Alternative vacations to Yellowstone

[Shellydon]

Wow!  Yellowstone is expensive!  More expensive than Disney!  So I am now looking for another must do in the US vacation for us either summer or fall.  We fly anywhere Southwest goes and would like to keep hotels/houses to under $300 per night.   Suggestions?

[theelfqueen]

Check out Estes Park Colorado and cabins at the YMCA of the Rockies. 

[Ottakee]

What do you like to do?   We loved Albuquerque NM in the fall.  Tent rocks was the most amazing hike I have ever done.

If you fly into Grand rapids Michigan you could hit a bigger city and then head to Lake Michigan for sun and sand.

[mommyoffive]

How were you planning on doing Yellowstone? 

 

How many people? 

[thessa516]

Were you planning to fly to Yellowstone? How were you going to see the park? Renting a car? We did Yellowstone last year for WAY less than anything getting close to Disney, but we also didn't stay in the park. We enjoyed Glacier NP so much more than Yellowstone. Less crowds, saw more wildlife, fantastic hikes, and every single mile of Going To The Sun Road is gorgeous. But you really do need your own car to get the most out of it.

What types of things do you want to do on your vacation? If you won't have a car, but you'll just be flying Southwest and want to keep it under $300, I'd recommend someplace like San Juan or Turks and Caicos in the late fall (after hurricane season winds down).

[PeterPan]

Cruise baby, cruise!!! 

No seriously, we just got back from our first, and it was epiphanal. We've always done the more naturalistic, rugged things (RV two weeks in Alaska, driven the Oregon sea coast, etc.) so this was SO relaxing. And yeah, with some work you could do it for $300 a night, including food. Southwest (which is what I always like to fly) goes to Fort Lauderdale, and you can sail from either there or Miami, easy peasy. You can also sail from Orlando (Port Canaveral) if you want. 

Edited February 24, 2019 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

54 minutes ago, thessa516 said:

flying Southwest and want to keep it under $300, I'd recommend someplace like San Juan or Turks and Caicos in the late fall (after hurricane season winds down).

Definitely the op can pursue this too! I was surprised where Southwest could take us for pretty low fares. I think we were $330 to the Bahamas and maybe less to Cancun. You'd need passports, but you have time, not a biggee. 

Did you know there are caverns in these places? Like I said, we usually hike and do crazy stuff, lots of ADHD and motion in the house. We swam out to reefs to snorkel at almost every port, so we never paid for $$$ excursions for that but just swam out. If we had stayed in one place longer, there were caverns, ruins to hike, cooking classes with locals, etc. Tons to do that is still active. And of course there's the foliage, zoos, just all that is different.

[PeterPan]

Have you done New York yet? Now I think the bugs might be bad certain times of year, but they have this canyon you can hike that is A-MAZING. There are the Finger Lakes, balloon rides, Niagara of course, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the castles, caverns... Prices weren't too bad. Niagara does fireworks over the falls. You can blow a week or more easily. We did sort of a circuit and really the St. Lawrence Seaway was our surprise fav.

 Official Boldt Castle Website – Alexandria Bay NY in the Heart of the ...www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/

Corning Museum of Glasshttps://www.cmog.org/

The Grand Canyon of the East is a must see in Upstate New York ...https://www.tripadvisor.com › ... › Castile - Things to Do › Letchworth State Park

Edited February 24, 2019 by PeterPan

[ktgrok]

If you want nature, what about the Smokey Mountains? Or Glacier National Park?

[Shellydon]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

How were you planning on doing Yellowstone? 

 

How many people? 

 

1 hour ago, thessa516 said:

Were you planning to fly to Yellowstone? How were you going to see the park? Renting a car? We did Yellowstone last year for WAY less than anything getting close to Disney, but we also didn't stay in the park. We enjoyed Glacier NP so much more than Yellowstone. Less crowds, saw more wildlife, fantastic hikes, and every single mile of Going To The Sun Road is gorgeous. But you really do need your own car to get the most out of it.

What types of things do you want to do on your vacation? If you won't have a car, but you'll just be flying Southwest and want to keep it under $300, I'd recommend someplace like San Juan or Turks and Caicos in the late fall (after hurricane season winds down).

