Nancy03

I have looking for somewhere to go for 4-5 days at Christmas time. We live in Florida and my 9 year old has never played in snow. Christmas is so different in Florida, I would like them to experience something new without spending loads of money.

Does anyone have any ideas? I thought about New York City and then take a trip out of the city into the snowy part one day. We could ice skate in Central Park or Rockfellar, see the decorations. But if someone knows of any other options, I'd love to hear from you.

I say NYC because I think we can fly there pretty cheap. Food is easy for the kids - Pizza, fruit, Burgers so that's not costly. We would be as happy to spend the time in the mountains of North Carolina or Virginia but I'm concerned we won't see snow. And flights to small places seem more expensive.

All suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

zootsi

New York is great at Christmas, but the chance of snow is less than 50-50. You would need to drive up into the Catskills to increase your chances of snow. Better still, look into cheap Southwest Air flights into Manchester New Hampshire, and Jetblue flights into Burlington Vermont. You could find a country inn in either area, and experience a real New England Christmas, most likely with some snow!

GoTravel

NYC is very expensive during the holidays.

Have you considered Canada? You would have a better chance of seeing snow Quebec or Montreal than in NYC. Also, the exchange rate is favorable.

Chance for snow in the NC mountains and NYC is not very good over Christmas.

E

You might consider flying into Minneapolis and driving north to the Lake Superior shore. There is usually snow up there in December, from what I understand, although weather is, of course, unpredicatble: last winter they didn't see significant snow up there until February. And northern Minnesota wouldn't offer any of the delights of NYC in the absence of snow...

wow

Hi, Nancy! Want to trade places for 5 days?? We live near Toronto & usually try to get to Florida for Christmas/New Years.

Here's a thought: Fly to Buffalo. Rent a car @ the airport & drive about an hour to a charming town/ski area called Ellicottville, NY (very easy drive on a wide divided highway. Pretty too through the countryside.) There you will find snow! Your kids can ski or snow board or take lessons if beginners! Ski rentals available. Lots of great places for dinner. The historic town of Ellicottville is beautiful all the time but absolutely enchanting during the Christmas holidays. Go to www.holidayvalley.com
www.ellicottvilleny.com

You can rent a condo through Holiday Valley (5 night minimum @ Christmas& New Years). We'll be there for New Years unless, of course, you decide to trade w/ us!!

Nancy03

zootsi - JetBlue only flies to Boston from Tampa would cost me $600 just to get there - at least. If I could get North for $150 per ticket - that would be about the most I'd want to spend. And just finding a great place to sled or build a snowman. An Inn would be really great rather than a hotel room.

bandbt

I would suggest New England. We usually have snow for Christmas but not guaranteed. So many small towns in Massachusetts and along the coastline offer great places to stay. The mountains in VT and NH would be so much fun. Ski areas would give your older child something to do too.

Pat2003

Fly to Burlington, VT. Nothing like Christmas in New England and there is snow guaranteed. Often flights to BTV are less expensive than those to New York airports. Forget about New York City, there may or may not be snow there

JeanG

You could fly into New York and then rent a car and drive north. There are usually good rental car rates at the airport (at least this is true at Newark - the airport I am most familiar with). It's a 4 and half hour drive to Southern Vermont. Lodging close to ski areas will be expensive during Christmas week though. You can get a good idea of the lodging available by going to the websites of the ski resorts. They list all area lodging.

Southern Vermont ski resorts: Stratton, Mount Snow, Bromley

bandbt

With my suggestion of coming to New England for Christmas, check flights coming into Manchester NH instead of Boston. Its much easier to get to and from that airport than in the city.

bm

I vote for Stowe, VT. Jet Blue flies into Burlington (BTV) via LaGuardia. It's a little under an hour from Burlington to Stowe. Check out www.stowe.com or www.gostowe.com for more ideas.

Nancy03

JetBlue to Burlington for the 3 of us is $1,500 - too much for my pocket book and then we still need accomondations and a rental car. But by train from Tampa for the 3 of us is $650 and maybe we can stop in NYC on the way for a night. I don't know how Amtrak works lay-overs etc. It may be too much of a pain to stop there.

Pat2003

Nancy, compare air fares from Tampa to Burlington on www. orbitz.com I don't know why but usually JetBlue to/from BTV is more expensive than any other major airlines. If you decide to go to Burlington rent a car from Enterprise, they do not rent at the airport but will pick you up from the airport and take you back. You can find in Vermont inexpensive lodging if you make your reservations soon. There are many teenagers and kids during Christmas vacation so your kids wouldn't feel lonely. They will love it and snow is guaranteed

bm

Nancy, bummer that airfare into BTV is so expensive. Try Manchester, NH. Southwest flies there and is about a 2ish (maybe a little longer)drive to the Stowe area.

Anonymous

As mentioned above, the Northeast coastline (NYC, eastern Massachusetts, etc.) your chance of finding snow on the ground at Christmas is 50-50 or less. I agree wtih the advice that you find the cheapest, most northern destination you can, then drive to an inland destination.

Here's a web site that has just the info you need -- probability of an inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas morning. The info is several years old, but that shouldn't matter much.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases...mas97.bpf.html

zootsi

Southwest Airlines has roundtrips from Fla to Manchester NH for as little as $180 roundtrip, depending on what day and what time. Manchester is a medium sized city, not particularly scenic or interesting, but it may be fun for a night. From there, you could rent a car, and drive either north on I-93 to the Lake Winapasaukee area, which has lots of motels, inns, etc.This is a touristy area with lots of fast food places, and things to interest kids, but it also has some beautiful spots. You could also drive northwest on I-89 which will take you to the Lake Sunapee area, which is very scenic and a little more rural. There are many small inns in Sunapee, Warner, Henniker, and the whole area. Either of these drives is about one hour or less from Manchester, and are in mountainous, snowy terrain. If you are not used to north country winter driving, this is as far as you might want to drive. Stowe Vermont is very beautiful, but a long, mountainous drive from Manchester NH. If you want a big city experience, Boston is about one hour southeast from Manchester. Boston is very pretty at Christmas time.

Pat2003

Nancy, for Burlington you may fly to Albany, NY (ALB) or Montreal in Canada (YUL). Montreal is beautiful around Christmas and it is only two hours drive to Stowe.

Nancy03

I'm thinking about taking the train from Tampa to Stowe. We could relax and watch the countyside without worrying about driving in snow. It's about $650 and maybe a really cool experience.

Pat2003

Great!! Good luck with all your planning. It always amazes me how fast kids between ages 8 and 10 learn to snowboard. Do you know where are you going to stay? I suggest make your reservation very very soon. I mean if you are talking about Stowe for Christmas do it today or tomorrow. They are going to be fully booked any day now.

GoTravel

nancy, I hate to dampen your spirits but while the train ride sounds relaxing, your kids will go bonkers. I'm guessing it is close to a 20 hour ride? It is hard to sleep on the train (unless you get a sleeper car) and after the newness wears off, your kids will be bored.