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Frugal family vacations for winter break?


kstrom
By kstrom,
in

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Hi all,

Does anyone have any suggestions on a frugal (so much nicer sounding than cheap!) vacation for a family of 4 with two kids who are under 12?

Date: Any time during the 12/23/08 to 1/4/09 interval would be fine. A week would be nice, but this is also flexible.

Location: We have already "done" Philly, NYC & DC a lot. Also, we'd prefer not to go anywhere is gets colder than NJ. Other than that, we are open.

Budget: I'd like to keep it to $2,500 to $3,000 (not including meals).

I would be grateful for any suggestions!

KStrom

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Depending on how far you want to go, the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee is very nice. You can get there from NJ in a long day's drive (10-12 hours). It is picturesque and family friendly. I believe they also do a massive hoilday lights display. The area is the Smoky Mountains region where Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina come together. You may be too late for hotels, as that holiday lights display draws a lot of visitors. Be sure to visit a great Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg. Many kid-friendly activities in Pigeon Forge (home to Dollywood Amusement park). Happy traveling!

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The Great Wolf Lodge in the nearby Pocono's has an indoor water park that looks pretty tempting, room rates for your dates are probably sky high though. The kids will like the water park, the parents can go to the Mt. Airy Casino and play the slots. With children under 12, this is also a great age to consider skiing, the nearby Shawnee Mountain has a good learn to ski program that includes a three day lift ticket, lessons each day and rental for $185. Or, you can get 5 midweek lift tickets and 5 rentals (all transferrable among family members) for $180.

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Are you looking for a driving vacation or to fly somewhere? If driving where are you located?

We live in central NJ, and have taken day trips and weekend trips around NJ. This will be our first "real" vacation trip that doesn't involve visiting relatives in New England and Minnesota.

We would prefer to fly over drive because that way we could go somewhere very different. However, airline ticket prices are very high for the places I have looked (the Caribbean, California, Florida, Mexico, France).

Any suggestions on less obvious places to fly to would be great.

With respect to driving trips, we would like to keep the driving to < 10 hours because one of our kids gets carsick.

- Kstrom

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With respect to driving trips, we would like to keep the driving to < 10 hours because one of our kids gets carsick.

A ten hour drive from New Jersey won't get you further south than the Carolinas or north Georgia. Are you looking for someplace warmer than that?

Are your kids old enough to enjoy Disney? You mentioned the kids are under 12 but didn't say their ages. I haven't checked fares but offhand it seems like your $3,000 budget ought to be enough for airfare and a week in Florida, especially if you're flexible about dates and/or willing to fly to alternative airports (Tampa, Ft Lauderdale, etc.)

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Thank you all for your great suggestions. I decided that my NH/Minnesota blood wanted to be really warmed. I flirted with New Orleans, but the prices went up very quickly and then there was that snow storm two days ago... I managed to find some fairly cheap tickets round trip from Newark to San Juan PR ($530 pp nonstop).

Now for some serious Pricelining to keep to the total budget!

- Kstrom

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