 We were planning to fly into Idaho and rent a car and drive in. We were going to do the normal Yellowstone tourist things, a bit of hiking and sight seeing and the like.  What I am finding is that our larger family equals really expensive housing.  I am only looking outside the park.  We want separate beds for each kid. We are all very, very light sleepers and need our own space in order to feel rested.  So a home with a minimum of two bedrooms, two baths. 4 twin beds or two sets of bunks and a queen would work.  

I have never looked at Turks and Caicos, off to do that!

 

[gardenmom5]

we did an air B&B townhouse in west Yellowstone that slept 9 for much less than that.  no pool, and no A/C.  but we also made our reservations for late june - in September of the previous year.

[PeterPan]

41 minutes ago, Shellydon said:

two bedrooms, two baths. 4 twin beds or two sets of bunks and a queen would work.  

It's a little bit different, but have you thought about renting an RV? We rented one that had bunks as well as the regular beds tucked everywhere. It could sleep half an army, lol.

[Shellydon]

1 hour ago, theelfqueen said:

Check out Estes Park Colorado and cabins at the YMCA of the Rockies. 

Colorado is on my list.  We did Pagosa Spring last summer, but did not go farther into CO

[Shellydon]

39 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

It's a little bit different, but have you thought about renting an RV? We rented one that had bunks as well as the regular beds tucked everywhere. It could sleep half an army, lol.

Yes!  A site would be roughly $600 for a week.  I am trying to find a company that would just park it for us at an RV park.

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, Shellydon said:

A site would be roughly $600 for a week. 

Not nearly as romantic, but you can park at Walmart for free. We did it in Alaska and you could boondock. I've never been to Yellowstone to have an opinion on how to do it. Some friends of ours did the Grand Canyon, renting an RV. 

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, Shellydon said:

a company that would just park it for us at an RV park.

That probably isn't allowed, lol. Seems like that would turn it into a mobile home court. Usually these places have limits on the number of days. Are you uncomfortable driving it? Might not be a good fit. 

Did you see this article? It suggests moving across campsites as you do the park. https://winnebagolife.com/2018/01/rv-camping-in-yellowstone-national-park  If you're able to skip the car rental, it might work out.

Edited February 24, 2019 by PeterPan

[LarlaB]

I couldn’t begin to tell you where else but Yellowstone because it’s just so awesome and so think everyone should go at least once.  I live in CO and second Estes Park (RMNP) as a really cool place to go- also Ouray CO is amazingz

But with Yellowstone- what about renting a set of cabins at Yellowstone Holiday?  We’ve RV camped there for 10 days and are hoping to simplify and just use a cabins the next time we go ... you could do one primitive cabin and one deluxe.  Sure it’s driving but frankly that’s a huge part of visiting Yellowstone. I couldn’t stomach the cost of hotels or lodges there either.  West Yellowstone has lots of food and restaurants to keep to simple. 

http://www.yellowstoneholiday.com/

It’s a great place and we really enjoyed dorintime camping there (great bathrooms) and very easy drive out of west entrance.

[skywards]

GLACIER!!! There's tonssss of stuff to do in and around Whitefish and Kalispell if you don't want to spend all day in the park. Go to Flathead lake too, Honestly there's so many things to do around glacier and in the flathead valley that I can't even begin to list them all. 

[MeaganS]

We stayed at a national forest campground about 20 mins outside of Yellowstone's entrance that had electrical hook ups for $20/night last year. We were happy in our popup camper, but there were lots of big rvs too. Maybe look into those if you're considering the rv route. It was much more spacious than the KOA down the street. 

Edited February 24, 2019 by MeaganS

[Alicia64]

Hi ShellyDon!

I just wanted to throw out these ideas:

1) I agree re: cruising. Awesome way to travel. I wrote about which ships are cool for which ages here.

And I have an article on how to find inexpensive cruises. It's no charge at all, just let me know if you'd like to read it.

2) I also wanted to suggest this idea, but if you do it. . . plan a fall trip. Anything in the summer would be brutal.

I'm writing about this trip now:

How awesome does a five or six day whitewater raft trip through the Grand Canyon sound? Ride world-class white water on the Colorado River and take in the wondrous views that you’ll never see from the top. You’ll camp on sandy beaches, explore ancient ruins, and develop a tighter bond with your kids on this never-to-be-forgotten trip. Vital: avoid Arizona’s sizzling summer months by rafting the Canyon in April, May, and early June, September or October. Book early: trips fill fast. GrandCanyonWhiteWater.com

If you want more suggestions, please PM me. I love sharing travel ideas.

