommend it. If you don't mind camping, there are oodles of campgrounds with beaches and it certainly wasn't crowded. When the sun is shining, the river is a nice, deep blue and looks like a picture postcard. It's fresh water, so you don't have to worry about salt getting on everything.

[RoughCollie]

http://www.reserveamerica.com/

 

This will give you information about camping, and a lot of state parks have cabins if you don't want to tent camp.

[Carol in Cal.]

Camp on Acadia, the lovely island in Maine. Cars are banned. Clams can be dug for and eaten that night. So beautiful, and very kid friendly.

[Jennifer in MI]

We were in Vermont last summer and had a wonderful time. We stayed at hotels, but there was plenty of camping! We hiked some of the Appalachian Trail, visited the Cabot cheese factory, Ben and Jerry's, Farmer's Markets (we bought many meals at these markets!), Killington ski resort(they have a summer pass with Alpine slides, trampolines with ropes, rock walls, and horseback riding). It was a whirlwind trip, but very inexpensive and FUN!!!!

[creekland]

We were in Vermont last summer and had a wonderful time. We stayed at hotels, but there was plenty of camping! We hiked some of the Appalachian Trail, visited the Cabot cheese factory, Ben and Jerry's, Farmer's Markets (we bought many meals at these markets!), Killington ski resort(they have a summer pass with Alpine slides, trampolines with ropes, rock walls, and horseback riding). It was a whirlwind trip, but very inexpensive and FUN!!!!

 

Wow, we were there last summer for our anniversary (mid-week) and except for camping (which was very nice), we considered this place very crowded and expensive. Ben & Jerry's was so crowded we opted to not even wait in line.

 

We ended up eating our anniversary dinner at a hot dog shop because all the other places were well out of our price range. Geocaching was inexpensive, so we spent our time doing that.

 

It's amazing how one person's inexpensive is another person's expensive though. ;)

[Jennifer in MI]

Wow, we were there last summer for our anniversary (mid-week) and except for camping (which was very nice), we considered this place very crowded and expensive. Ben & Jerry's was so crowded we opted to not even wait in line.

 

We ended up eating our anniversary dinner at a hot dog shop because all the other places were well out of our price range. Geocaching was inexpensive, so we spent our time doing that.

 

It's amazing how one person's inexpensive is another person's expensive though. ;)

 

I'm sorry your anniversary trip wasn't all you hoped it would be! Here's how we made VT cheap:

 

1. We cook our own meals before we leave, freeze, and eat in the room. We travel with a microwave and cooler. So, we eat good, hearty meals like: Chicken pot pie, burgers and hot dogs, chili, nachos, etc. We stay at hotels that offer breakfast. IF we go out, we do lunch. It's cheaper. We found local Farmer's markets to be very inexpensive and GOOD!!! Many offered free samples of wine!!

 

2. We stayed at hotels and booked mostly on points. Of course this works only if you have points! But, there are other inexpensive hotels. One we stayed at didn't have an indoor pool (a must for kids), but they offered free day passes to a local pool club. This club had water slides for the older kids and a GREAT pool for the youngers.

 

3. Where did you go that was expensive here? Ben and Jerry's was $3/pp. 12 and under free. Cabot cheese factory was $2/pp. 12 and under free. Pico/Killington was a splurge - $29/pp, $10/pp under 48". BUT, that was a birthday gift for our then-10 yo ds. It was a VERY full 10 hours of activity and well worth it. Appalachian Trail and other hikes were free.

 

Again, I'm sorry your trip to VT wasn't all you wanted it to be.

[Parrothead]

Bar Harbor is nice. If you camp there it is pretty cheap. We did it two years ago.

[creekland]

I'm sorry your anniversary trip wasn't all you hoped it would be! Here's how we made VT cheap:

 

1. We cook our own meals before we leave, freeze, and eat in the room. We travel with a microwave and cooler. So, we eat good, hearty meals like: Chicken pot pie, burgers and hot dogs, chili, nachos, etc. We stay at hotels that offer breakfast. IF we go out, we do lunch. It's cheaper. We found local Farmer's markets to be very inexpensive and GOOD!!! Many offered free samples of wine!!

 

2. We stayed at hotels and booked mostly on points. Of course this works only if you have points! But, there are other inexpensive hotels. One we stayed at didn't have an indoor pool (a must for kids), but they offered free day passes to a local pool club. This club had water slides for the older kids and a GREAT pool for the youngers.

 

3. Where did you go that was expensive here? Ben and Jerry's was $3/pp. 12 and under free. Cabot cheese factory was $2/pp. 12 and under free. Pico/Killington was a splurge - $29/pp, $10/pp under 48". BUT, that was a birthday gift for our then-10 yo ds. It was a VERY full 10 hours of activity and well worth it. Appalachian Trail and other hikes were free.

 

Again, I'm sorry your trip to VT wasn't all you wanted it to be.

 

Hotels/motels were out of our budget, so we camped. That's common for us and we like camping, so no big deal and the campsite, itself, was wonderful. The campground also had a free ranger led kayak night that we took advantage of.

 

Part of our anniversary trip idea is NOT cooking, so we prefer to eat out. We ended up shopping at a local grocery store (never saw any Farmer's Markets open when we were there) and the grocery store prices were much higher than my local prices, but it is a tourist area, so I suppose that's to be expected.

 

We live in snack food central and ALL company tours are free. Therefore, it felt like places wanted to nickel and dime people by charging a couple of dollars EACH even knowing people were likely to buy things from them after the store. That, coupled with the LONG wait at Ben & Jerry's not only stopped us from caring about the tour, we no longer buy their ice cream either. We stopped at the Cider place since that was free, but they weren't making cider when we were there. The cheese prices at Cabot's Factory Store were higher than the Cabot prices at my local grocery store. Where we live, factory stores are less expensive, but here they seemed to want to stick it to the tourists. We left Cabot without buying a thing.

 

We were farther north in VT - near Stowe - and the restaurant prices were all very high. Usually we like to find small local favorites that are less expensive. We tried, but they appear not to exist around there - except the hot dog place (which was very good, but we still laugh at hot dogs for an anniversary meal!). Nonetheless, it was tasty and we recommend the place.

 

Otherwise, the choices appeared to be paying a fee to drive to the top of a mountain that didn't appear to provide any better views than one can get for free elsewhere or paying a bit per person for ski lifts or other alpine "fun." We stuck with geocaching (free) and just driving around (saw the Van Trapp Lodge - gorgeous area - no fee to see from the outside).

 

But overall, compared to other more rural areas we've been to, VT seemed to be out to make a killing off vacationers and it left a negative vibe in our minds. Therefore, it surprised me to see someone list it as an "inexpensive" vacation. It's all perspective. I supposed compared to some cities it's inexpensive. Price-wise, that's what I'd compare it to. ;)

[mom2mags]

We have had past frugal success by staying at ski resorts in the off season. We've done it in Pennsylvania, but I'm sure the principle applies anywhere. We've booked great accomodations rather inexpensively and been able to hike, swim and do lots of fun things. I don't love crowds, and the places we've stayed have been very relaxing and enjoyable.

[nono]

We have had past frugal success by staying at ski resorts in the off season. We've done it in Pennsylvania, but I'm sure the principle applies anywhere. We've booked great accomodations rather inexpensively and been able to hike, swim and do lots of fun things. I don't love crowds, and the places we've stayed have been very relaxing and enjoyable.

 

Just book soon if you go that route. As fall arrives, the leaf peepers send some prices skyrocketing.