stever

We were planning on going to Philly for New Years again this year, but my wife is remembering how cold it was last year while there... It's only a 2.5 hour drive for us so it's very cheap and easy to get to, and we could find reasonable 4* hotels on Priceline. Last year we did the Four Season's Philly for $229 a nt and liked it, but wouldn't stay there again. The beds were very sagging and we had to switch rooms there were so bad. I was thinking of staying at the Sofitel in Philly instead this year but now she's saying "What about somewhere warmer?" I thought, hmmmm - Bermuda's fast to get to but not cheap to get to nor are nice hotels that cheap there. We like to stay in pretty nice hotels when we can.

Then I thought... Georgia? We've only been to Atlanta once and stayed at the 76 story Westin there and loved it, but never saw the suburbs. Maybe there's really cheap flights there that time of year? We like cities as there's lots to do there. We're going to Miami and Ft Laud in Feb for 9 nights so Florida is out...

Uh, any other ideas? It would be nice to be able to drive somewhere not TOO far as we wouldn't have to deal with the stress of air travel and it's much cheaper than flying somewhere and then potentially needing a rental car. I thought Richmond as it's only 2 hours away but she's not too into that. She didn't think it would be a great city to go to for a few days...

She suggested Williamsburg, VA as we could drive, and she could hit her outlets , but I've been there a few times and I'm not too thrilled with that idea. Kind of been there done that with all that historic stuff, plus, the idea of hitting all the outlets as my New Years vacation is fairly revolting (. She's a real shopper and was excited about the outlets, but I'm trying to steer away from that deal!

Thanks in advance. If we can't come up with a warm clime and fairly cheap trip idea, I guess we'll just default to our originally Philly trip and probably only go for 2 nights like last time, Dec 30 - Jan 1. We'd go for longer if were flying somewhere or going to a beach area. We'd love to do the Caribbean but the price factor won't allow it. Wish there were really inexpensive trips on Travelzoo to Turks and Caicos or other islands we haven't been to. We've only done St Thomas and St John.

Regards,
Steve and Julia R

janisj

OK - I am a bit confused. You think there is someplace w/i driving distance of MD that is warm in January??

Don't think you'll find anyplace that fits your criteria.

starrsville

I'd sign on for AirTran email alerts and see what specials pop up between now and then. Atlanta may be an option - or Savannah or Charleston. You could do either Savannah or Charleston without a rental car. The weather can be quite warm at that time of year - but there are no quarantees. I spent one Dec 30th on Cumberland Island with the kids in swimsuits playing in the surf. Of course, to get to Cumberland or any beach on the GA/ SC coast you will need a rental car. Of course, it wouldn't be a Caribbean type beach experience - not THAT warm!

beanweb24

How about Charlottesville? Stay at the Boars Head Inn.

Not really a warm destination, but within driving distance for you (sounds like it anyways) and a romantic getaway. AND - I don't think there are any outlets there.

stever

Thanks for the replies. I didn't mean driving distance to a hot spot, just a much warmer spot than Philly would be. As far as plane fare, we were just trying to find a place that had really cheap airfare that time of year. Thanks for the tip on Air Tran. I'll check them out! In a perfect world, we thought maybe we could fly to a warmer city with good mass transit and just go rental car free.

Steve R

E

Wow, that would be ideal indeed! Tough to pull off, though...I can't really come up with specifics, but here's a thought, for what it's worth. Since you're planning to drive to Philly, make your hotel res but make sure it's cancellable. Then, check out CheapTickets.com and other last-minute travel websites for low fares and good packages to warm weather destinations. If you snag something good, cancel the Philly hotel and buy some sunscreen.
Good luck!

LLindaC

just for the heck of it, I plugged in Baltimore and some southern cities (Ft Myers, Jacksonville)on Southwest Airlines. The only tickets I could find were 139 each way per person! Let's see here...it's Christmas break and kids are out of school and people are visiting relatives, etc. Is there any way to fly cheap at that time of year? I don't think so. Wait another week and watch the prices fall. Cheap week for cruising is Jan 7-14. And about Atlanta- they have often had major ice storms in January.Please post when you find a deal, I am shaking my head.

GoTravel

Second the opinion for Savannah or Charleston.

It will be fairly balmy and for some reason, it is usually warm that week.

