Cheapest Vacation to Anywhere?
 

Grown D. and I want to ago anywhere in late May! Has to be cheap!! About $1000 total per week for 3-4 weeks. We live in Houston, Texas. We want to see beautiful nature, do some good hiking, be very active, eat simple foods, and stay in simple accomodations (but not a tent). We can drive if not too far, or fly to anywhere if cheap. Please, Fodorites, lend me your wisdom and creativity!

I don't mean to sound crass but "are you dreaming"? That's not a realistic budget. $1,000 for 4 weeks comes to about $35 per day and only $48 per day if you go for 3 weeks. That type of budget won't even pay for a stay at your local Motel 6 let alone leave you anything for food, transportation and other incidentals. There's nothing wrong with budget travel but you have to realistic in your expectations.

With your limited budget why don't you shorten your trip to no more than a week and visit someplace close to Houston. That way you'll have some money for other than your accomodations.

Perhaps you can drive down to the Galveston area and stay in a guest house a few blocks from the beach so you can walk there. Another suggestion is finding an inexpensive guest house in the "Hill Country". Reconsider the camping idea, you can save lots by not having to pay for a motel.

Roams, wrong calculation. $1,000 per week, not for 4 weeks, which is
$1,000 : 7 = 142.86 per day.

Not much, but... doable perhaps?

How about New Mexico and southern Colorado? Southwest flies into Albuquerque. You can rent a car and see Santa Fe, Taos, Abiquiu, Four Corners, etc. Mesa Verde NP is in southern Colorado and is well worth a visit.

It will be warm, but at least it won't be humid! :-)

Lee Ann

Mexico?

Puerto Vallarta Mexico

$870 (2 tickets on US Air)
$1050 (21 days x $50/night hotel)
$51 (per day food & transpo)

3 weeks = $3000

3 to 4 weeks is a long time to stay at a cheap motels, and even that you're talking about $40-50 a day, eating up at least 1/3 of your budget.

I don't know much about it, but you may want to think about renting a small RV...

OK on your other thread you say 2 weeks and now you are talking 3-4 weeks??

$1000 per week is only $500 per person. You are not being realistic AT ALL. $70 per day per person for accommodations, food, transportation AND spa/weight loss tuition. You can do a road trip for that staying in cheap motels. But flying anywhere will eat up half of your entire budget.

Many spas (and not the most expensive ones by any means) will cost $500 for a day or two when you add in transport costs.

Stay home - join the YWCA, get in shape, and then spend the $$ you saved on a nice vacation next year.

You can occasionally find real bargains in hotels, or even small resorts if you troll the internet. Find someplace off-season. Spas would not be in that budget, but joslin wasn't asking about them. Seems to have been a side-line. We are going to someplace in Maine for labor day that is costing about $170 a person with meals. A week in summer can be had for about $300. They are not open in May, so I'm not suggesting it. My parent's favorite (on Cape Cod) is only a little more expensive. They can't be the only two left. Look for something small and family run, where they fill the place cheaply and are making money of the bar (and sometimes greens fees, etc.) Anyplace that includes meals (or lets you pre-pay them) is always a plus for a budget traveler.

Sorry, off the bar.

Motels... $65 * 7 = $455 (Motel6 / Red Roof / Day's Inn)
Breakfest... $10 * 7 = $70
Lunch... $15 * 7 = $105
Diner... $50 * 7 = $350
Other shoppings (drinks / snacks) $10 * 7 = $70
Gas money ? let's say $200 a week

Totals $1.250

If you don't eat out too much and search for motel bargains, $1.000 per week is doable.
Not much room for extra's thou.

If you don't mind for luxury then you can try heading for New Mexico or even The Grand Canyon.
(Houston - Flagstaff is about 1.200 mls)

Go for it and have fun i'd say !

joslin
You can have a great vacation on your budget if you drive. For instance, the panhandle of Florida is not a bad drive from Houston. You could even make a stop at New Orleans overnight if you want or drive straight thru. Go to VRBO.com, click on Florida panhandle and have fun researching weekly rentals! Some will even give monthly rentals for a better rate. Here's just one that I pulled up for you. It's close to beaches and parks withs nature at your fingertips! http://www.vrbo.com/29258
You can do your own cooking and eat for the same price you would if staying at home. Hiking, swimming, walking the beach cost nothing, OF COURSE you can do it for $1000.00 a week! I don't necessarily think that's cheap.

I'm with cd, you can do it, just drive and do a weekly or monthly rental through VRBO.com. My suggestion would be to go to Colorado, especially if you are trying to beat the summer heat in Houston.

Forget the RV idea, between the rental; low MPG and high fuel prices; and campground fees it would be way more $$$$.

You can rent a beachfront house PRE-MEMORIAL DAY week at Topsail Island, NC for less than $ 1000 a week.

Yes - one can find nice rentals all over the country for less than $1000 a week - and sometimes 1/2 that. But - when you add in the gas or airfares, food, spa-like activities (from info on the OP's other thread), it will add up to more substantially more than $1000. Now - IF you find a condo on special and the resort has the leisure activities you want - and have ff miles for your flights - you can easily have a wonderful break for less than $1000.

Fun, cheap vacations are definitely possible - but if you travel far from home, pay for the transport - and want a weight loss program - you'll really have to do your homework. The chance of finding a condo for 3 or 4 weeks at this point is pretty slim.

joslin2,

When I read your post I thought of 2 very different kind of vacations as possibilities.

You could drive from Houston to East Texas, stopping in East Texas for 2 or 3 days. Visit Caddo Lake and the area, quite interesting. Maybe spend a day or two in Shreveport. Then on to Arkansas, "The Natural State". Visit Lake Ouachita and hike in the Lake Ouachita State Park. Then on to Hot Springs for a few days. Then possibly take a canoe trip on the Buffalo River or somewhere else. Then on to the Ozarks. There are inexpensive hotels such as Best Western, Comfort Inn, etc. throughout the region. Visit Petit Jean State Park. Then maybe on to visit Blanchard Springs Caverns. Arkansas has a travel kit you can order online with lots of info on their state parks, etc. This would be a lot of driving, but if you have 3 or 4 weeks you have a lot of time. Gas would be a factor though at today's prices.

The other thing I thought of was a trip to Cancun and the Riviera Maya. Out of Houston you can still get airfare pretty cheap to that area. It's a short flight. There are a number of all-inclusive resorts to choose from. I don't know much about which ones as I'm just now starting to research this for our family. It sounds like a fun vacation though, you can visit the Mayan ruins, cenotes, go to the beach and more.

I'm sure you can find something on that budget. Good luck and let us know what you come up with!

You CAN meet this budget in Mexico, flying from Houston. And have a MUCH nicer hotel for 50 bucks a night btw.

Or do you want to only stay in the United States?

Here's my suggestion: keep the budget but shorten the trip.

Since you say 4 weeks at $1000 per week. I'll assume you have $4000 to spent. Just go for two weeks, voila... now you have $2000 per week to spend. Same amount of cash outlay, but a much nicer vacation. That opens up ALL kinds of possibilities.

Agree with Suze - Mexico is where you want to go on that budget if you can get a cheap flight. I can't comment on the west coast, but you can certainly stick to that budget if you can do without A/C and stick to smaller towns (Tulum, Isla Mujeres) and stay out of the bigger ones (Cancun, Playa del Carmen). Should have no problem finding places to stay for less than $50. Public transportation is readily available, cheap, and surprisingly comfortable. Food & drink is cheap. Damn, I wanna go.

Oops, meant to say I was referring to the Yucatan Pennisula (fly to Cancun).