Vacation spots?

[AnimalsR4Me]

So, I'm looking at taking a vacation in June, and just trying to get an idea of where to go. We're looking to go from June 21st to June 27th, and since neither of us have a passport, and don't have a desire to get one right now, we need to stay in the US. I thought about Florida, and Hawaii, but Hawaii is way too expensive(Almost $900 per person in flight alone) and Florida is hot in June as I remember lol. I don't mind hot, but we were looking at Orlando, and it just started to be expensive after we added in everything we wanted to do. So, any ideas on where to go for a fun vacation? We don't really want something where we will be tied to a structured schedule the whole time, but we'd also like to be able to have a little structure, and not get there and be in the hotel and say "okay...now what?" There will be 2 of us going, me and my boyfriend, both are over 21. Just looking for places that people have been to, or maybe where they live, and it's fun. I will throw out there that I'm easily freaked out by large cities generally because of the sheer size, so cities like Los Angeles are probably out, unless theres some form of transportation to anywhere I want to go(this was part of the appeal with Orlando, as there was the I-Ride Trolley) that brings you all around I Drive, and that's where most of the stuff we wanted to do was anyways.

 

[shubbles]

Sanibel island is very fun. Its in florida, by fort meyers, but is VERY different. FIrst of all its not a large city. there are busy public beaches but there are some very cool more relaxing private beaches. There are cheap hotels on Beach front and although there is no disney world or water parks, the beaches kept my family and i happy for 5 days and there are some great restaurants in the area. Im pretty sure the hotel we stayed at was called ocean view. Its fairly inexpensive and is on private beach. At night a sand bar appears and you can see sea stars and conchs and stuff. It is also a short drive to Fort meyers where there are fun stuff to do. Just my thought.

 

[alli713]

Give an idea of what you like to do. Do you like outdoors type things like camping? Or are you more of a hotel person not wanting to go sightseeing?

 

[Spoof]

Well, if you're worried about heat in June, you can hit up the OR/WA coasts, do a little road tripping and hit the waterparks that are scattered throughout the area.

We had fun in Las Vegas in June though we never did find the time to try gambling. The hotels are like their own theme parks and that would solve your transportation issue - you can get everywhere by bus, foot or tram, on and off the strip. Going to each casino is like traveling to a different part of the world and the shows are pretty neat. There is a ton of free stuff to do - my friend and I made the entire trip down from WA state (including gas) for $200 each a few years back. That was three nights in the hotel, one show, tons of food and as much walking as our feet could take plus gas. )

 

[Chub_Chub]

I have to say, going to Puerto Rico was my favorite vacation ever.. It feels like you're in another country, but you are still in the US and don't need a passport. I got to spend time on the beach, visited the historic parts and attractions of San Juan, hiked in the rainforest and saw beautiful waterfalls and wildlife:bird3:, and our hotel even had a casino in it! LOL.. I also recommend touring the BACARDI factory there... free samples! Yum!:thumbs:

 

[Sandi]

A few places in the US come to mind for me -

Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater Area -
All very close to each other with lots of hotels! Go to tripadvisor.com for some pretty honest revues. I stayed at the Don Cesar on St. Pete beach as well as the Hyatt in Tampy Bay, both very, very nice but the Don Cesar's rooms are a little too small and overpriced. Still, there are lots of other hotels and tons of stuff to do in Tampa and the beaches. Also, it's only a little over an hour from Orlando. A HUGE attraction for us was Busch Gardens in Tampa :thumbsup: We spent 2 full days there, great roller coasters, shows and a big plus - all the great animals there. We did the tour for $35 where you can get up close to the giraffes - this is my fave pic of our trip -

Las Vegas -
I loved it as well BUT I was burned out after 4 days! Still, lots of shopping, great shows, nightclubs and great places to eat and like Spoof said, the hotels are like there own theme parks with awesome pools! I am getting non-stop emails from MGM, Venetian and Caesar's hotels for great low deals so you just may find something cheap there.

 

[AnimalsR4Me]

We're going to go to Busch Gardens if we go to Orlando. We had thought about going to Discovery Cove, and doing the dolphin swim. I've done it before, and I loved it, and it includes admission to Sea World, and Busch Garden for 70$ each, which is a steal considering each of the tickets are at least $70. But, it ended up being about $750 for the 2 of us just for the discovery trip, and I just can't justify spending that on one day at a park. And I know if I end up in Orlando, I'll just be ticked that I can't do Discovery Cove and swim with the dolphins because I'd really love to do it again, but I just can't afford that much on a one day excurison. We like to do some sight seeing, I'm really into historial things, like I'd love to see the Holocaust Museum in Wash. DC and the Titanic Exhibit in Orlando sounds like a great time. I really love seeing old buildings, and stuff like that, but I don't want that to be our whole trip. I like pretty much anything having to do with seeing animals. I've been to both Oregon and Washington, and both are beautiful, but I've already been there, lol. This is where the problem comes in. I've been to about 35 of the 52 states, and I'd really like to go to one that I've never been......The more that I think about it, Vegas doesn't sound like such a bad idea. I've never been to Nevada.

 

[arf2184]

I second OR/WA coast, but only if you have a car.

You could always check out the City Passes and see if any of those appeal to you: http://www.citypass.com/

 

[alli713]

Washington D.C. is great if you like history. I really enjoyed the Holocaust museum, although it was depressing. I really like the east coast, and would totally go there again. Otherwise Maine is nice, or Boston.

 

[Rebecca]

D.C. is great, but it is a much better Spring/Fall destination. Though if you are thinking of Florida, humidity probably isn't a problem for you and you'd be fine in D.C. It is my favorite U.S. city.

