Ideas for 10th Anniversary trip???
 

Hi everyone! I am looking to plan a romantic getaway for our 10th wedding anniversary. It would be 4 nights, departing from Philadelphia, August 2009, hopefully using USAirways FF miles. We want to do something relaxing, beautiful scenery, good food & wine...we have 2 little kids & we just need time away as a couple!

I have been looking into islands, but am a bit concerned about weather at that time of year. Currently leaning toward Jamaica at the Caves resort...if there is anything like that anywhere in the US, I would love to hear about it.

Bermuda is also a possibility, just extremely expensive & my husband isn't thrilled about that. The only other islands for ff miles are Puerto Rico & Bahamas.

If there are any other places that anyone can think of, I would love to look into that. Thanks!!!

San Francisco

Stu Dudley

I would definitely choose Puerto Rico-only drawback is no all-inclusives. We were there in April while on a cruise and I can't wait to go back!!!!!! Jamaica is nice as long as your not around Montego Bay! My husband and I spent our 10th in Cancun! We had a great time!
What about a cruise?

Well, are you bringing the kids with? If so and you can squeeze a few more days out, why not a cruise to the Caribbean? If you pick a cruise line with a great kids program (Disney, Princess, Royal Caribbean) your kids will want to spend most of their time playing in the kids rooms. And you will have afternoons and evenings all to yourself.

Most of the ships today have alternate dining areas for adults only with better food and romantic atmosphere.

Plus think about it, you do not have to decide what Island to go to. You will travel to several and can see a lot of what the Caribbean has to offer.

Most (no all) cruises to the Caribbean leave out of Port Canaveral (close to Disney world), Ft lauderdale or Miami. So flying down is no hassle, all of these places have great airports with lots of flights every day.

>>Hi everyone! I am looking to plan a romantic getaway for our 10th wedding anniversary.<<

>> We want to do something relaxing, beautiful scenery, good food & wine...we have 2 little kids & we just need time away as a couple!<<

>>Bermuda is also a possibility, just extremely expensive & my husband isn't thrilled about that.<<

This doesn't sound like they want a a cruise with kids !!!

Stu Dudley

Thanks everyone!

We don't want to bring the kids on this trip, since we will be doing 2 other vacations with them & we are with them 24/7 in the summer (we are teachers)! A Disney Cruise is on our radar for the future though...maybe once they are 5 & 7 (now they are 2 & 4).

Skip the islands. It is August! The entire north is open to you in its gorgeous splendor!

I'll pitch you my northern Michigan idea, but really you could do anywhere.

Fly into Traverse City, Michigan. I see that USAirways partners with United so you could get there via Chicago.

The Old Mission Peninsula is as gorgeous if not more so than northern California. It is filled with wineries. You get the sunsets over Lake Michigan, beautiful beaches, natural wonders in Sleeping Bear Dunes. It is a magical place in the summer. And TONS cheaper than an island.

http://www.oldmission.com/

http://www.chateauchantal.com/

(Chateau Chantal fills up a year in advance)

http://www.cgtwines.com/theinn.php

I don't know the owner of this site, I just found it searching and there are some beautiful pictures of the dunes:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jense...um/2006/north/

Yes, weather can be a big factor-be sure to get trip cancellation insurance!

That being said, Cancun has some good deals. Acapulco? Key West? New Orleans? Vote with Stu for San Francisco.

Inn at Meander Plantation in VA. has a 4-day cooking school-check for dates though. There's a similar B&B in PA but you'll have to find the name.

Poconos? There's a neat place called Nemacolin in PA that has many amenities and 2 Frank Lloyd Wright homes nearby. Need reservations for the house tours.

New York City? Find a hotel with a pool and pretend you are on a cruise! Har har!

Please report back when you decide.

For our 25th next year we are going to Cape Cod-the place we went on our honeymoon..just a suggestion that you may want to recapture your honeymoon memories by going to wherever you went on yours

CA wine country?

I think the Carribbean will be way too hot in August. Bermuda would be lovely if you could find something affordable. I think Napa Valley would be perfect... but I'm not sure that you'd be able to use your miles to fly out there. Another idea would be Nantucket.

sanabel island off of fort myres fl. is beautiful. great sea shells, good food (Keylime bistro is yummie.)

