Need Ideas About Where to Go Under 2K

If you don't mind driving, we just took a family of 4 on vacation for less than $1000 which included hotel, tickets into the places, food, souvenirs, etc. We drove to San Antonio and did the Riverwalk, Alamo, Fiesta Texas, and Sea World. Then drove to Galveston and spent the night on the beach and then went to the Johnson Space Center before we came home. It was a quick whirlwind trip, but it was lots of fun!

Okay, so everyone else must vacation differently than I do, 'cuz I think $2000 is a perfectly reasonable budget. Granted, I tend to go low-budget, 'cuz I'd rather have a picnic in Paris than a spa day and 4-star steak dinner in Fort Worth.

The big question is: $2000 to cover how many people? Just the two of you? And how old is Ava? Then, what kind of vacation are you looking for? City? beach? mountains? Are you open to camping? Youth hostels? (you don't have to be 20-something for these--they have family bedrooms!) Do you have local connections anywhere that can help you out (e.g., I once rented a chalet in Switzerland for $600/wk from the uncle of a friend). What time period are you thinking of? There are some great deals for overseas flights these days, into early fall. You have to be flexible with dates, however, to get the good deals--being willing to fly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays is a big plus.

A couple of examples of cheap vacations I've done, of various scales:

1) Last summer, me + DH + 1-yr-old DD went to the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, MS, and had a GREAT time. Entire cost for whole trip for 3 people (we roadtripped and packed a cooler for picnics): $500

2) Pre-baby, I did a long-weekend snowboard trip to Switzerland for $1000--found a hot-deal last-minute flight for $500 including taxes, stayed in cheap hotels, ate out of the grocery store, and spent priceless days on the slopes....

3) Also once did 6 weeks in Europe on $3000, including airfare and tuition for a one-month Italian class in Siena.

So cheap travelling you can do--the further you go, the more creative you need to get to keep airfare low--and some options become less attractive with a little one (wouldn't camp on the beach in Italy with a 2-year-old, for example, since it's too noisy to sleep until about 10pm...) PM me with more about what you're looking for, if you want more specific tips...

Have you looked into a cruise? I think Carnival runs out of Galveston, along with others. And of course cruise lines go out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, but I don't know what the cost of airfare would be to those destinations, but the cruise prices maybe cheaper so it may still be an option. Carnival is usually less expensive than the other cruise lines and depending on Ava's age they have a great kid's club program. I haven't been on Carnival myself, but my sister took her 3 and 4 year old on a cruise and they loved it. Just be careful with how much you spend on excursions, gambling and alcohol and you shouldn't have a problem staying under the 2k mark. They run cruises to Mexico and the Carribean. Remember you will need a passport for both of you if you plan on a cruise or any out of the country destination. I've been on both a Alaskan cruise and Carribean cruise and by far loved the Carribean. When my daughter is old enough to take part in the kids club, we are planning another cruise.

I have to agree with T F. I travel extensively and unless you have American Airlines miles to garner a free ticket, your airfare will be the extent of your budget. If your dates are flexible, you can get pretty reasonable discounts during the offseason to beach destinations. We went to Cancun during Thanksgiving once and it was cheap and still the weather was wonderful!

Also, even in the world of "book your own trip online", it doesn't hurt to call in an expert. I was booking a trip recently to South Padre and haven't been there in 14 years (the island has changed sooo much) and the place we used to stay wouldn't return my calls. So I got online and just was inundated with information. Eventually, I found someone who would TALK to me about it and said "here's the place that's right for you" and it was so helpful! We just loved the place and had a fantastic trip.

I think overseas is out of the question. Where are you looking to go?

You might, I say "might" find a destination in Mexico for a short weekend. Some airlines might have an all inclusive for Mexico but be very wary of where you go in Mexico. Cabo San Lucas is nice but I $2000 won't do that.

An overseas vacation ticket alone is around $1000 each, less if your REALLY lucky. Then you are looking at hotels, food, extras.....

If you can't afford to go and do it right when you go, I'd just wait because you don't want to get there and be so strapped financially that you can't enjoy yourself.

I suggest doing something around here or a short Southwest trip somewhere. You can get some great advance fares on Southwest. Now, $2000 for a weekend somewhere that Southwest flies is something doable if you just have to go.

Lastly and more importantly, if the $2000 is such a big deal for a vacation...maybe you need to be reconsidering and have a staycation to do fun things with your daughter instead of going into debt on a vacation. Save that $2000 for a rainy day or on next years vacation if you have all of your other savings up to par. Delayed gratification saves you money and also will mean that you'll have a better trip when you go better prepared financially.

Please don't go into debt just to go on a vacation.