Good Christmas Vacation Destination?

[MichelleCarmen]

Would it be crazy to consider traveling during the holidays?

My husband and I are thoroughly disapointed at how the holidays are going each year. Since we bought our house, we''ve become the hosts for EVERYTHING. That would be fine, but now another relative bought a high-end condo and we''re really pushing that her place would be ideal for Thanksgiving. So, still now we''re still stuck with Christmas, which unfortunely is focused almost exclusively on piling presents upon my kids! It''s just not fun for DH and me and my kids are very much beyond getting the wrong message!!!

We want to go on vacation, but it is getting very close to the wire and also we just got back from a pricey California trip, sooo, I absolutely want to stick to a budget ($3,000 at the most!). Mexico sounds perfect to me, but with four of us to fly down, it''s going to add up to a lot of $ and we can afford it, but I just am being a bit cheap about it! We''ve gone to Whistler before and had a wonderful time, but wouldn''t that place be a nightmare during the holidays?

Any ideas?

My husband mentioned Lake Tahoe. . .has anyone been there and what is it like? My husband snowboards & my kids will take skii lessons, but the most I''ll be doing is tubing on the side and then drinking beer while they''re off

I''d love any recommendations.

 

[TravelingGal]

I think 3K would be very tough if you included airfare, since peak season starts mid december. We just spent 5K in tickets alone to Australia (although part of that was a $1300 change fee). The key would be someplace you could drive. Then see if you can find a condo for rent through something like VRBO.

Or...call a travel agent. Maybe there are special packages out there...you never know. Sign up for travelzoo.com or airline newsletters. If you are flexible, you may be able to find something last minute.

I would imagine Whistler would be a nightmare. I avoid ski destinations over the holidays.

Personally, I think there is nothing like being home for the holidays. It''s just that this year, we''re going to TGuy''s home.

 

[MustangGal]

Are you in driving distance to Vegas or Arizona? You could probably get cheap rates for hotels in Vegas that time of year, and the weather isn''t too bad. It''s also beautiful here in Arizona then, and there''s tons to do that doesn''t cost much, lots of hiking, outdoorsy type things, and there''s 2 ski places 2-3 hours from Phoenix.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

TG - You may be right, budget wise. I haven''t actually asked my husband his opinion on budget yet, but we just got a new eliptical and my necklace so those were are big holiday expenditures that are impacting how much we spend.

I hope you have a fabulous time in Australia!!! Can''t wait to see pictures.

MustangGal - I''m up in WA, so Vegas is a bit of a drive, especially with two young boys. They''d fight the entire way! lol Thanks for the suggestion. DH & I eloped there and had such a blast.

 

[Elmorton]

You can do Mexico on that budget...we did! We flew to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and stayed at the Barcelo, all-inclusive - I think it was 1400 per person. FAB time at Christmastime (we arrived on New Year's Day). Check out places like cheapcaribbean.com... rrrrg, I can't remember the site we used, but it was something like mexicodestinations.com (google all-inclusive mexico and a ton of sites will come up). Uber cheap and a great time. DH and I really want to go back next winter!

ETA: Grrrrr....I just read that there are 4. Probably wouldn't work

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks MC...it will just be nice to head down to summer again...

Date: 11/5/2007 9:27:41 PM
Author: Elmorton
You can do Mexico on that budget...we did! We flew to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and stayed at the Barcelo, all-inclusive - I think it was 1400 per person. FAB time at Christmastime (we arrived on New Year''s Day). Check out places like cheapcaribbean.com... rrrrg, I can''t remember the site we used, but it was something like mexicodestinations.com (google all-inclusive mexico and a ton of sites will come up). Uber cheap and a great time. DH and I really want to go back next winter!

ETA: Grrrrr....I just read that there are 4. Probably wouldn''t work

I was just about to say there are 4, but when I quoted you, I see that you just noticed that too...

 

[jcrow]

maybe an out there suggestion, but what about disney? it''s pretty cheap and the kids would love it. and xmas at disney is extra special!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 11/5/2007 9:37:24 PM
Author: jcrow
maybe an out there suggestion, but what about disney? it''s pretty cheap and the kids would love it. and xmas at disney is extra special!

oooh, my husband suggested Disneyland, but funny thing is we just went there! lol We has such an incredibly fun time, we''d like to go again. We were in CA for 8 days though, so we kind of had our fill. We''re hoping to go again next summer.

Elmorton - yep, there are four of us. Mexico is high up on my wish list, but my kids are still at a young age and may not be up to all the adventures I''m dreaming of - like visiting some archaeological ruins

lol (but, if we could splurge, I''d be packing bags right now anyway!

)

My husband spent an hour earlier looking at inns at Whistler, but hasn''t booked anything yet. It''s about an 8 hour drive for us from home to the mountain & we''ve done it before, so it''s realistic, but seems he''s procrastinating for a reason. A hair dresser told him that she booked a trip a few Christmas''s back and there was no snow there??? Odd!