Help me daydream a Christmas getaway

September 13, 2024 9:25 PM

I want to go on vacation during Christmas. Leaving from the US East Coast. Some place warm in temperature and chill in vibe, maybe? Willing to fly, but would prefer a direct flight. I don't mind flying on Christmas day itself (especially to save money) but would prefer not to land in a total ghost town with everything closed for the holidays. Where would you go if you had, say, 4-8 days? More details under the cut.

I'm feeling stressed from work and thus I'm already fantasizing about being able to go on vacation around Christmas. I'm willing to fly, but don't want to take, like, an 18-hour flight. I'd rather go someplace warm and where I can stay in a nice hotel or BnB.
Things I like:
-botanical gardens
-museums
-cool architecture/tours

Things I dislike:
-cruises
-drinking/party-heavy resorts
-extreme sports-type attractions (no ziplining, etc)
-large MAGA populations

posted by TwoStride to Travel & Transportation (14 answers total)

Direct flight from which airport?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:08 AM on September 14

Thanks to other obligations I have a range of airports that I could depart from, including JFK, Newark, or Boston.
posted by TwoStride at 6:25 AM on September 14

So I am actually in the same place right now looking for somewhere to go for the holidays and have the same airports to fly from (don't discount HPN or SWF if you're close to them BTW). Although not generally "warm", I am going to spend the holidays overseas. There are plenty of flights for ~$400 throughout December to places like London or Dublin or Copenhagen right now. I did something similar a few years ago, and the weather wasn't warm, but many European countries are very holiday orientated, and I found touring the holiday lights in London at the Botanical Gardens, or the Dublin Zoo, or Christmas markets to be really fun and recharging for me.
Oh - I think I saw Madrid and/or Porto rather cheap as well, which may be on the warmer side :)
posted by niteHawk at 6:37 AM on September 14

Have you been to Puerto Rico? The architecture in old San Juan is stunning. All kinds of places to visit like the Luis Munoz Marin Foundation's museum (house and garden).
posted by BibiRose at 6:54 AM on September 14

Is Portugal warm enough? Such a short flight, reasonable, and like 62 during the day and 52 at night. Feel like it will tough to get a flight for much under 1000 but costs are pretty reasonable when you are there.
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:17 AM on September 14

Miami Beach. Lively without having an overly alchohol-centric vibe. Some great culture around the city. Very easy to get to relative to other warm-weather spots.
posted by mai at 10:10 AM on September 14

Maybe Mexico City? Or another city in Mexico like Guadalajara or Merida.
posted by vunder at 10:31 AM on September 14

The Azores. There appear to be direct flights from BOS to PDL (Ponto Delgada on the island of São Miguel). It will be maritime drizzly but you can warm up in a hot spring. Pootle off to one of the other islands like Flores or Terceira to say you've been. Faial Botanic Garden was worth the walk (in 1982) and I don't even like botanic gardens. Other gardens, parks on São Miguel.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:20 AM on September 14

BOS direct to LAX. Venice Beach, great museums, fantastic food, and perfect weather.
posted by donut_princess at 12:32 PM on September 14

Great time of year to visit Arizona. Either Tucson or Phoenix will be both warm and chill. Phoenix has a fantastic botanical garden; Tucson’s is charming but tiny. You can definitely fly direct to Phoenix from Boston, Tucson would not be direct but easy to reach if you rent a car. Both have great food and interesting architecture. Good hiking too if that is of interest.
posted by tinymojo at 12:44 PM on September 14

Oof can’t believe I forgot to mention the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. Not exactly a botanical garden but an incredible place to get to know the desert and its inhabitants.
posted by tinymojo at 12:49 PM on September 14

Go to Skyscanner.net and you can search from "Any NYC airport" to "Everywhere" with your dates. It keeps redirecting me to the .ie site but filtering for direct flights, I got Bahamas and Puerto Rico for under $500 round trip, and Barbados and Jamaica for under $750. Here are my results.

Personally with a short window like yours I would not drop nearly a grand and 7 hours of flying time to go to Europe. I live and vacation here and it's not an ideal time of year for sun. You can do better for less.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:06 PM on September 14

The December prior to the pandemic, my family took a vacation to Cozumel and stayed at Cozumel Palace, an all-inclusive resort. We got the booking through Costco and it was very affordable. The area is gorgeous and a nice change from New England winter. We spent several days at the resort and several days touring around the island and took a ferry to tour ruins near playa del carmen (IIRC).
The only down side I'd warn you about is that the shuttle to the hotel is outside the airport terminal, but inside the terminal there are people who are selling time-share resorts and they do everything they can to mislead you.
posted by plinth at 7:06 AM on September 16

Thanks, all! Good food for thought, and I appreciate the reminder to utilize SkyScanner.
posted by TwoStride at 3:59 PM on September 19