Family Reunion
 

Hello,
I need help planning a family reunion/ 80th birthday party,vacation for Grandma. There will be 6 families. Ages range from 5 to 85. We have elementary aged, teens, college, early 20's and 40's, 50's 70's 80's.
We are trying to keep the cost reasonable, so we are trying to avoid flights if possible. Families coming from NY,FL,NC. We are hoping for somewhere we can all get to by car. Dates we want to travel,is the last week in June 2016. Possible 3-5 days, depending on the cost.
We like beach,fishing,kayaking,SUP boarding,biking,boating,dancing,volleyball. We were thinking about an all inclusive or something easy to work with when many families are involved. We want something that will be fun for all of us together and has something to offer all ages.

Does anyone have any ideas where we could go?

How about the Outer Banks? You can get rentals there to accommodate large families and/or possibly book 2 houses.

http://www.outerbanks.org/?gclid=Cj0...eK0aAgtz8P8HAQ

I think that you would find something for everyone's interest there. Fishing, swimming, boating and restaurants galore. Kitty Hawk has the Wright Bros. Museum for history buffs, and many other things you can do at OBX.

http://www.outerbanks.org/outerbanks-towns-villages/

It would be approx. 8-12 hr. drive from those from NY and FL and NC is close enough to drive there. Think this might work out nicely for all.

Charleston and Savannah might be a nice option as well. Lots to do in these two places.

http://www.goldenisles.com

Here is another nice option - Brunswick and the 4 barrier islands: St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. We have stayed at Jekyll on our way to FL and loved our visit there. I'm sure others may give you some great ideas as well.

Good luck and hope you have a wonderful family reunion!

My first thought was Outer Banks too. I don't know the total number of people but there are some humongous houses there that sleep upwards of 35 -40 people. It's a centralized location for your needs. The only issue is that traffic (especially north of Southern Shores) sucks that time of year.

While I like the idea of the Outer Banks, the women in the group don't want to get stuck cooking and cleaning,while everyone is hanging at the beach. Also afraid of having to coordinate activities for everyone as well. We prefer not to get in the car and drive to dinner every night.
Are there any resorts that would work for this group? Where its done for you?

I just saw a blurb on the Sanderling Resort in Duck in (I think) Southern Living. It might be just what you're looking for.

Look at carolinadesigns.com for possible OBX rentals. They used to have ore than a few larger houses in their inventory.

A couple of years ago we rented one of their properties which was oceanfront and had 12 bedrooms and each of the bedrooms hd its own bath; the place also had its own pool and plenty of parking. There were two other identical houses, one on each side of our rental that were also available.

You could rent anywhere up and down the Banks and that area would offer a lot of the sort of activities you are looking for. And there are numerous agencies with literally thousands of available properties.

Well, HUNDREDS available anyway. Apologies for my exaggeration.

Well if the beach is out because the women don't want to cook, what is your budget? When you say resort, what's your budget? There is Greenbriar in West Virginia, Pinehurst in NC if you like to golf... What does your family like to do?

My sister's in laws go to a place in West Va that has paddle boating, fishing, hiking etc.. Let me try to find the name of the place. Bottom line , people still have to eat. Can't y'all take turns cooking?

I don't think the Outer Banks would work because the trip is for 3-5 days. I believe house rentals are for a minimum of one week.

Check out Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms SC. It's not an all inclusive but I'm not sure you will find one in the southern U.S. We were there many years ago and they had a lot to offer.

If Chris comes back to be interested, I think there are a lot of places on the SC beaches--Myrtle Beach even--that could work.

Hire a cook. It will be cheaper than staying in an all-inclusive resort or going to restaurants.

I don't think hiring a cook is the answer. Someone still has to meal plan, manage the cook, handles logistics, etc.

Have you considered a cruise?

Here's the place in West Virginia I was talking about if you are not interested in a beach area:


http://www.oglebay-resort.com/index.html

This is a good place for long weekend family reunions.

Look up "retreat center" in MB and see if you want to pay that freight. You haven't said how many people this is.
SC coast is pretty central to all--easily accessible if any want to fly.

I think a resort with everyone getting condos/houses with maybe sharing where possible.
Have things catered for some things--just stock up for others.

There are mammoth houses at Litchfield (and other places).