Alley

[Shellydon]

3 hours ago, LarlaB said:

I couldn’t begin to tell you where else but Yellowstone because it’s just so awesome and so think everyone should go at least once.  I live in CO and second Estes Park (RMNP) as a really cool place to go- also Ouray CO is amazingz

But with Yellowstone- what about renting a set of cabins at Yellowstone Holiday?  We’ve RV camped there for 10 days and are hoping to simplify and just use a cabins the next time we go ... you could do one primitive cabin and one deluxe.  Sure it’s driving but frankly that’s a huge part of visiting Yellowstone. I couldn’t stomach the cost of hotels or lodges there either.  West Yellowstone has lots of food and restaurants to keep to simple. 

http://www.yellowstoneholiday.com/

It’s a great place and we really enjoyed dorintime camping there (great bathrooms) and very easy drive out of west entrance.

Thanks!  This one had not popped up on my searches. 

[ktgrok]

If a bargain is what you are looking for, the smokey mountains have tons of cheap cabins (comparatively). https://smokymountains.com/gatlinburg/cabins/29139150/

That one has a hot tub, 4 bedrooms, etc etc. 

[Shellydon]

1 hour ago, Alicia64 said:

Hi ShellyDon!

I just wanted to throw out these ideas:

1) I agree re: cruising. Awesome way to travel. I wrote about which ships are cool for which ages here.

And I have an article on how to find inexpensive cruises. It's no charge at all, just let me know if you'd like to read it.

2) I also wanted to suggest this idea, but if you do it. . . plan a fall trip. Anything in the summer would be brutal.

I'm writing about this trip now:

How awesome does a five or six day whitewater raft trip through the Grand Canyon sound? Ride world-class white water on the Colorado River and take in the wondrous views that you’ll never see from the top. You’ll camp on sandy beaches, explore ancient ruins, and develop a tighter bond with your kids on this never-to-be-forgotten trip. Vital: avoid Arizona’s sizzling summer months by rafting the Canyon in April, May, and early June, September or October. Book early: trips fill fast. GrandCanyonWhiteWater.com

If you want more suggestions, please PM me. I love sharing travel ideas.

Alley

 

Thank you so much!  I'd love to read your article

[Shellydon]

5 hours ago, PeterPan said:

That probably isn't allowed, lol. Seems like that would turn it into a mobile home court. Usually these places have limits on the number of days. Are you uncomfortable driving it? Might not be a good fit. 

Did you see this article? It suggests moving across campsites as you do the park. https://winnebagolife.com/2018/01/rv-camping-in-yellowstone-national-park  If you're able to skip the car rental, it might work out.

I know there are companies that will do that at WDW. I thought maybe other places had it as well.  No, we can drive it if needed. 🙂

[Shellydon]

4 hours ago, Margaret in CO said:

Come to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison! You can camp in Nat'l Forest campgrounds for very little. https://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm Go rafting, mountain biking, hiking, riding, etc. all for a decent price. 

https://whitewater.net/arkansas-river-browns-canyon-rafting-trip-colorado/?gclid=CjwKCAiAnsnjBRB6EiwATkM1XkuIVrNZLguWO3qg79fic811r4GRB-Afsbr-GnJMPqMjSDlbUSWafhoCgngQAvD_BwE  We have good water this year!  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mesa_Reservoir

http://www.skicb.com/content/summer-chairlift-rides

If you rent an RV, you can park it with us, for free!

This looks pretty awesome!  I had not heard of Gunnison.  

[GoodGrief]

Circa 1977, my dad cancelled our Yellowstone vacation and took us to the Wisconsin Dells instead

Edited February 25, 2019 by GoodGrief

[GoodGrief]

I have no idea how to remove the oversized laugh face

 

[Pawz4me]

14 hours ago, PeterPan said:

That probably isn't allowed, lol. Seems like that would turn it into a mobile home court.

No. It usually works something like this -- You reserve a site at a campground for a week, then contact a local RV rental company and arrange to rent one for that week. The day of check in someone puts the RV on the site you've reserved. They may or may not go ahead and do the work to hook it up to whatever utilities are available, start the fridge cooling, etc. On the day of checkout they come get it and take it back to their rental business. It's no different than if you drove (or pulled) in with your own RV, really.