Where to go on vacation with little money? (cruise ship, best, hotel)

[riverbottomkidok]

I would like to take my daughter somewhere after graduation. We have never left the states or flown and would love any suggestions for first-timers. We have a small budget with no real clue as to the cost of a trip like this.

Do you suggest a cruise? Hawaii trip? Mexico?

[yellowsnow]

A cruise would be nice and they can be quite reasonable. You sort of think of your self as a turtle, you carry your shell with you and just wakeup somewhere different every morning. The extras can be expensive. If you don't drink or take all the excursions, it can be very budget friendly.

Check out vacationstogo.com.

[Newdaawn]

If you want to stay within the US my suggestion is - Washington DC. It is inexpensive and has much to offer. If you are flying in to National it is easy to get curtesy van to many hotels or take the Metro. The metro is also very easy to use and inexpensive. IMO everyone should see DC at least once. The Art Museums are great and so is Georgetown, all the monuments, the Kennedy Center etc. If you plan ahead you can get tickets to a performance at the Kennedy Center. Also you do not need to rent a car to get around. That saves quite a bit too. You don't say if this is a HS graduation or a college one.

Cruises or Mexico have never appealed to me.

[Chava61]

Canada is also an option.
But you are really not giving enough information about what your budget is & what your interests are in order to offer you real tips.

[TKramar]

It could be interesting to be a tourist in your own town, or state.

There are places close by me that I've never been to...but if I was interested in taking a vacation, I could visit those places.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by TKramar

It could be interesting to be a tourist in your own town, or state.

There are places close by me that I've never been to...but if I was interested in taking a vacation, I could visit those places.

I agree with this concept, with the exception that if you're in the east, you might include neighboring states as well, since many eastern states are fairly small.

I have traveled all over the western U.S. and have seen many things in other areas, but have missed some of the things within a few hundred miles, or less, of home. For example, I've visited most of the National Parks in AZ, CO, UT, WY, and MT with my kids, but haven't yet taken them to the closest ones in California. Go figure.

You didn't really state what you're interested in seeing or doing on the vacation, so that makes it hard to help you decide what to see or do.

About a year and a half ago, I realized that my kids had never flown anywhere, and about the same time, I learned that ExpressJet airlines was going to stop flying out of the airport in Bakersfield, CA. I checked and found that they only flew from there to San Diego and Sacramento. I checked ticket prices and found them to be reasonable to both destinations, so I decided to book flights for us to go to San Diego. I also made reservations for a motel and rental car. While doing my research, I found out about the "Go San Diego" discount card. Figuring that I could maximize the value offered by that card, I purchased a "three-day" one for each of us. This card provided entry to a number of tourist attractions for one convenient low price, and saved us at least $200 over the few days we were there. All-in-all, for the three of us, a five day, four night trip, cost somewhere around $1500, if I remember correctly. We could have saved about $600 on airfare and rental car, if we had driven there, but one of the major reasons for the trip was so my kids had the chance to fly somewhere.

The point of that long story was to give an idea for things to do closer to home. I don't know what the budget is that you are considering, or how many people you're planning to take along, but this should give you some ideas. The "Go San Diego" card is only one of several that are offered by the company that sells them. Others include Las Vegas, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC, Orlando, and several others. If you do a web search, you can find this online fairly easily. Unfortunately, I didn't find any destinations that were terribly close to Oklahoma. The Blue Ridge and Chicago locations were probably the closest that were offered.

Thinking of other things in your area, I came up with Branson and Dallas. I'm sure both offer a wealth of things to see and do, and are close to you if you want to stay nearby. I've even visited Dodge City, Kansas, and found it to be a fun place to visit, though I think it's best for shorter vacations.

Anyway, I hope this gives you more food for thought and helps you figure out what you would like to do.

[susancruzs]

I think a road trip would be great fun and part of the fun is in the planning!

Cruising is not reasonable, its hard not to come away without spending quite a bit of extra money. I've been cruising for 28 yrs. (22 or so) and it is not an inexpensive vacation, even if you get a super deal. I've had friends tell me after their first cruise, they had no idea about all the extra stuff to pay. I travel alone but take those extras times 2 people, pricey.

Sightseeing in your own state or one nearby would be my suggestion. Every state has something to offer!

[doggiebus]

Cruises are great and you can get them fairly cheap. You just need to factor in flying to the port city if you don't live in driving distance to one and your excursions on the cruise. Cruise ships leave out of many ports in the US so hopefully there is a port close to you. Whats nice about a cruise is your hotel and food is pretty much taken care of. If you have never cruised before make sure you get a room in the center (bow to stern) of the ship, less noise and less movement is felt at this part of the ship.

[jtur88]

Dominican Republic is very cheap, and not a very expensive flight.

Basically, a cruise is just a very very expensive hotel from which the view is nearly always the water and you can't go out in the street.

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by riverbottomkidok

I would like to take my daughter somewhere after graduation. We have never left the states or flown and would love any suggestions for first-timers. We have a small budget with no real clue as to the cost of a trip like this.

Do you suggest a cruise? Hawaii trip? Mexico?

I"ve always heard there are great deals to be had with a Hawaiian vacation...

I went to Vegas with my daughter once... I wouldn't stay in the Venetian again, rather some low budge place with really clean beds & self locking doors (it's a safety precation). The only good thing about that vacation was going to see the Blue Man Group... quite a performance... It was spendy but a great, memorable show & you get to meet the performers afterward: lots of them, not just the tall blue guys!

If you go to Palm Springs, the downtown is really nice but it's a really HOT place with lots of one way streets downtown...

Kate