Representing California, the weather is great here all year round, and we do have some great vacation spots. San Diego is very similar to Hawaii in terms of beaches, and a lot cheaper. It is about an hour away from L.A., so if you have a car, you could take a day trip up to Disneyland.

Napa is a wonderful vacation spot for childless travelers in Northern California. Wine tasting, delicious food, and wonderful scenery.

 

[addictedtochins]

I love the WA OR coast too. Wherever you go I have found huge savings when I book in the winter for a summer vacation.
Maybe you could go on an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle?

 

[Melissa]

Sanibel island is very fun. Its in florida, by fort meyers, but is VERY different. FIrst of all its not a large city. there are busy public beaches but there are some very cool more relaxing private beaches. There are cheap hotels on Beach front and although there is no disney world or water parks, the beaches kept my family and i happy for 5 days and there are some great restaurants in the area. Im pretty sure the hotel we stayed at was called ocean view. Its fairly inexpensive and is on private beach. At night a sand bar appears and you can see sea stars and conchs and stuff. It is also a short drive to Fort meyers where there are fun stuff to do. Just my thought.

Did you come here to Fort Myers during spring break or something? That is about the only time the beaches are busy here. In the summer months it dies down A LOT. We get busy from December-May. We DO have museums and zoos and waterparks within the area. Naples is about a 20 min drive too. And there is a crap load of stuff there. Orlando is also only about 2.5-3hours drive.

If you like to shop the shopping is GREAT here. We have a couple outlet malls.. Some fancy malls outside and in..

I would recommend some vacation spots but when *I* vacation, being from Florida, I dont go someplace hot or summery.. I like cold places.. Like Colorado in Jan and Feb when its -6*.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I think I should get to go on this vacation by default, since you will be traveling on my birthday lol

I really liked Charleston SC - beaches, beautiful old southern scenery, amazing shopping on King st and good food. Not too big so you wouldn't feel clausterphobic.

My mom took an Alaskan cruise and loved it - you might find deals for them traveling in june. if you take a cruise you eliminate the whole getting around thing and they can be as structured as you want so that might be something you would like. the boats usually have tons to do like, pools, casinos, restaurants, and shows and then you could book all kinds of port activities. I would say though that cruises arent really for people who like to sleep in on their vacations because the boats dock early in the ports and leave for the next port in the afternoon or by 6 pm usually, so if you sleep in you miss a lot.

DC is great, but if you don't like large cities, the nations capitol might not be so good. Traffic there is horrendous. Museums are amazing but I agree that the best time to go is really during the Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring - its amazingly beautiful.

Atlanta Ga has tons to do and the largest aqarium in the world is there - they have WHALE sharks - 3 OF THEM - in a tank if that tells you anything. They also have the coca cola museum there, six flags, amazing restaurants and bars, and lots of other things to do. But again, some traffic issues but Id say better than DC

My mom took a vacation to San Diego and loved it and I have a friend that lives there that loves it. My mom went to the zoo and Sea World and loved that. They have pretty amazing weather all year round.

 

[Dragonflye]

Las Vegas is fun, lots to do, not all of it is expensive. Just walking "the strip" is entertaining and going inside all of the hotels.

Key West is awesome. Plenty to do, can be done cheaply (or not) and there's the beach (and mojitos)...

One of my favorite vacations was Yellowstone. You can camp or get a hotel room. Lots of animals and attractions to see in the park.

 

[Ruby]

A couple years ago my family went to California and toured some of the Northern part of the state. We went to Lassen, which was pretty fun because halfway up the mountain it started snowing, and just an hour before that we had been sweating because it was so hot outside.
We also went white water rafting down the American River with was awesome, I was the only one on the raft who jumped off at every opportunity.
My favorite part was when we stayed in Fort Bragg (a little town on the coast) in a hotel 50 ft from the beach. It was beautiful, especially since it was the first time I had ever seen the ocean.

 

[AnimalsR4Me]

I've been to San Diego, and I LOVED it, so that's certainly on the top of the "list" the problem is, is that my mother and I went, and she had rented a car, so we obviously had access to go anywhere we needed, but because of that fact, I don't know how "non car friendly" San Diego is. I'm not too overly worried about the humiditiy, I know how hot it can be. I also know that it's -13 without a windchill here right now, so 100+ degree temps and 95% humidity sounds AMAZING right now HAHA! We're thinking about a cruise, the problem being that #1 we live in the middle of the country, so we have to fly to the coasts, which will take a huge chunk of our budget, depending on where we have to fly to and #2 We want to leave on a Monday, and most of the cruises that I've found leave on Saturday, and I have to work that Saturday and Sunday before. I have the following Saturday and Sunday off, but we have to fly home on that next Sunday beause I have to work the next Monday, so it makes it really difficult to find a cruise. I'd really love to go to DC, the nice thing is that a good friend of mine lives there, so he could definitely tell me of good places to stay, and help show me around and stuff. The problem is, theres no guarantee he's going to be there when we get there, because he travels so much for work. And I don't want to end up there without having a "city guide" because I know it's a HUGE city. I've never been to the ocean, even though I've been to San Diego. Well, I've SEEN the ocean from San Diego, but I've never been IN it.
The appealing thing about Atlanta, is that my uncle lives in Flowery Branch, so not too far away, so again I have a "city guide"
See!? See!? THIS is my problem! There's SOOOOO many things and sooo many wonderful places to go, that I can't decide! LOL! I keep looking for "vacation spots" online, and so many interesting wonderful places are coming up, that I'm like "oh I wanna go there! Oh! I need to go there"! I'd love to go somewhere that I've never been, which includes the majority of the eastern coast, and the southern most states. But, at the same time, I wouldn't mind going somewhere I've already been because I know I'll like it and have fun! Argh! Vacation planning is supposed to be fun, not stressful!