Suggestions for our next mother/daughter trip please
 

My soon to be 18 year old daughter and I are travel enthusiasts. We've recently returned from our latest trip over New Year's to London and we're already contemplating our next trip which will likely be in late May or early June. However, our next trip can only be 5 to 7 days and will be on more of a budget. We love both nature oriented trips and trips to large cities. We aren't into shopping and we enjoy historical attractions and museums in moderation. We also enjoy music, theater and comedy shows. We love to hike and to visit beautiful botanical gardens. We also like a bit of adventure, but are not thrill seekers. We love seafood, but also enjoy trying different foods when we travel.

As you can tell from my user name, we'll be coming from Texas. Places that we have been in the last few years include San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, the coast of Maine including Acadia National Park, Hot Springs and other parts of Arkansas, Beaver's Bend in Oklahoma, much of Oregon, Maui, St. Croix, Turks and Caicos, Grand Cayman and most recently London. She will be traveling to Colorado for college fish camp in late July or early August.

Seattle and the surrounding area is very high on my list for a visit at some point, but I want to have more than 5 to 7 days when we go there. St. John is also on my want list but I think it would likely be more than I'd like to spend for this trip.

I'm considering San Francisco with a visit to Muir Woods. My daughter has expressed an interest in Chicago, but I don't know much about it or how teen friendly it might be. She's also expressed an interest in seeing some of Canada. We've also thought about Playa Del Carmen since airfare from Texas is reasonable.

So I thought I would turn to Fodors for some inspiration for our next trip. Any ideas for our next destination? Thoughts on the places I'm considering?

Chicago is perfect for that amount of time. Love the architecture and the food!

San Francisco would be MY 1st choice. Denver would be second. Chicago 3rd.

Chicago prices are pretty high at that time of year. Since you're watching the budget, maybe Toronto?

San Francisco for a few days for the city. Then rent a car and take a trip down the coast why to Monterey, Point Lobos etc for the nature stuff.

While maybe not for this May/June trip, add Puerto Rico to your list. Went there with my young adult dtr 2 years ago. Mix of history and relaxation, museums and historical sites, rain forest, mountains and beach. Since it is US territory, US money, no passport, cell phone works without additional charges.

Not on your list, but hitting all your points: Philadelphia, with cheap flights from Texas on Frontier. Great city for walking and exploring, Fairmount Park for nature, and Longwood Gardens nearby for botanical gardens. (Plus there are various gardens and arboretums in the city itself, and Shofuso Japanese Villa at the Fairmount Horticultural Center.) Five to seven days is a great amount of time to get a good view of the city, and there are a lot of great food experiences, from the Italian Market to Reading Terminal to a huge variety of restaurants at all price points. Here's a few ideas and pics for you: missalg.tumblr.com

Chicago, definitely. I loved SF for the nature aspect, but I thought Chicago was amazing and it seemed very teen friendly.

And another point is that Unless you've been to the redwood NF, then 5-7 days is fine for SF, but I'd add on stuff outside of SF. SF is terrific but Big Sur and redwoods and Yosemite were my favorite parts of the trip- for all of that, you definitely need more than 7 days.

Our teen grandkids all love visiting Chicago. We return as often as possible too.

My new favorite place is Newfoundland! You could fly into St. John's, spend a few days (lots of cool music, great seaside drives like the Irish Loop, tiny fishing villages, great fish and chips at The Ship and at Chess's, lots of little festivals here and there: we went to a pottery bake at a beach and bought some really cool pieces), drive up to one of the peninsulas, like Bonavista, for a few more days, then back to St. John's. Check out what the various websites say about the time of year that you'll be there, but when we were there in late July, we saw a TON of whales, puffins, and two icebergs. The ocean views are amazing, and even better than that, the people are the friendliest I've ever met while traveling. It's an easy place to be with a very interesting history. We went from one end of the island to the other, but really, you can do what I said and have just as much fun. The whole time we were there, we were wondering why everyone doesn't go there! We stayed at several rentals overlooking the water where we could see whales, and spent a few nights at Harbour Couture (https://www.vrbo.com/663702) in a tiny little town called Southport just a few hours from St. John's. Everyone who I talked to there was SO interesting and welcoming. As were the people in Elliston, which is at the top of the Bonavista peninsula. They took my husband cod fishing and gave us pointers on how to cook it. Gave him moose burgers, too. We heard whales from our front porch there, and saw one of them breaching the new today over and over and over again. I've been a lot of places, and I think that Newfoundland would be a great deal of fun for a mother/daughter vacation.

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions! So it sounds like San Francisco and Chicago are the top choices. I'm really glad to hear the Chicago is teen friendly!

Thank you also for the additional destination suggestions. clarkgriswold, I did not know that Toronto would be considered a budget destination. I will look into it! Amy, I had not thought of Philadelphia, thanks for suggesting it. I enjoyed your pictures! CindyW, Newfoundland sounds wonderful, but I think it would probably be better to go there in late July/early August. Airfare may be pretty expensive from Texas also. Thank you though, and I'll put it on my list for possible future destinations.

If anyone has any other comments or ideas for places that I haven't considered I'd love to hear them. Thank you all again!

Santa Fe/Albuquerque

Oops, typo. Meant *that* Chicago is teen friendly, not the Chicago, lol.

DebitNM, I had wondered about Santa Fe and Albuquerque because I know it is a popular destination. I'm not familiar with Santa Fe at all though. What things are popular to do there?

There are a variety of small, easy and fast to see and do musuems. Lots of great art galleries for browsing on Canyon Road, some great food, lots of outdoor hiking, walks etc, Lensic Performing Arts center, spas, botanical gardens, Randall Davey Audubon Center, huge Farmer's Market, The Plaza, El Rancho de las Golondrina, Opera House

more here:
https://www.innofthegovernors.com/th...o-in-santa-fe/

Thank you for the reply and the link DebitNM. It sounds interesting. I will bring this up with my daughter to see what she thinks.

My vote is for San Francisco--especially if you visit in May. It's just such a unique place. I tire of Chicago after a just a few days. I know others will disagree, but for me it lacks SF's charm. I think there are more options in SF for outdoor pursuits as well. If you like botanical gardens, you'll enjoy Golden Gate Park.

Also wanted to say that it depends what type of shopping you want to do. SF is terrific all around, especially if you like multicultural stuff and small boutiques. Chicago's Michigan Ave is a lot of fun if you like amazing department stores- great fun for high end window shopping. But it doesn't have the boutique culture that I like in the west- the boutiques that I did really like were very dispersed. I covered A LOT of ground in Chicago in comparison to my time in SF.

Your post calls out for Iceland! I'm headed there with my mom in May for my second time there. Lots of outdoorsy adventures, fantastic seafood, a beautiful city, and historical landmarks and museums aplenty. It's fairly cheap to get there (Icelandair has lots of package tours) but can be a little pricey once you're there. I'm not much for souvenirs so not really a factor for me.