4-day trip, from Boston, somewhere warm

March 7, 2013 4:13 AM

We've only just got our act together to be able to take the same days off work next week - so my husband and I would like to take a quick trip somewhere. BUT - I cant think where to go! We'd be departing from Boston, leaving Thursday anytime, need to be back by sunday noon. I'd prefer to not have a long drive, or a flight of more than 4 hours, given we dont have a lot of time. I think given the time constraints, we're limited to the east coast USA. But I can't get further than that... Hivemind - help us figure out how to enjoy our first break in a while! Both of us enjoy going places where there are interesting or historic area to walk around and explore, great food, art galleries to sigh over... Me: Would love to go somewhere warm. Him: ability to get outdoors, small towns or rural areas preferred - no big city (so not NYC or DC)

Cities/towns we've enjoyed visiting: Savannah, Montreal, Annapolis
We mostly head to the Berkshires or NH/Vermont when we've done 3-4 day trips like this. While I don't want to deal with cold or snow, we both love the vibe of small NE towns, so anything like that further south would be excellent. Open to renting a car when we get to our destination.

My husband ruled out FL (avoiding students on spring break). I looked at PR , but that was definitely outside our budget. I dont want to spend our savings, but aware that given it's last minute , flights will be pricey. But don't let price stop you - would love any ideas for where we should explore. What are your favorite (warm!) hideaway relaxation spots along the east coast North America?

posted by darsh to Travel & Transportation (19 answers total)

Best answer: Charleston, SC, though it's maybe not "warm" next week.
posted by knile at 4:18 AM on March 7, 2013 [4 favorites]

Best answer: There are places in FL that won't be overrun with drunken frat kids. A friend of mine is in Big Pine Key at the moment and the pictures make it look blissful. I might also look at Indian Rocks Beach; it's close to Clearwater Beach but the area is all residential plus rent-by-owner & smaller rentals which keeps it from getting too crazed.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:21 AM on March 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Outer Banks in North Carolina.
posted by empath at 4:23 AM on March 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Bermuda?
posted by Rock Steady at 4:38 AM on March 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

You may want to check out Jet Blue; they have short flights and hotel packages to the Bahamas and fly out of Logan.
posted by kinetic at 5:07 AM on March 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My first suggestion was Savannah, but you've been there. Seconding Charleston, which is also fabulous.
posted by gone2croatan at 5:12 AM on March 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Have you been to St. Augustine?
posted by mareli at 5:19 AM on March 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Seconding ThePinkSuperhero on Florida. I don't know what you consider "warm" but even South Florida isn't hot hot hot right now so if you want reliable warm weather (I'm thinking ~75 F) you'll need to go Florida.
posted by telegraph at 5:21 AM on March 7, 2013

Best answer: Seconding St Augustine. It not really a beach destination so it won't have sprig breakers (it's also a bit early for those anyway).

Or come to Nashville! The weather will be in the 60s.
posted by dawkins_7 at 5:25 AM on March 7, 2013

Bermuda would only be in the sixties and windy. Warmth is relative, of course.
posted by jgirl at 5:32 AM on March 7, 2013

Best answer: Weirdly enough, Ft. Lauderdale won't be overrun with spring breakers. There may be lots of families with kids down there, but not the drunken revelry of the college kids.

American Airlines has direct flights from Boston to Miami and to Ft. Lauderdale.

So don't be so quick to discount Florida. It's exactly what you're looking for!

(We're going to Orlando in a couple of weeks. Also NOT a sprink break destination for the college kids)
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:48 AM on March 7, 2013

Delta flies nonstop from Boston to Bermuda in just over two hours for about $370 each, though I'm not sure there's a flight that's early enough to get you back on Sunday by noon. I went over Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and it was lovely -- empty, beautiful beaches and little historic towns.
posted by cider at 6:03 AM on March 7, 2013

Nassau? It's 3 hours from Boston: https://www.google.com/flights/?hl=en#search;f=BOS;t=NAS;q=flights+boston+to+nassau;d=2013-03-23;r=2013-03-27
posted by ellF at 6:06 AM on March 7, 2013

Echoing Nassau. It's a 2 1/2 - 3 hour direct flight from Logan on Jet Blue.

If you go, I'd recommend staying at the Wyndham Crystal Palace Casino rather than Atlantis, because it is MUCH cheaper. Plus you can take the local bus which stops right outside to pretty much anywhere on the island for $1. It's walking distance to supermarkets and the Fish Fry. Highly recommend it!

You can also check out Cheap Caribbean - they have really reduced package rates that are sometimes all inclusive - this is how I found the WCPC in the first place.
posted by floweredfish at 6:10 AM on March 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Bermuda is 1.5 hour flight from Boston, direct on Delta and it will be like stepping into a different world. You could stay at this beautiful and charming B&B, a short walk to the ferry to Hamilton.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:13 AM on March 7, 2013

What about St. Pete? Several museums, including this one; easy to get places by walking (at least where I was staying); great food within the city limits or in nearby Tampa (lots of ceviche for one); pretty warm at this time of year.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:54 AM on March 7, 2013

(and to reassure you, we did not find a lot of frat boys at the Dali Museum)
posted by en forme de poire at 10:56 AM on March 7, 2013

You don't want DC if you want warmth. There is snow outside my window right now.

Florida is totally an option though. No South Beach for you of course, but even north South Beach may be relaxed enough.

Do avoid Orlando. There may not be a bunch of parties, but there isint really anything else besides a bunch of sprawl and Disney World.
posted by Folk at 11:52 AM on March 7, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks everyone - we ended up heading to Charleston, which was wonderful - perfect weather (70s yesterday!), picturesque and historic, and excellent food....
posted by darsh at 6:41 PM on March 17, 2013