Julie1958

Just decided to take a trip (about 5 days) instead of exchanging Christmas gifts. Family of 5: husband, me, colleges age kids ages 22, 20, 17. We will go either week before Christmas or right after.
Looking for ideas.
One skier in family. He would love to ski but would need activities for the rest of us.
Warm weather would be great. Beach/ pool is good but would like some nature/sightseeing options.
Lake Tahoe? San Diego?

nytraveler

The only US places with guaranteed beach weather at Christmas are Hawaii and Puerto Rico. FL may or may not be beach weather - best chance in the Keys. In San Diego you can walk ON the beach - but the water is not an option - just too cold except for one of those Polar Bear 2 minutes dips.

Have you considered a winter resort with many other activities besides skiing?

Julie1958

How warm is San Diego in Dec.? Doesn't hand to be swimming weather but sunny and mild would be nice. We are in the Midwest so almost anything would be warmer!
Would love to go to Hawaii but airfare is outrageous. Puerto Rico is a possibility- would rather not be in the city area. Any recs for there?
Yes we are considering a ski resort with other activities. Thought of Tahoe bc we have a few relatives there who might be able to ski with him. We are open to other suggestions.
Are there ski resorts where you can ski with other people when not in a lesson rather than skiing alone all day?
Thanks nytraveler

BigRuss

>

There are resorts throughout PR, not just in or near San Juan.

St Thomas and the USVI are also warm and don't require a passport. They're far less urban, even in the larger "cities" (Charlotte Amalie, Fredericksted, Christiansted) because both St Thomas and St Croix have around 50k residents total. St John is far smaller.

>

Most winter resorts have activities besides skiing - like snowmobiling and other tundra-dependent activities.

And given his age, perhaps the boy would be more than happy to ski by himself and find others . . .

Julie1958

Thanks BigRuss. I have some researching to do. Like price of USVI and if 5 days would be enough.
Also thinking about driving Calif. coast….not sure about how much time we'd need for that either.
Re skiing….he's 17 and skied out west only once. Don't think he wants to ski alone -- Still considering Lk Tahoe option.

What about scenic places where we could hike (mild weather)? How is Northern/Central Calif. in Dec?

Thanks all

MichelleY

Winter is rainy season( fingers crossed). Generally cold and rainy.

Momddtravel2

San Diego at Christmas is always iffy - it will be warmer than what you are experiencing but not generally put on a bathing suit beach weather - but occasionally it is in the 80's. Hard to say but I would never plan a trip based on wanting warm weather to SD in December. I have been in sweaters and jackets.

Lake Tahoe is beautiful and there is gaming (gambling) a few shows (NOTHING like Vegas), dining and you can ride a snow mobile (we did that a few times) go sledding (kids did that and enjoyed it)

It might be fun to go to San Francisco as a family - there are a lot of different things to do for different age groups.

The week before Christmas tends (in my personal experience) to be less expensive than the week after. Christmas is on a Thursday this year and based on your children's ages I don't know if they are in college/school (the 17 year old) but I know our daughter in college doesn't get out till the 19th - so going for a full week before could be tricky.

Julie1958

Momddtravel2, I've been to Lk Tahoe in winter and I agree it is beautiful. I would be happy just hanging out enjoying the scenery but not about my 2 daughters. So we are thinking about San Francisco area and redwoods.
Any thoughts on Redwoods? Best place to see them? I've read it can be rainy but still awesome.

As for San Diego, we don't need beach weather - sunny would be nice and warm enough that we aren't freezing if we are outside.

Thanks for the input so far.

WilliamT

If you are looking for redwoods then there are many different places you can see them in California. However, some of them are really far north in California – Redwoods National Park or Muir Woods which is close to San Francisco – so you wouldn’t be able to combine them with a visit to San Diego. San Francisco is a great place for a family vacation, although the weather is probably not going to be ideal when you visit. Otherwise you can see Giant Sequoias in Yosemite or Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, south from Yosemite. Take a look at http://www.parks.ca.gov/ to see where to go.

emalloy

From personal experience on flying over the holidays, I've found that travel on Christmas day and New Year's eve was much less expensive than other days at that time of year. I'm not a city lover, but I would fly into San Francisco, and drive down the coast. Check the big trees in Julia Pfiffer State park, stay in the Big Sur area. It won't be "beach" weather, but will probably be more moderate than the midwest, when you are used to 20F and wind, 60 and damp isn't so bad. Hiking down to the shore, or up through the big trees is awesome.

schmerl

Whichever location you choose, the price should be lower the week before Christmas than it will be the week after Christmas. The week between Christmas and New Years is one of the most expensive times of the year. Also, during that week many places require a minimum week long stay.

gail

Since going to Puerto Rico last January, I have become a one-person cheerleader for the island. My daughter and I had 5 days so that ruled out a lot of places we wanted to go. What we wanted - and got - was varied natural beauty, some genuine history and things to see, warm weather, safety - personal and food, and the ocean. A bonus I had never even considered is the hassle-free aspect of travel to PR - no passport, use regular US money, cell phone works without a surcharge or international nonsense, money/ATMs work just like in mainland US.

We spent part of the time near Old San Juan and did some sightseeing. Did day trips to Rainforest and some caves; also a walking food tour of San Juan. Then headed to Ponce to a beach resort (Hilton) and basked and drank rum for 2 days.

gerald_butler_9847

I was on the same situation too.. for us we will travel on dubai this December and i was having a mixed of excitement and worry as this is my first time to bring the whole family over, I was working as a Programmer and luckily got approved to have a paid vacation for the whole family. Talk about hard worked lol.. One of my list to bring my kids on was the Newly Opened Chuck E. Cheese On Oud Metha i'm super Hype to see them all smiling..