Escape from LA
October 12, 2016 1:16 PM   Subscribe

Looking for special trip recommendations 5-8h from LA by plane, good for a couple-ish celebration of sorts.

So I'd like to surprise hubby with a trip, somewhere as far as 5-8h away from LA, 3-4 days, can be in the US but the more exotic the better... I was originally thinking a weekend trip to sxsw since he's wanted to go for ages but after reading online and getting utterly confused about how to sxsw, I'm giving up. Unless you can demystify sxsw for me, where else could we go?
posted by St. Peepsburg to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)
 
Best answer: I can't help with sxsw but New Orleans seems to fit.
For the heck of it I put in dates of Nov 8th-Nov 12th - Tues to Sat. LA to New Orleans is $137 Round trip for a direct flight! That would be an excuse for me to have fancy meals every night!
posted by ReluctantViking at 1:34 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


8 hours on a plane from Los Angeles is literally any major airport in all 50 states. What interests does your husband have beyond SXSW (and from what I understand SXSW is a lot of different things to different people). What does celebration mean to you? Is it music, perhaps Nashville? Is it food and wine, then perhaps North CA? Is it adventure/nature, then Alaska? Hawaii? Southern Utah? Is it sitting on a beach with German tourists, then you can be in Miami in ~5 hours.
posted by mmascolino at 2:02 PM on October 12, 2016


Response by poster: He's definitely into music which is why sxsw comes to mind, also he loves Austin. Otherwise he'd like a place with different culture, food, and/or language. Failing that something hipstery will go over well too.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:06 PM on October 12, 2016


Best answer: Here's a radius centered on LAX of 2000 miles (kinda how far you'd go in five hours of flight).

Anywhere in the green circle is yours!

(If it were me? I'd go to Guanajuato, Mexico.)
posted by notyou at 3:38 PM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


Tucson, Arizona - exotic! fun! cheap! The weather is great between Oct-Apr. Stay at Hotel Congress, see a show at the Rialto, eat amazing food...
posted by belau at 4:00 PM on October 12, 2016


What about Ixtapa, Mexico? We stayed at this resort. Perfect weather, very couples oriented and they have a three nights for the price of two deal right now.
posted by the foreground at 4:02 PM on October 12, 2016


Mexico City is awesome. I'm not a beachy resort person, so I can't speak to that part of Mexico tourism, but Mexico City is a really, really interesting place and a very cheap city to hang out in for four days.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 10:43 PM on October 12, 2016


Maybe Nashville.
posted by vignettist at 7:35 AM on October 13, 2016


Victoria, Vancouver, Missoula. All have good music and downtown scenes and easy to use public transportation.
posted by ITravelMontana at 11:39 AM on October 13, 2016


Best answer: You could totally SXSW, it's alot of fun!

1. Book flights early, like between now and December. Expect that your flight itinerary may get shifted, but at least you won't be paying a premium.

2. Book hotel early. I found the Extended Stay on 1st fantastic: it is across the river from Downtown, but it is walkable to So. Congress. Austin Motel is great too, but you can only reserve it something like 2-3 months out so you have to be very on it to snag a spot.

3. Having a car might be kind of a pain, depending. We got along with walking, busses, taxis and a petty cab. There is also a bike-share program. Not sure if theres Uber/Lyft now, but do be prepared for lots of surge pricing if so.

4. Google around, join mailing lists for the bands/ music you like most, rough out an itinerary. Check out venue's websites, like Mowhawk, Blackheart, Spiderhouse, Gingerman for schedules. . Pick one or two shows to try and get tickets for, but we totally went to freebies the whole time and did not lack for entertainment. Grab a Chronicle when you arrive and read listings. Arrive early and be prepared to hang out.

5. Give up most of your plans and just go with the flow. Wander around. If something is groovy, stick with it. Discover amazing new acts and buy direct from bands. Send a package home because your luggage is full. Eat breakfast tacos and delicious noms.

It's a great trip if you like lots of stimulation and don't need everything to be scripted, but a weekend might not be enough including travel. Wherever you decide to go, hope it's a good one!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 12:37 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


Best answer: You should knuckle down and figure out SXSW. Sounds like a bucket list thing and those are always great.

That said, its hard not to push anyone on the west coast out to Maui. You've got three base languages (English, Hawaiian, Pidgin) in pretty heavy use plus a long history of immigration and international tourism. As in any good cultural mishmash the food benefits are guh-reat. Lots of interesting opportunities, esp. if you don't mind wallowing in Tourism a bit to do it. Everyone should hear an old auntie belt out Hawaiian songs, preferably at a godawful luau (Pro-tip: poi off the pounder, stick-arounder; poi out the can, get back, man). Its as exotic as you can get without a passport. Jungles! Flowers! Grass skirts! Loco Moco!

I super love New Orleans as a very not-like-the-rest-of-the-US place too but kind of in a weird stretched out way where you're pretty much in Any City for a while and then holy shit, you're hardcore NOLA breezin' with an open container and a fat muffelata po' boy wondering what the rental market is like. Still-lingering French influence, strong cajun culture, antebellum past.

Neither place is very hipster tho. Cool is what you make it though, both places have a long and ethically complicated history which is good to spend time digesting. Both are music-heavy but a departure from the mainstream if you want to get the local flavor.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 4:17 PM on October 13, 2016


Response by poster: We did SxSw, since it was indeed a bucket list item. And it was awesome! Thanks for the kick in the pants to message it happen. And thanks to those who pm'd me advice on how to sxsw. Brooklyn Vegan is a great resource.

Next time we will do New Orleans.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:06 PM on August 5, 2017


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