zola

I think we've thought so much about our vacation -- we're brain dead! My husband and I have 10 days to travel and we'd like to keep our total budget to $2,000.

If we're flying or driving, we'd leave from Washington, D.C. Neither of us are the sit-on-the-beach types and enjoy exploring cities, visiting museums and cultural sites.

I love this site and would welcome any ideas for a fun and relaxing vacation.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Debbie

I saw your post on the Europe addition and it seemed like you got some good suggestions. However, if you are doing the US or Canada.....I would suggest the following: for Canada and the great exchange rates along with fascinating cities-Vancover,British Columbia or Toronto or how about San Antonio,Texas or Chicago,Illinois? All of these cities have great food,lots of interesting sights and culture to enjoy and prices for all types of travel.Everything also depends how what time of the year you are traveling,etc. Have fun-Debbie

Jayne

I second the idea of Canada. We went from Seattle, to Victoria, to Vancouver and finished in Whistler. I didn't care for Vancouver, but if you enjoy large cities you will like it.

lisa

You don't say when you're going or where you've already been, but I highly recommend the area around San Francisco/Monterey Peninsula/Big Sur (you could add in Napa/Sonoma Valley, Yosemite, the Gold Country too if you like). My boyfriend and I spent a wonderful 10 days in California last summer, flying into LA, driving up the coast to Big Sur and Monterey and then inland to the Gold Country and flew out of Sacramento (we had both been to San Francisco before, but if you haven't been there, I highly recommend it; it's terrific).

Chicago is great too but for more like 3-5 days -- it would be hard to stretch it to 10.

Lisa

Hi Zola,
How about Ottawa/Montreal/Nova Scotia? I have several business associates in the Ottawa area and it's very affordable and plenty historical/city sites to explore! You would have the choice of flying or driving depending if you wanted an adventurous road trip.

Eva

How about Charleston and environs? You can drive from DC (about 10 hours) and rent yourself a condo on one of the sea islands (you said you're not a "sit on the beach" type, but you didn't say you don't like the beach). Use that as your base to visit the beautiful city, plantations, museums, etc. Fantastic dining in the area, but you can also save a few $$$ by making some of your own meals. You can swim with the dolphins (not an organized thing -- the wild dolphins come very close to shore in the rivers and creeks) -- they are just a taste of the nature you can experience. And if Charleston isn't enough to keep you entertained, Savannah is only a few hours further south.