Trip Challenge
 

I have a group of 15 senior students and 1 chaperone wanting to take a 3 day/2 night trip somewhere. They are from Philadelphia and want something fun and the typical senior stuff, like by the beach, etc... These are the price contraints; airfare-$175/pp, hotel-$95/night, transfers-$300 total. The hotel needs to be in the center of everything and preferable by the beach. They're looking at the weekend of May 27. Any suggestions?

First off, this sounds like it may be impossible as I believe that's Memorial Day weekend which is very busy for travel.

That said, there are two points for clarification I'm not sure of.

1) Is the $95/night for a hotel room per person, and would they be willing to put 4 in a room, or is that the cost per room?

2) Do they need a beach where it will be warm enough to swim, or is just warm enough to hang out on the beach good enough?

katybug, you will probaly need at least one more chaperone.

When I was in the hotel business, we insisted upon one chaperone per four students.

Spirit Airlines flies direct to Myrtle Beach from Atlantic City.

Skip Myrtle Beach then. It is Black Bike Week that weekend. Think Spring Break College aged kids on crotch rockets.

www.BlackBeachWeek.com

In late May, you could be lucky enough to have some nice beach days as far north as the Virginia beaches....that should be well within your budget. Try a trip to somewhere with real character and history like Chincoteague, which also has good beaches.

Or for a better hope of pleasant beaches, you might try the South Carolina beaches. But for the absolutely best beach experience, go where others go---to Florida. Fly into Fort Walton Beach, Jacksonville, Daytona, Melbourne, or points farther south. You might also fly into Mobile or Gulfport and hit the Alabama or Mississippi beaches.

For an experience that will take you away from the big spring break type of crowds, see if you can get some good breaks on airfare into Tampa and head for St. Pete Beach. Once there, head south to the quaint little beachside village of Pass-a-Grille, a national historic district with usually uncrowded beaches, low cost mom-and-pop hotels, and some neat places to eat. Good luck.

You need more chaperones.

Beaches in the middle of everything, hmm, Miami comes to mind, but will not make it on your budget.

You might like Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Busch Gardens theme park. And you could drive/rent a bus and save some money that way.

Wow, I'm amazed at the fast response! Excellent! jlm_mi, it's $95 total for each room per night. They could do 4 people in a room. And they would like to be able to swim in the ocean.

I also thought it sounded impossible, but I thought someone would have some ideas. Basically, I was thinking areas that are not the typical, but busy enough to keep high school seniors busy and out of trouble.

The same direct flight from Atlantic City to Myrtle Beach goes from MB directly to Ft. Lauderdale. You should find some great hotels there. Don't search dirctly in FLL beach but look at Hollywood Beach and Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. More bang for your buck.

It does look like there are flight deals from PHL to various Florida destinations for $150-$175 right now, with dates through May, so that part may be feasible if the flight is booked soon.

Hotels may still be a problem, but hopefully one of the other suggestions here works for you. :)