How about San Diego?
One options would be to stay at the Hotel Del Coronado (www.hoteldel.com) a beautiful old hotel on the beach on Coronado island. Hotel Del has a nice restaurant and a wine bar, with a number of other restaurants nearby. Just across the bridge from downtown San Diego, with many restaurants, wine bars, shopping, etc. There is a ferry across the bay too. In downtown SD there is the Westgate Hotel (www.westgatehotel.com) with a fabulous French restaurant, wonderful brunch. It's easy walking distance to many restaurants,shopping, movie theater (not near beach, if that's your thing). Be sure to take a stroll in Balboa Park (www.balboapark.org), home to many museums and a good restaurant The Prado (www.cohnrestaurants.com/restaurants/theprado/). The park is just up the hill from downtown, but not easy walking distance. If you're renting a car, you could also drive to Temecula wine country (about an hour on highway). Temecula would be hot in August, so probably not the place to stay, although there is a lovely resort there at South Coast Winery(www.wineresort.com/winery).
I think you would enjoy San Diego, so much so that you'll want to come back again for a great family vacation -- the kids will love the Zoo, Seaworld, etc.

Best places in terms of romantic trips I've had with spouse...

The Tickled Pink Inn on a bluff overlooking Carmel..Its just spectacular. Fly into SF, spend a night there, then drive down the coast to Big Sur and back up to Carmel..its breathtaking.

On the east coast, Two Meeting Street in Charleston, more historic, Charleston is just fantastic, or The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island.

Another great vacation that was a bit out of the box for us was South Beach. We stayed at the Cardozo and then splurged on The Hotel Victor, wandered over to the spanish section one night and heard a great little duo playing in a tapas bar, totally forgot about the kids.

>>The Tickled Pink Inn on a bluff overlooking Carmel..<<

Just remember, August is the peak of Fog season along the northern Calif coast.

Stu Dudley

Thank you all! These are some great things to check into...just the kind of brainstorming I am looking for!

We went to Disney World for our honeymoon, so that is out! Planning a trip there for 2010 with the kids. And we go to the Poconos ever year for family vacations.

I was thinking that SF might be too far for a 4 night trip, but maybe not. We have relatives in Orange & about 3 years ago visited them, left our son with them & drove up the coast in a convertible. It was awesome! If my MIL can come to help with babysitting, CA might be an option for a longer trip.

Thanks so much for all of these ideas...I am going to look into all of them, so keep them coming!

>>The Tickled Pink Inn on a bluff overlooking Carmel..<<

Tickled Pink will be expensive in August. For a few Dollars more, you could stay in Ventana Inn about 20 miles South. IMO, you really cannot compare the two in terms of quality and romantic setting. Ventana Inn is by far superior.

Anna Roz

Nobody answered your question about the weather (except regarding fog in Carmel). Personally, I wouldn't plan a Caribbean (or east-coast Mexico) vacation in August. Too high a probability of rain/hurricanes (FWIW, we spent part of OUR honeymoon, 35 years ago, in Acapulco. It rained so hard one day we had to take a taxi to cross the street).

Re San Francisco. We live here, and highly recommend it! We also go to NY for long weekends, so I don't see why coming here from the East Coast would be a problem. Fly in as early as possible on Friday, fly home Monday. you'll have most of Friday, and all of Saturday and Sunday, to yourselves. You'll love it!

Does anyone have thoughts on Quebec? My husband mentioned it last night as an option. I know this is the US forum, but I thought I would ask, since it's the same thread.

I have been there, but it was for a choir competition when I was 16, so almost 20 years ago! I remember it being beautiful. We do LOVE Europe, so I am thinking this could be an option. Although not the tropical paradise relaxation trip that I was envisioning!

We went to Toronto for our 25th...had a blast.

Picked it because we didn't have to change plans and it was in the points we had saved for it...

Look at your dates...plug in airports .... see where you can go for your points available...

I would choose Montreal over Quebec City, but either would be a great choice. (+ you can probably fly direct to Montreal)

Yes! Quebec City would be a great choice. Is Hotel Frontenac (spelling?) still open? If it's cooler there, it would be a pefect choice for August.

Anyone more thoughts?

We are currently debating between Bermuda (can't afford a super-luxury hotel there though), Montreal + Mont Tremblant (spa hotel) & Quebec City.

Thanks!

KEC:

4 nights, romantic, August: California wine country.

Spend two nights in Sonoma County and two nights in Napa County. Both counties are very different. If you can, stay away from the weekend so that your drives may be more relaxing. The Madrona Manor is amazing from many levels for what you want and in Napa I would go for a tiny Bed and Breakfast Inn. You have many to look at and choose from.

You have literally hundreds of wineries to select from. Visit the visitors and convetion sites for both counties and of course search this site for previous wine agendas. You can't go wrong! You will also not have to deal with other folks kids with this option.

Best

With only 4 days I would save my frequent flier miles and either take a short flight or drive to New England or somewhere along the Atlantic coast--lots of romantic places to stay and fabulous scenery. Acadia would be great.

Look at Luxury Link for some great romantic inns and lodgings. Call and check availability and then start bidding.