suze

Sorry but I think kids (13, 9, and 6) would be a whole lot more excited about Disneyworld, than going sightseeing in January in Washington DC or New York City.

meamommy

Thank you so much for all these ideas you guys. We homeschool so that makes it easier on us to travel in the off season which is great!

sallytakemyhand

I wouldn't want to be in Washington during the inauguration unless I was some big time donor to the winning campaign and planned on going to the balls.

What about some place like San Antonio or Austin?

Sassafrass

Elissabi's idea of a Caribbean cruise would be wonderful in January and might just fit the bill for some interesting places to see within your budget. Every kid I have met on a cruise loved it. Cost for 7 days is only a bit more than 5, gives you another port to see and more time for fun on the ship, so go for 7. This would be for inside cabins, which we have done many times and it is fine. You could save cost of airfare by driving to New Orleans. You need to be there the night before anyway and some hotels will let you leave your car during the trip, so saving parking.

We have done 3 family cruises with DD and GD. It is our favorite family vacation, easy and fun, while still seeing new places and doing new things. They love the islands.

This would work for you
Carnival Dream, beautiful, 4 & 1/2 stars, huge dedicated areas with activities for each age, pools & water park, outdoor movie theater, etc. It departs from New Orleans, has a mix of days at sea and port days. It is a large, but not mega, ship.

It is $350.00 pp for the 7 nights. Adding in tips, hotels and allowing $500.00 for shore excursions and activities, it would still be within your budget. Remember, all food, except some speciality restaurants, sodas and acoholic drinks is included.

My GD is addicted to cruising. She loves the experience of being on a ship and seeing different islands and countries. She especially loves swimming and snorkeling in the Caribbean.

In two weeks, she is going for the first time to WDW with her Aunt. It will be interesting to see which she would choose for her next trip: WDW again or another cruise.

To see pictures of that ship, go to vacationstogo.com and pull up Carnival Dream for stats and photos. Ask questions here on Fodor's Cruise Forum and go to cruisecritic.com for even more info.

Sassafrass

If your DH gets discounts, he may even be able to get something discounted on Carnival or get some extra upgrade or something.

Another website to look at is travelzoo.com. They provide what they find on discounted packages, hotels, airfare, cruises, vacations world wide, etc. They are not a seller. You book the travel stuff through the individual company.

Sassafrass

BTW, if you can travel between Thanksgiving to New Years, Williamsburg, VA is fantastic, with decorations, music, actors in costumes, great fireworks on New Years Eve, etc.