Perfect weather for outdoor siteseeing, shopping, dining, and nightlife. Also, you couldn't pick two better cities for this.

starrsville

It's pretty rare for there to be ice storms in Atlanta at that time of year. I only remember one in fact. Usually, Christmas time is pretty warm - including "Tshirt weather" in the Atlanta area. For years, I celebrated Christmas in Atlanta and then drove to South GA. I might have needed a jacket for a year or two, but South GA was ALWAYS warm.

Funny - Atlanta usually gets an ice storm between March 15th and March 25th. In fact, I only remember one year when we didn't get ice during those 10 days.

You may need a jacket in Atlanta during that time frame, but it's never (rarely) really cold at that time of year. You wouldn't need a car in Atlanta.

I'd still see if I could get into somewhere on the coast.

SAnParis

We frequently go to Amelia Island for New Years & typically have decent weather. It is fairly quiet but there are things to do. Not sure about your cost requirements, $125 R/T ?

stever

Good ideas folks, and yes, we'll have back up reservations for Philly in case we can't find anything anywhere else for "cheap". Savannah, huh? Never been there... Which airport would we fly to and would we definitely need a car there? I'm guessing we would.

Yeah, I know my request was kind of pie in the sky and all, but we were hoping to come up with somewhere on the cheap to hit this time of year. Maybe that's just not possible unless last minute specials crop up on those sites.

Steve R

LLindaC

Okay, mea culpa about ice in Atlanta. My grandparents lived there and we got iced a couple times, but that was a while back. here's a thought- Independance Air flies from Dulles to Charleston and on or around your exact dated has round trip tickets to Charleston for $215. There are some really nice B&Bs there, too. I would jump on it.Hurry, there's only a few seats left!!

starrsville

You fly into the Savannah airport, and could take a cab to the Historic District. The challenge would be to find a room in the Historic District for under $150 a night. You could do it on Priceline or Hotwire, but I don't know if they would offer discounted rooms at that time. You could always try.

If you can't get a place in the historic district, then you'd need a car to drive into town. There are a lot of options on Abercorn, but not 4*.

If you fly into Savannah or Jacksonville, there are a lot of options of places to stay along the coast. It wouldn't be "sunning on the beach weather" but usually balmy weather for sightseeing, biking, kayaking, etc.

Jekyll Island may be an option if you want a relaxed island vacation. Yes, you would need a car. I like the Oceanside Inn and Suites right on the ocean. Nothing fancy, but a great location.

If you could get a deal at the Jekyll Island Club, that would be great. Your wife may enjoy a horse drawn carriage ride through the historic millionaire's homes on Jekyll.

Lots of ideas on this thread. Happy planning!

siler

Nashville! You can fly Southwest from Baltimore for under $100 easily. I was there for New Years last year-- street parties, festivals, fireworks on the river, lots of musical venues (all types of music), and the Music City college football bowl if you're into sports. Not sure about a 4* room for under 150, but a nice one downtown definitely. You'll need a car to go to the historical attractions outside the city, but definitely don't need one to enjoy the fstivities downtown and along the river area.

siler

Follow-up-- on the SWwebsite current rates, Baltimore to Nash is under 75 one way-- you can watch specials and catch it periodically for less than that.

LN

Well Steve you've got Air Tran and Southwest available in BWI and they both have great non-stops available for cheap prices. Southwest also has another service available that you must download the software on first and it's called "Ding" there are some really great prices offered on it daily out of BWI.

Give it a shot - as for me I'd either like it to be quite warm or cold so I'd also love anything from Phoenix to Fort Myers Sarasota Tampa or to head north to Montreal or Quebec.

Good luck with your choosing and I do ope you'll try "Ding".

stever

Great suggestions again. Hmmm - Nashville! Never would have thought of that area. Time to do some checking. As far as hotels, we actually are totally flexible as long as it's nice. It does not have to be a 4* place. I only meant that we of course love 4* places and when you get them on Priceline for less, all the better. We've stayed in some great 3* spots and I'm sure we've even done killer 2* comfort inns that were clean as a whistle and newish. That would be fine with us. We're not total prisses

Nashville... the air fare is right, that's for sure. The thing is, it'll be a hard sell to the wife as she doesn't like country music (hey, don't throw tomatoes at me, I'm just the messenger), we don't drink and we don't really go out to clubs to party. She loves to shop and hang by the beach. She isn't into museums but will tolerate them when I tell here we just HAVE to go to this one or that one.

Steve R