Looking for travel ideas for 2015

December 28, 2014 5:02 PM

We take a trip every year, and the past few years we've had no problem coming up with destinations. But this year I'm stumped. I've looked at other questions, but it turns out that I'm a special snowflake (just like everyone else), so details below the jump.

"We" are myself, my two children - daughter is 21, son is 11 - and daughter's best friend, also 21.

My son is adamant that he wants to go to 'new' places each time, and due to budget constraints, we're not able to leave the states for this trip.

Places we've been recently (and what we liked about them):
New York City/Manhattan
- stayed on Central Park South; visited and loved Times Square, The Met, Museum of Natural History, 5th Avenue Shopping district, Central Park

San Francisco
- stayed in Union Square; visited and loved Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, California Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium, Golden Gate Park

Orlando
- we were there for Harry Potter world, so we mostly did that.

Places not on the list:
Hawaii, New Orleans, Arizona - numerous times to visit family
California, Oregon, Nevada - visited numerous times already

My son likes typical 11-year old boy stuff - dinosaurs, science, parks, reading
My daughter likes museums, clothes shopping, big cities

We'd prefer a big (or biggish) city over something rural, and ideally something with good public transportation and a "city center" which we can use as our home base.

We are in Seattle, flying out of Sea-Tac, and prefer flights on Alaska with no layovers (although I'm flexible on the layovers but not the airline). I'm not fixed on a particular time of year, so if the place you recommend is nicer/cheaper/more crowded/whatever at certain times, we're flexible.

Thanks in advance!

posted by dotgirl to Travel & Transportation (24 answers total)

Chicago would be the obvious choice to me. You can get a nonstop from Seattle to O'Hare, stay somewhere in or near the Loop, and get basically everything on your list.
posted by asterix at 5:08 PM on December 28, 2014 [12 favorites]

I came to say Chicago too. Depending on flight costs, parts of Canada may be within your grasp. Vancouver has excellent shopping, is gorgeous, and the galleries/museums/etc are great. Toronto likewise (though slightly less beautiful), with many more movies and such and lots of nightlife for a pair of 21-year-olds.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:16 PM on December 28, 2014 [2 favorites]

Things to do/see in Chicago (just to start):

- the Field Museum, right next door to
- the Shedd Aquarium
- the Art Institute of Chicago (particularly if you like Impressionist art)
- Magnificent Mile for shopping

And you don't mention food, but Chicago has an outstanding restaurant scene and you could build an entire trip just around that.
posted by asterix at 5:16 PM on December 28, 2014 [3 favorites]

Thirding Chicago. Art Institute, Field Museum, museum of Science and Industry, more parks than you can shake a stick at. Lots of shopping and great food.
posted by zorseshoes at 5:18 PM on December 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Damn, should have previewed. Seriously, though, Chicago.
posted by zorseshoes at 5:19 PM on December 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Washington D.C. would be another good choice -- even if you do Chicago first, it checks off everyone's requirements and more.
posted by third rail at 5:21 PM on December 28, 2014 [8 favorites]

Have you ever been to DC?
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:27 PM on December 28, 2014 [3 favorites]

DC has the entire Smithsonian complex and great food. The public transit is quite good.

Chicago, as others have stated, has great museums and food and the transit is easy to use. I do especially like the aquarium.

Boston has a lot of fantastic small museums including a bunch of historical museums and tours, and great food.

Minneapolis has great food and a number of good museums including the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The transit is decent especially with the new light rail, and there's the Mall of America.
posted by bile and syntax at 5:38 PM on December 28, 2014 [3 favorites]

You might consider Philadelphia too. Good museums and historical sites, plus excellent food (Reading Terminal Market, for instance) and pretty nice public transit.
posted by ferret branca at 5:44 PM on December 28, 2014

Another option is Philadelphia, which meets every one of your requirements. Sights that are unique to Philly include Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell (and the surrounding Old City area), the Philadelphia Museum of Art (which is wonderful and enormous , you'd probably need multiple days to see everything on display), and Eastern State Penitentiary (if you visted and liked Alcatraz, I guarantee you'll like this tour). And if cost is a concern, Philly's noticeably less expensive than Chicago or DC.
posted by ddbeck at 5:48 PM on December 28, 2014

Should also specifically have mentioned the Franklin Institute in my Philly recommendation.
posted by ferret branca at 5:59 PM on December 28, 2014

Is there a reason, beyond "budget," that you can't cross the border? If you can, I'd say Vancouver, B.C. -- if not this year, then certainly soon. You can take a train from Seattle, there's excellent public transit, a huge variety of places to stay (a friend recently got an airbnb that was a 3 bedroom apartment on the 35th floor of an apartment tower right downtown). The tourist bureau offers many discounts and goodies to American tourists. It has everything both your kids want.

