OK folks, I’m going to ask you all for some help today.
My family wants to take a vacation to someplace warm this winter-probably in the mid February time frame. You see, I believe that Yankee Bill gets seasonal affective disorder in the winter-his mood plummets the longer we go without sun. He gets, well, let’s say blue and grumpy.
So we want to go someplace warm. Not just “warmer” but actually warm-80’s to 90’s temperature would be nice, so we could hang on a beach, he could rent a motorcycle to take a ride etc.
Our requirements are that it is warm and that there are some activities that would be kid friendly. It doesn’t need to be Disney or anything-I’d be happy to have 1 day where we took them to something more “vacationy” like an amusement park, then spend the rest of the time just relaxing and soaking up warmth.
Obviously the other requirement is that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg (although I realize that it will cost us some dough to get where ever it is). We are well aware that taking a family of 4 somewhere far enough away from NY to be warm in Feb will probably cost a couple of thou-which is why we are researching now. We need to have an idea of where we want to go and how much it will cost so we can adjust our budget now to start saving.
We would probably go for about a week.
Anyone have any suggestions? An out of the way resort community, ideas for a cheap Caribbean vacation, or a destination I might not have considered?
Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions.
Jenn,
I don’t comment often but I read everyday. I have really enjoyed your frugal food series.
My DH and I went on a wonderful cruise a couple of years ago and we went through a FABULOUS company to purchase our cruise. http://www.vacationstogo.com
They have highly discounted rates, especially for cruises within the next 90 days.
We have determined that for a week long vacation (our cruise was 7 days) there is no cheaper vacation. This is not true, of course, if you do a staycation, but it sounds like the Caribbean is where you want to be.
We worked with Kent Fagala at vacationstogo and he was extremely helpful, even upgraded our room for us (for free).
God Bless and happy planning,
Rean Day
Don’t forget that to leave the country you will need passports. But I would say a Carnival Crusie, we went on one. I was great all the food was incudled, and you can have 4 to a room with the 2 kids being cheaper. It cost more to fly there then to do the crusie. And there was so much to do you never had to leave the ship.
We just found out about a destination wedding in our family in Hawaii at the end of February. We’re seriously considering going and making a week of it, and have begun to research how to do it frugally. It helps that I used to live there, and have a good idea where the low- or no-cost sites to see are. Something we found yesterday: the bed and breakfasts are significantly less expensive (1/2 to 1/4 the price) than hotels. We’d prefer to stay in one anyway, so that was an exciting find!
If you have passports, you can travel inexpensively to much of Mexico. The resort towns are pricey, but get out of them and it’s beautiful. There are usually plenty of things to do, and quite often you could do some mission work while there. My grandmother lives in Jalisco. There at the government palace you can view the frescoes by Rivera and Orozco. There are huge markets where you can wander through and buy all sorts of things. Amazing art, and I think one really great thing is that you learn how rich we really are here in the US. If you are interested, I can look up some more specific information. I loved it there. My email is DTKMKihn at Yahoo dot com
Also when we were there we stayed in my grandmothers apartment she rents out, but also at a few houses that needed house sitting. So accomodations were extremely cheap!
Today is the first day I was introduced to your blog, and I think it’s absolutely terrific!
I’m not one to give frugal advice (although I’m learning), however, February can be an expensive time to travel. A lot of people don’t think about it, but it’s the peak travel time in warm climates outside the U.S. because 1) it’s not hurricane season and 2) the climate is more moderate. Another thing that drives up the prices is that a lot of people get a week’s vacation during President’s Day week. It can be worse than planning a trip during spring break in March. There are some super cheap places in the Caribbean, however, their prices are practically double in February. I encountered this information while planning my honeymoon in 2006. Unfortunately, we paid top dollar because February was the only time we could go. If your dates are flexible, you can get much better deals during the off season!
Belize may be a good fit for you, though. No matter what time you travel, there seem to be good deals in abundance.
Hope this helps!
We are in the midwest and after 14 years are so over the winters here. We are currently figuring out how we can snowbird it to Mexico. Either fly and possibly get a housesit (as was mentioned above) or get an inexpensive apartment from a local… or even RV down there and camp at the playa. We are looking at the Tulum area-ish I think. I keep going back and forth from wanting to do the mountains or the beach. lol. Anyway, that’s my thoughts… Another thought is Belize. We were there in ’06 and it was lovely. Def a place to go back to – flights are pricey tho’. Mexico (Riviera area) has an Adventura park that the kids would prob love – they could swim w/ dolphins. I’m staying away from the resorts but there are plenty of those to be had if that suits you.
Have fun planning!
A lot of Snow birds winter in Corpus Christi, Texas. It’s on the Gulf of Mexico . You can send for travel brochures from their chamber of commerce and the state of Texas .They have a regional airport and are about an hour hour and a half drive from San Antonio, four hour drive from Houston .
Corpus Christi is pretty coastal town . The state aquarium , U.S.S. Lexington , an art museum , Natural history museum and a re-creation of one of Columbus’s ships are some of the attractions.
But , even if that is too far away you may want to check out the gulf coast . It’s after Hurricane season and the weather is usually mild. The skies are blue and sunny!!!
I’ve never been myself, but my neighbor goes to Bermuda every year and she says it is much cheaper than other tropical locale.
Might be something to check out…
š
You don’t need to spend a couple thousand if you don’t mind driving. Well, with gas prices, we’ll see…
We are a large family and we have found a great way to vacation is to rent a house. Works out cheaper than the hotel route, saves oodles on food since I can cook (and I love to) and we don’t have to eat out every meal.
If you are planning on winter vacationing, most places on a beach are cheaper in winter but still come with the warmer weather. I’d start looking on the coast by North Carolina and down the coast around Florida and over to Texas. http://www.vrbo.com has always found us good rentals.
