Help me plan our perfect 13 people vacation!
September 25, 2014 5:26 AM Subscribe
There are 4 of us that have been friends for a lifetime, and we all now have families that we want to get together. There will be 8 adults and 5 kids varying in age from 1 year to 13 years. All boys. We are in our 30s. 3 sets of families live all across North Carolina, and one lives in Illinois. Where can we go for a family vacation with a soft budget of $2000?
We want easy, relaxed, kid friendly, spa friendly, relatively easy to get to. I'd rather spend the chunk of money on accommodations and we can each pay most of our own travel.
I am part of the Illinois family, and since I'm organizing the whole thing, I don't mind that we will have to travel more than the rest. For a timeline, we're looking at early spring of 2015. Maybe end of March/early April.
My dream is an all inclusive resort in Bermuda. With 4 adjoining rooms/apartment/suites? I don't know I've never done this before!!
Please help me plan the greatest vacation I can take my best friends and their families on.
We want easy, relaxed, kid friendly, spa friendly, relatively easy to get to. I'd rather spend the chunk of money on accommodations and we can each pay most of our own travel.
I am part of the Illinois family, and since I'm organizing the whole thing, I don't mind that we will have to travel more than the rest. For a timeline, we're looking at early spring of 2015. Maybe end of March/early April.
My dream is an all inclusive resort in Bermuda. With 4 adjoining rooms/apartment/suites? I don't know I've never done this before!!
Please help me plan the greatest vacation I can take my best friends and their families on.
Response by poster: The $2000 is accommodation budget for everyone. Not including travel. So I think we're looking for a place 3/4 of us can drive to relatively easy and then use the $2000 for rooms/house.
posted by katypickle at 5:58 AM on September 25, 2014
posted by katypickle at 5:58 AM on September 25, 2014
Florida panhandle is pretty nice. Sugar sand beaches, plenty of condos with pools...
I stayed there east of Destin and it was pretty nice, laid back, not overrun with go cart tracks and waterslides.
posted by bricksNmortar at 6:02 AM on September 25, 2014
I stayed there east of Destin and it was pretty nice, laid back, not overrun with go cart tracks and waterslides.
posted by bricksNmortar at 6:02 AM on September 25, 2014
I don't think that's really doable in a resort area. You might want to rent a house, maybe.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:34 AM on September 25, 2014
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:34 AM on September 25, 2014
Best answer: Sounds like the Outer Banks is it. That's definitely the off season, so 5-6 bedroom houses will be well within your budget, even oceanfront. Can probably get a hot tub and heated pool as well. You won't want to swim in the ocean, but it's still an incredibly relaxing place to be. And there's the normal range of beachy things to do, though you'll want to make sure things are open.
posted by supercres at 6:35 AM on September 25, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by supercres at 6:35 AM on September 25, 2014 [4 favorites]
When I was 13, my extended family rented a large beach house in Emerald Isle NC.
It was so much fun that I want to take my family back now that I'm a grown up. :)
posted by PlutoniumX at 6:44 AM on September 25, 2014
It was so much fun that I want to take my family back now that I'm a grown up. :)
posted by PlutoniumX at 6:44 AM on September 25, 2014
Response by poster: The Outer Banks in the off-season actually looks PERFECT!!! Any ideas on what town to look at? Or specific companies we can contact for rentals?
posted by katypickle at 7:10 AM on September 25, 2014
posted by katypickle at 7:10 AM on September 25, 2014
In the off season times there are more places open in the Nag's Head/Kill Devil Hills area. You can still make trips up to Corolla or down to Cape Hatteras or Monteo to see the lighthouses, etc.
We've gone several times for Christmas and always stayed in Nag's Head.
posted by sevenless at 8:07 AM on September 25, 2014
We've gone several times for Christmas and always stayed in Nag's Head.
posted by sevenless at 8:07 AM on September 25, 2014
My work mate usually rents houses in Duck, NC, and loves it. (I don't know who he uses to find the rentals and he is away so I can't ask, sorry.)
posted by gudrun at 8:08 AM on September 25, 2014
posted by gudrun at 8:08 AM on September 25, 2014
We've stayed in Corolla off-season a few times (late September.) It's very quiet and we usually had 100 yards of beach to ourselves. There is little traffic so driving into Duck or Kill Devil Hills is not a big deal.
posted by COD at 8:20 AM on September 25, 2014
posted by COD at 8:20 AM on September 25, 2014
We (Illinoisians) met some friends from Georgia and rented a cabin in Siverville, TN, it was a long time ago and there were only 4 of us, but you might take a look there. Our place was beautiful, on top of a small mountain, surrounded by nature. If folks wanted to do something "more exciting" Dollywood was close by.
