Fun vacation ideas around the area (Erie, Hershey: appointed, apartment, rental)

[quaymorris]

My boyfriend and I were planning on taking a trip this summer to either Chicago, California or Florida (I know, all over the map lol); however, we will now be moving out of our current apartment and have to drop a good deal on cleaning, moving expenses, deposits, etc. Doing all of that on top of one of those trips would be too much right now. My boyfriend is a bit disappointed because he's been stressed out at work and was looking forward to a long weekend somewhere, anywhere.

I still feel like we could do a vacation, it would just need to be much closer and more affordable lol. We once did a long weekend downtown: got a hotel room at the Omni William Penn and really just explored downtown. It was fun as hell and affordable. Same with when we went to the Chautauqua Institute. Are there any other places that y'all could recommend along the same lines: feeling like you're "getting away" even if it's not that far? Nowhere we would have to fly, driving would be preferred. Whether it's another neat area of the city or another whole town not too far away. We're both history buffs and love museums, nature trails, and the like.

[BrianTH]

The Laurel Highlands is a great place to combine an interest in history and nature. This will give you some idea of your options:

Things to do in Laurel Highlands, Pa | What to do when visiting Western Pennsylvania | Visitors Bureau

[Paint It Pink]

McConnells Mill is a nice day trip! Or heck, go to Erie! Lots of history between here and there.

If you like some serious business history, check out Old Bedford Village (about 3 hrs outside of the city)

I've been looking for a good weekend trip too... actually thinking about Hershey park- but the hotels near it are very expensive.

[Bong477]

niagara falls, gettysburg, erie, washington dc

[WhoIsStanwix?]

I vote DC. It's driving distance (4 hours + or -), probably slightly less affordable than downtown, but savings on the flight should make it doable. The museums are free, and some of the best in the country. I could spend days in the National Gallery. At night, you have neighborhoods like Adams Morgan and Georgetown, if bars and restaurants are your thing. Once you get there, public transit and cabs should be able to take you everywhere you need. I think there's also a bike rental service down there where you can grab a bike off a rack and return it to any other rack in town. You'll need to do some more research on that. Look for hotel specials and pay attention to the neighborhood you'll be in, and the parking situation at the hotel.

[Bong477]

Use hotwire or priceline, you can stay in a good hotel for <$100/night many weekends in DC. You can also save money by staying outside the city and riding the metro in. There is a lot to do and much of it is free. You could also go to Baltimore as an alternative, pretty reasonable rates on hotels there too with hotwire or priceline most weekends. Although I didn't enjoy living there, its a decent weekend trip especially when the weather is nice.

[ferraris]

If you camp out the megabus site you could try to snag the cheap NYC tickets. NYC certainly isn't cheap, but the extremely low cost of megabus could make it doable.

Also, It's only about 3 hours to get to Cedar Point.

[fleetiebelle]

Cleveland. It's a 2 hour drive. Hit up the West Side Market, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Lakeview Cemetery, eat at Lolita or Melt, depending on your budget.

[escilade18]

I think that Philly would be a great option if both of you like history. They have Valley Forge about a half hour outside of the city along with the liberty bell and Independence hall in the city. The city itself contains some beautiful historic architecture and the center city area is fun to explore. While you can get there via megabus, I would suggest driving, that way if you want to go somewhere like Valley Forge, it will be significantly easier (it is anywhere between a 4-6 hour drive depending on how fast you drive and if you hit any traffic).

[Augie6]

Do you have any idea on a set budget ?

What are you looking to do or more important NOT to do...