If you do want to fly, travelocity has a fare watcher that you can sign up for. I put in what airports I’m willing to fly out of and they email me when there are fantastic deals. For instance this week I could fly to Florida for $155 round trip. Not that I’m going to, its hot enough here in NY!
Blessings,
Hannah
I live in the Uk and we don’t go away on vacation outside of the Uk and the Uk is not a place for someone with SAD in february i should know.
Have you ever thought of doing a house swap It may work out cheaper and i belive they have places all over the world. This is the link for home exhange .com, it might be worth a look.http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-2928599-10495591 they are a company i promote on my site as i think it may allow people to have better accomodation without a hugh price tag.
Hope you find somewhere, i know how miserble i am in the winter.
Jenn,
You might want to check out Southern Livings editor picks for south-eastern and gulf coast vacations.
I also like Family Fun’s magazine’s recommendations for family trips.
Southern Living also has free podcasts with their travel writers interviews of people of interest in different locations and the editors travel picks recommend books ( fiction and non-fiction ) that relate to that location.
I’d rule out Bermuda. It’s as far north as North Carolina, and that’s not going to be warm enough for what you’re looking for.
I would start by looking at your local airport. What low-cost carriers fly from there? Where do they fly?
For instance, Jet Blue offers nonstop from New York to Nassau, Bahamas, but you may have another carrier which goes straight to Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Fl, etc.
Getting somewhere always costs us more than accomodations, so if I were as flexible as you are, I would work from that angle.
Wow, fabulous advice and suggestions from everyone! Thank you all so much.
Someone mentioned driving. To drive far enough south to get the type of weather we are looking for would take 2 solid days of driving each way. That’s 4 days out of a week long vacation-so we’d rather fly, take a train etc.
I did look into cruises today, and the Norweigan Gem leaves from NY City for the Carribean-so we would only have to drive about 3 hours an incur minimal travel cost to actually GET to the vacation. . . so that is something to consider. . .
I’ve got a lot to think about now. You guys are great!
Santa Cruz,California Beach Boardwalk complete with everything including and amusement park for the kids. HAVE FUN!!
Make sure to check into all of the taxes and port charges before you book a cruise. This will more than double the price of many of them. You can still get a good deal, but be aware of this.
Hi Jenn,
I thought of this post when I saw the cheap honeymoons for a given month at about.com.
We’re planning an Early December trip to somewhere warm, so I’m appreciating all the comments above as well!
Anyways, for February about.com mentioned Dallas, TX. Average High in February is 61, so not exactly a tropical destination. But a thought.
Enjoy planning your trip!
All inclusive resorts in Mexico are very affordable and many are kid friendly. Just don’t go during spring break.
One of our favorite frugal warm weather vacations is Cayo Costa state park in Fl. We’ve only ever gone in March, but it is hot then. It is primitive though (cabins or tents)We are campers, not sure if you are though! š
I know many of the newly married couples we know vacationed in Puenta Conta (not sure about the spelling. It is part of the Dominican Republic) It is an all inclusive resort that is supposed to be much less expensive than others.
I totally vote for Hawaii! You could enjoy our futon and an 8-months-pregnant sister…. š
Are you still able to fly Space-A as a retiree? Maybe you could fly to a really busy military base and camp there at the base inn until you get a flight to your preferred destination.
It would be a gamble, but it could be fun… here’s an article…
http://www.militarymoney.com/life/1194382490
Rocky Point, Mexico has cheap rental condos on the beach
Costa Rica is nice, if you can find any deals that lead to decent fares. We stayed near Lake Arenal and the Arenal volcano (cool!) last year with our daughter and some friends, and it was tremendous. There are also very reasonable places to stay, and the food is both delicious and inexpensive. In CR, you’ll have some insurance of decent weather, as well. Wherever you end up, have a great time together!
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com
If y'all have use of military bases, I'd suggest Key West. Stay reasonably at the BOQ and have a great time–but make reservations now.
Otherwise, I believe the Homestead Air Base in Miami still has a BOQ–I stayed there in the late 90s for $19 a night. Of course you have to drive through the ghetto, but you can't beat the price for a no-frills clean room. Again, you'll want to get reservations early.
The only inexpensive international trip I've taken is in South Africa–seriously unbelievably cheap for a B&B, about $40/night in Hermanus for whale watching. That was about 2004.
Have you ever heard of St. Kitts? It is an island in the West Indies that is a little less touristy. I am currently living here and I love your blog. For a cheap vacation idea St. Kitts can give you every thing you ever wanted and is very family friendly. Obviously there is the possibility to go to a hotel or whatever but what a lot of people will do is contact students on the island (there is a vet school and a medical school here) who go home over Christmas and arrange a deal where they “rent” rent full size homes for up to 10 days while the students go home for Christmas. Some of the homes here are gorgeous. By renting a home you save tremendously because you can cook your own meals and not worry about doing restaurants. St. Kitts has a beautiful rain forest to explore and snorkeling is amazing. And snorkeling is almost free (buy a mask and snorkel before you come) Also getting down here does not have to cost thousands esp. if you can get to JFK. Jetblue flies direct from JFK to Puerto Rico and I have found that flight for about $200 round trip and from Puerto Rico to St. Kitts can be less than 100 dollars round trip. I HIGHLY suggest looking into JetBlue!!! Alot of students also will make arrangements for you to drive their car while you are on island for an additional fee which is almost always cheaper than a rental. St. Kitts also has tons of great duty free shopping and plenty of nice restaurants for a special night out. All of the resort hotels are very accommodating to visitors even if they are not staying on island. These are just some ideas!