I'd suggest going in the summer, during the Celebration of Light Festival. Every year several countries have a fireworks competition in late July and early August. It's not worth it to try to attend if you're driving up, but if you're already in town it's magnificent and very fun.

And the Capiolano Bridge is made for 11 year old boys.
posted by kestralwing at 6:44 PM on December 28, 2014 [2 favorites]

The city that came to mind was Nashville. It's a pretty unique town. There are a lot of museums, great live music shows, it's cheaper than DC and Chicago. May not be as easy to get to, not sure if Alaska Airlines has something direct.
posted by pando11 at 6:59 PM on December 28, 2014

If you do go to DC, which obviously you should, because it's the best choice for what you want, you should go in the spring, because tourist season starts in May and makes everything more crowded and weirdly expensive. Also cherry blossoms. Also, you should stay in Crystal City Va because it is cheap and convenient.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:33 PM on December 28, 2014

Washington D.C. Stay in a Residence Inn. The have a couple in Arlington, VA and Alexandria, VA. Get a two bedroom apartment. The girls can go in one room, you and your husband can get the king room, and your son can sleep on the pull out in the living room.

Most serve hot breakfast, or you can have cereal or eggos in the room. Have lunch out, and you can order pizza or get some heat and serve from the grocery store, or shop and cook.

There's a hop on hop off tram that goes around to all the monuments, totes worth it! Then hit the museums. I could live in the different Smithsonians. So good!

The Metro is easy to use.

Really, that would be my choice.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:52 PM on December 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

I've lived in Chicago and DC, and they're both fun to visit but I would personally give the upper hand to Chicago.
posted by drlith at 8:02 PM on December 28, 2014 [2 favorites]

Came here to say DC or Chicago, both places I have travelled with my dad. I think DC was a favorite even more than Chicago. The museums are amazing, great shopping, gorgeous architecture, easy transit. I also really enjoyed the side trips: we rented a car and did day trips to George Washington's house, and also Colonial Williamsburg.
posted by nerdcore at 10:03 PM on December 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Boston sounds like a possibility.
posted by rongorongo at 11:30 PM on December 28, 2014

DC would be cool, as would Boston. How about something more creative? Rent a cool airbnb in Santa Fe and go visit Los Alamos? Miami and the Florida Keys (warm and tropical)? Mexico?
posted by specialk420 at 11:38 PM on December 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

I came in here to repeat DC. The Smithsonian should be on everyone's bucket list (is that pickled giant squid still there?). There's so, so much to see and do and there's enough shopping to make the shoppers happy. I was there many years ago as a teen but the stuff I experienced and saw will stay with me always.
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 12:16 AM on December 29, 2014

This is a little different, but you could do an Alaska cruise. You'll visit a few different cities, so even though they are smaller you'll get a lot of different shopping and museum experiences, plus the big cruise ships already have some interesting shows and things on board.
posted by anaelith at 5:48 AM on December 29, 2014

New Orleans has museums, shopping (one thousand cute boutiques as well as a few "big city" stores), awesome parks and eleven-year-old boy things (Audubon Aquarium/Insectarium/zoo, Children's Museum, steamboat ride). Stay in the CBD/French Quarter and take the streetcar Uptown or up to City Park. A direct flight may not be possible but you can definitely find an Alaska codeshare itinerary.

Otherwise to nth - Chicago is also an excellent choice, as well as D.C. and Boston on the East Coast.
posted by ista at 7:49 AM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

Boston, Chicago, Denver, or Washington DC. Possibly Atlanta too.
posted by xbonesgt at 8:43 AM on December 29, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! Sounds like Chicago is the right place for this trip, plus I have some great ideas for other trips.

(Note to everyone who suggested Vancouver - sorry, didn't mention cause I'd said "the states", but living in Seattle, we've been to Vancouver and Victoria about eleventy-billion times.)

Thanks again!
posted by dotgirl at 5:34 PM on December 29, 2014