The price of flights are just outrageous! Everywhere I look, they are in the upper $700's, I just cannot justify paying that much for flights only. That's $2334 according to my last quote and that is before you pay the luggage fees.
So now we are going to have a bit of a family meeting tonight and try to figure out where else we might like to go. We have the time off July 25th - August 2nd. So we have a good amount of time to do something fun.
Here are some of the ideas my Husband & I have thrown around today.
Dallas to Oralando with a side trip to Miama (my brother in law owns 2 condo's in Orland & can get us discounted tickets to any of the parks)
A cruise from Galveston
Fly to Minnesota & take a few days to drive to Winnipeg, Canada & visit my Husband's Mom along the way.
All of them sound like fun, but all in a different way. I like the cruise option because then we are at least getting out of the country & expereincing another culture....if just for a short period (plus we all have our passports).
Orlando/Miami - I think of all the photo opportunities! The places we could visit, the theme parks sound only ok to me, the beaches sound & look so lovely (thanks J frugal mom R!)......
Minnesota - see family which I am missing, and get out of the country to Canada which my daughter & I have never been to Canada before.
So, those are the ideas right now, unless I can find a deal on flights to Costa Rica VERY soon. Talking tonight we may come up with some more ideas....
Any advice?
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Comments: 91
The cruise idea is a good one as everything or almost everything is inclusive once you get on board. It would be a good idea to look into different cruise lines and see where you would want to go.
Canada is always beautiful and especially this time of year.
Miami and Orlando sound like a blast!! Been to Orlando because I lived in Tampa but would love to go to Miami and the Florida Keys ~ now that would make for some awesome photos!!
Minnesota would be nice if you want to see family.
Hope that you can find better fares to Costa Rica because I know how much you love it there!! ;)
Good luck in your search and in your decision!
I hope you will be able to find a great deal somehow though.
I'm glad to hear that my beach photos have inspired you, and of course I can only recommend the area. The only think I will have to say is to be careful that you don't overbook yourself. It is so easy to do, when you want to see everything, but it is afterall a vacation.
I wish I could help you with finding a Costa Rica deal, but I have not been flight shopping to that part of the world.
I hope whatever you all decide you have a great time!!
I would personally take the cruise, but any of them sound like they could be fun. Good luck with your choice.
On the other hand - the Clearwater beaches are rated #1 (Best urban beach on the Gulf and best beach in the country - Caladesi!) and the restaurants are great! See my article here:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?
articleId=281474977349711&nav=MyGather
(above link should be on one line)
If you have an AirTran Airways near you, maybe you can book through to Altanta and then pick up a cheaper flight from Atlanta to Costa Rica.
Good luck in deciding on vacation plans!
Airlines are real expensive right now. They're up $150-$200 over last year's prices for the same flight. That's a lot.
Whatever trip you decide to take they all sound like fun!
They are charging luggage fees now? WOW!
Good luck trying to decide on an alternate location!
I'd choose the cruise
Richard, I will watch for an email from you on what you mentioned - I would sit though it if it got me a good deal down there.
Also, I wonder if club live frequent flier miles apply to flights to Costa Rica? I know they go a lot of places.... if you play the limit of points each day, you might be able to rack up a bunch of flier miles before you need to go? I don't know... it's a thought. (even if they don't go to costa rica, they might help with another trip?)
I was so disappointed for you when I read the title of the article, but I can certainly see why you might change your plans.
Only you and your family will be able to decide what to do. I hope you get it all situated though.
Visiting family is always a good choice though.
I hope you dont have to cancel your trip, that would be sad.
Right now we are leaning towards the Minnesota/Canada trip.
I know how much you were looking forward to it. I would call a travel agent and maybe he or she can get you a package deal. I was supposed to be going to Germany in August but the cost for our family just flights was almost 5000.00 so we cancelled for now. It depends on what you like to do.
We love going to Folly Beach off the Charleston SC coast. There is a nice hotel on the island beach front. There are tons of things to do there. If you like seeing historic cities I would suggest that. I fell in love with the place. It is not overly crowded either which is a plus for me. I hate crowds. There is only one hotel on the island though so reservations have to be made unless you look into renting a condo.
We also enjoyed Canada when we went. I would start doing online research on the areas you are thinking about and see what really suits your family. Good luck!
Yikes!
Do you have any frequent flier miles that you can use? My cousin used a bunch of hers and only had to pay $45.00...that was from Costa Rica to California and back.
Keep us posted. Good luck!
I hope it works out for you.
BUT.....OMG! Does that picture look like HEAVEN or what!! Love it!
If it weren't for my Mom's 80th birthday, I would not be going to Germany this year either. The prices are insane and what's worse for me the Euro is high and the dang dollar is down - two strikes right there.
If it stays that way, I will not be able to fly each year like I have been.
Somebody posted an article about Toronto and OMG is it a beautiful city - maybe you'll get a chance to go there if you go to Canada.
Winnipeg is about the best we can do & that is 8 hours of driving.
BTW. Thanks for commenting on my Quick Tips 4 U article. The tips come from many sources. I go all over the web, read numerous magazines and books. Because of my own health problems, six stents in my heart and arthritis, plus various other things I'm working to improve started me on this mission. Back in the 90's I published a local health magazine in FL and also had a health and fitness tips fax that I sent out weekly before getting on the internet.
Thanks again and blessings on all you do.
If I could have them transferred you could have probably gotten there real cheap.
whatever you do, make the best of it... Blessings always...
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I'm sure you will enjoy yourselves no matter where you go. Minnesota and Canada should be beautiful in the summer.
Things are so expensive these days.
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I would go with the cruise since you already have your passports.
I still want to move to Costa Rica, I just think I will have to wait until my daughter graduates from High School in 4 years.
Orlando has some great places to visit and have a gret time. You could even head over to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens. It is a fun place. We have yearly passes.
I know I was off gather for almost a month dealing with house stuff but I am not sure how I missed this.