Vacation Ideas

[krispi]

I''ve decided that it''s time for BF and I to take a nice vacation. We''ve done several fun long weekends here and there, but I haven''t been on a true, week-long vacation in almost 5 years!!! We''re trying to think of places to go right now, narrow down our options, then a little closer to time we''ll see where we can get the best deal. We won''t be able to go until at least May, probably sometime after that, once he sees what pans out with a potential job offer that may be coming in. I''d like to keep the flight + hotel in the $1500 range for the 2 of us. We live in Atlanta and are open to pretty much anything at this point. We''ve talked about driving up the CA coast, but I''m not sure if we can make that fit into our budget. We also both love the beach and love NYC, so we''re very flexible. Anyone have any good ideas?

 

[Independent Gal]

How about going on a site like Orbitz or Travelocity and checking out their last minute all-inclusives? If you're not fussed where you go, that could be a cost-effective way to have a very nice holiday.

Of course, if it were me, I'd take that $1500 and go to Oaxaca and get totally lost and have an awesome time in the middle of beautiful nowhere. But. Don't listen to me.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/15/2008 2:51:08 PM
Author:krispi
I''ve decided that it''s time for BF and I to take a nice vacation. We''ve done several fun long weekends here and there, but I haven''t been on a true, week-long vacation in almost 5 years!!! We''re trying to think of places to go right now, narrow down our options, then a little closer to time we''ll see where we can get the best deal. We won''t be able to go until at least May, probably sometime after that, once he sees what pans out with a potential job offer that may be coming in. I''d like to keep the flight + hotel in the $1500 range for the 2 of us. We live in Atlanta and are open to pretty much anything at this point. We''ve talked about driving up the CA coast, but I''m not sure if we can make that fit into our budget. We also both love the beach and love NYC, so we''re very flexible. Anyone have any good ideas?

If you want to do the cal coast, you should be able to do it. I would think the flights out of Atlanta would be reasonalble Los Angeles? And are you willing to go budget, but nice accommodation?

I''d say,

- fly into L.A. and stay at one of the beach towns for that night. Personally, I''d recommend Hermosa Beach, but if you have never been to LA alot of people like to stay in Santa Monica

- Make a start into Santa Barbara. Hang out there for lunch and spend a few hours...it''s a gorgeous city. Want a Santa Maria steak dinner? Well, there is the now famous "Hitching Post II" as seen in Buelton (you could swing by and see touristy Solvang too...a little dutch town) OR, you could go to my local favorite: Jocko''s in Nipomo, ca. Corkage is only 5 bucks, so you could stop by Sanford winery on the way up there and pick up a bottle for dinner. Jocko''s is totally down and dirty, but really cheap and has great steaks (and giant portions). I''d recommend the little spencer there for $20. You''ll get predinner veggies, a salad (which is nothing more than iceberg with dressing), an awesome steak and potato, and ice cream at the end. Cost effective and great food, and you will need a reservation (for either HPII or Jockos).

- Continue up after dinner and stay in Pismo Beach. There is an inn I used to frequent many years ago called the Kon Tiki Inn. It''s basically a motel (so check tripadvisor to see if it''s still clean), but every room has an ocean view. The inn itself is right on a cliff. It used to be such a steal.

- Next day, continue through San Luis Obispo up to Highway 1. Do the gorgeous drive at leisure through Big Sur. Nepenthe is a restaurant with beautiful views in an outdoor setting. Skip the meal (pricey and meh) but maybe have an appetizer and a glass of wine. Continue to Carmel. If you need a place to stay, I know if a rental from VRBO that is $125 a night for lovely accommodation. Not sure if she has a 2 day minimum. I have stayed there twice and am on great terms with the owner (she even sent me a lovely hankerchief for my wedding). Tell her the Korean and Aussie recommended her place. If you''re interested in the listing, let me know...IMHO, it''s one of the best deals for Carmel lodging.

Oh, and stop by Clint Eastwood''s mission ranch restaurant. Pretty views...another great place for cocktails, but I think there are better restaurants in town. Carmel and the Monterrey area are just so pretty!

- Continue on to the bay area. I''m no expert on the Bay area...but I''d be willing to bet lots of people could help you with SF and maybe a Napa portion of this trip. Then you could fly back from SF to Atlanta. It would be a lovely trip! But I will warn you...May CAN be gray along the coast.

 

[Fancy605]

Wow, this is EXACTLY what I was about to post. I am actually in your exact same boat: I''m in ATL with about a $1500 budget--weird. We''re looking to plan an anniversary trip though (Which is 6 months from now, but I like to plan WAY ahead)I hope you don''t mind too much if I piggyback off of the responses you get.

Check out kayak.com for the lowest airfares to CA if you haven''t already. I feel like a plane ticket would be more cost Effective than gas+wear and tear on your car from here to Cali (unless you were planning to stop a few places along the way to see the sites). That would be one LONG road trip.

I''ve been looking all over: North Carolina, Alaska, The Caribbean, you name it, I''m investigating it. Right now I am sort of considering the Bahamas b/c flights to Nassau are REALLY reasonable right now. I just can''t find anywhere I want to stay on the island though.

 

[krispi]

Thanks so much, TGal! That sounds like EXACTLY the vacation my BF has in mind. I''ll keep a lookout for good prices on flights and hotels in the places you mentioned. And no, we don''t need everything to be 4 star; we just don''t want to stay at the roach motel. Since he''s unsure what his job situation will be (take new job or stay at current one), we don''t want to book anything just yet. But he''ll know for sure by May at the latest.

I''ve done a little pre-investigation for packages on sights like Orbitz and Travelocity. I plugged in dates for May, and it doesn''t seem like they have any real deals posted yet for that far in advance. I was really surprised though that out of all the places I checked out (New York, Boston, Jamaica, etc) CA was the cheapest.

And Fancy, nope, I don''t mind at all! Just let me know if you have any other good ideas!