need some budget travel ideas for my mom's 50th. help!

KatieBride06

it's coming up quickly (end of March) and we really have only tossed around the idea of a trip. everyone is strapped for cash and my mom mentioned making it a 'girls weekend' b/c my dad can't really afford to close his business since no one else can run the place right now.

i haven't gotten a budget from people yet, but i'm trying to formulate some ideas. i think we'd be more of a lounge in the sun, fruity drinks, good food type of group. but a winery would be awesome. i think one thing we're all dead set on is warm weather though, so that'd be going at least to Florida.

please help with some ideas. maybe a long weekend trip Thurs - Sunday. not opposed to flying, but again ... $$$

marryingacoach

If you wanted to wait a month or two Carnival is starting to cruise out of Charleston in June. 
What about Charleston for a long weekend? It is a such a great city for shopping, eating, site seeing.
Sounds like a lot of fun! Enjoy!

KatieBride06

marryingacoach:

If you wanted to wait a month or two Carnival is starting to cruise out of Charleston in June. 
What about Charleston for a long weekend? It is a such a great city for shopping, eating, site seeing.
Sounds like a lot of fun! Enjoy!

Charleston would be awesome, but I think I'd have to suggest waiting till mid/late April to make sure the weather is warmer. plus, the actual weekend of my mom's bday is Cooper River and the city is way too packed. i might go to that still , but i'm willing to cancel if we do a girls trip.

derky17

Well, I'm not really a help here giving exact dollar figures, but do you know if there are any discount air providers out of your local airport?  Here in GSO we have allegiant air that only flies 2 days a week (Friday and Monday) but supposedly have very cheap flights to limited destinations in Florida.  If you aren't married to only one specific weekend, you could look to see what would garner you the cheapest flight.  And check out VRBO.com for condos/houses to rent instead of going the traditional hotel route.  That way, you could grocery shop for things like breakfast and lunch (make things in the kitchen) and decide where to go for dinner while down there.  If you rent a condo, they still may have some of the amentities that you'd want like a pool and such.  Hope this helps you out!

SkyLizard

What about heading down to St Augustine Florida? That may not be too long of a car drive or you could probably get a cheap flight down there.

KatieBride06

is anyone familiar with Key West?

terpbrideinnc

Travelzoo's top 20 sometimes has suites in Florida for under $100/night, but the deals are usually only a month out.

terpbrideinnc

PS I can't believe it's your mom's 50'th, my mom turns 60 this year.

SkyLizard

terpbrideinnc:

PS I can't believe it's your mom's 50'th, my mom turns 60 this year.

My mom's turning 70 this year

KatieBride06

boo ... Key West looks pretty expensive to fly into but i like some things on VBRO there.

SkyLizard

How about HIlton Head? Would that be warm in March?

Free2Sing

The condo route is great!  We did that two years ago right outside of Orlando, FL and it was nice to be able to make food in a full size kitchen and still have the pool and all.

Have fun!

slhall730

terpbrideinnc:

PS I can't believe it's your mom's 50'th, my mom turns 60 this year.

Yeah my mom is 62!

poz

I second St. Augustine.  We went there 4 years ago for a friends wedding, and loved it.  We drove and it wasn't a bad drive at all.  You could always drive down and stay and stay the night in Savannah or something to break it up a little.  We went in June, so I'm not sure how April would be.  We stayed at the Wold Golf Hall of Fame and really enjoyed it.  I can send you a link to the specific hotel if you would like- very tuscan, spa, like.  Cute places to shop and the beach is right there!

krispychikin

I don't have anything to add to the ideas listed above - but I wanted to say what a great idea for your mom's 50th birthday!  My mom turns 50 in July - I might have to start floating the idea of a girls weekend around with my gram and my aunts!

toadslove

Katie - March and April are peak travel times because of Spring Break & Easter.  You are going to have to pay more all around unless you pick up a last minute deal.  Id probably steer clear of Spring Break type places as well.  That's not my idea of a good time (anymore) and I cant imagine your mom (or you) doing the beer bong and wet t-shirt contests.  After Easter prices drop drastically - maybe you can plan in advance to do a belated celebration and you can pick where you want to go and your options will be more plentiful.

Here is a college spring break calendar you can look at.  Some weeks are worse than others.

AmericanTribal

Have you looked into Islamorada in the FL Keys? It's a little less of a party town than Key West, but it's still fun, relaxing, and just absolutely BEAUTIFUL (it's my favorite Key). It's also *a lot* less expensive than Key West.

jameslong

How much is your budget cost for traveling with your mom? If you have average travel budget you can go roadtrip and do picnic whole day. If you have much budget than an average you can also get a travel package in your nearest travel agency and ask the cheapest flight travel and tours.

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jenn&tim05

Look at all these familiar faces! What did you end up doing Katie? 

its been a long time ladies!