We've also rented a place outside of Paducah, KY (with the same friends, after they had kids) in Land Between The Lakes. It was more remote than TN, but we did have fun renting a pontoon boat and exlporing the lakes - and of course, just relaxing and hanging out.
posted by sarajane at 9:27 AM on September 25, 2014
We've also rented a place outside of Paducah, KY (with the same friends, after they had kids) in Land Between The Lakes. It was more remote than TN, but we did have fun renting a pontoon boat and exlporing the lakes - and of course, just relaxing and hanging out.
posted by sarajane at 9:27 AM on September 25, 2014
Gatlinburg, TN. We go frequently with friends and we always have a ball!
You can get one huge cabin for the lot of you. There are tons of things to do in Gatlinburg:
Great Smoky Mountains and Cade's Cove
Cherokee TN has a museum (depressing) and a beautiful little stream that you can picnic by that's right off the main drag.
As previously mentioned, Dollywood is in Pigeon Forge, as is the Water Park, which is fantastic. We rented a Retreat area and it was worth the extra $150 (or whatever it was.)
In Gatlinburg proper there is enough touristy crap to keep you occupied. Arcades, Putt-Putt, fudge, candles, swords, Ripley's Aquqrium.
So I say, rent a huge, luxurious cabin and play games and cards and watch old movies and have a blast!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:53 AM on September 25, 2014
You can get one huge cabin for the lot of you. There are tons of things to do in Gatlinburg:
Great Smoky Mountains and Cade's Cove
Cherokee TN has a museum (depressing) and a beautiful little stream that you can picnic by that's right off the main drag.
As previously mentioned, Dollywood is in Pigeon Forge, as is the Water Park, which is fantastic. We rented a Retreat area and it was worth the extra $150 (or whatever it was.)
In Gatlinburg proper there is enough touristy crap to keep you occupied. Arcades, Putt-Putt, fudge, candles, swords, Ripley's Aquqrium.
So I say, rent a huge, luxurious cabin and play games and cards and watch old movies and have a blast!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:53 AM on September 25, 2014
We stayed here in Avon last Spring Break with 4 families, including 8 kids ranging from infant to teenagers. It's a mansion, but is right in your budget during that timeframe.
We had an absolute blast! The weather that time of year is definitely hit or miss - we had 80F sunny days and 60F rainy days. Bonus points if your group likes to fish or surf.
Full disclosure, our friends work for this rental company. Feel free to pm me if you want more details.
posted by ElGuapo at 10:06 AM on September 25, 2014
We had an absolute blast! The weather that time of year is definitely hit or miss - we had 80F sunny days and 60F rainy days. Bonus points if your group likes to fish or surf.
Full disclosure, our friends work for this rental company. Feel free to pm me if you want more details.
posted by ElGuapo at 10:06 AM on September 25, 2014
The last couple of years we've been renting lakefront houses for multi-family vacations (albeit in CA). We've had good luck with VRBO.
posted by vignettist at 12:59 PM on September 25, 2014
posted by vignettist at 12:59 PM on September 25, 2014
Duck, Duck, Duck. (In answer to the question about specific locations on the OBX.) Even in the off-season, there will be plenty to do in Duck, and things will be open. Duck is walkable, and has all the amenities (great restaurants, equipment rental, bookstore, bike paths) you could want for a vacation.
Duck also has the Sanderling Resort, which is a five-star spa resort. It's not cheap, but it has every spa service you could possibly want.
You should have no problem renting a 5 or 6 BR oceanfront house, in your budget, in the Spring. Of course, the closer you get to June, the more the prices will go up - and I would caution you that there are a few weeks in early May when every college and grad school student in the mid-Atlantic descends upon the OBX for beach week - the week between the end of exams and graduation - for drunken hijinx, so may not a good family atmosphere then.
Edited to add: The rental companies which I have used in the past include Brindley Beach and Carolina Designs. Both have houses available in the Four Seasons subdivision of Duck, which also comes with great clubhouse amenities, like a full-service gym. One minor note: you may have to pay an extra fee to heat the pool in the off-season, but not a budget breaker, I don't think.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 2:16 PM on September 25, 2014
Duck also has the Sanderling Resort, which is a five-star spa resort. It's not cheap, but it has every spa service you could possibly want.
You should have no problem renting a 5 or 6 BR oceanfront house, in your budget, in the Spring. Of course, the closer you get to June, the more the prices will go up - and I would caution you that there are a few weeks in early May when every college and grad school student in the mid-Atlantic descends upon the OBX for beach week - the week between the end of exams and graduation - for drunken hijinx, so may not a good family atmosphere then.
Edited to add: The rental companies which I have used in the past include Brindley Beach and Carolina Designs. Both have houses available in the Four Seasons subdivision of Duck, which also comes with great clubhouse amenities, like a full-service gym. One minor note: you may have to pay an extra fee to heat the pool in the off-season, but not a budget breaker, I don't think.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 2:16 PM on September 25, 2014
I've stayed in Avon the past few times, though it's definitely going to be quiet there. My family usually rents from Outer Beaches.
posted by supercres at 3:02 PM on September 25, 2014
posted by supercres at 3:02 PM on September 25, 2014
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posted by COD at 5:48 AM on September 25, 2014