Short trip idea. Starting point - Texas

July 9, 2014 8:03 AM

SO and I want to take a short trip for his birthday next month (end of August). We have a few ideas, but thought I'd ask you all for some suggestions we may have missed.

A couple things:

- we don't have a big budget. this will be a ~5 day trip. ideally not over $800-1000 total.
- would LOVE to get out of the texas heat
- not too into resort type pamper-me vacation. we're leaning towards places like Guadalajara, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the sorts.
- we both love food

Thanks!

Bonus points for special things to do for his birthday while we're there

posted by monologish to Travel & Transportation (2 answers total)

You are going to think I'm weird, but how about a cruise from Galveston? Carnival has a Western Caribbean itinerary that goes to the Yucatan.

Now, I'd rather do Royal Caribbean or Norwegian, but you can't beat the price and everything's included!

You're either into cruises, or you're not. What I like is that you get on the ship and you're disconnected from the world. You sleep when you like, eat when you like, sit out in the sun, breathe fresh ocean air and you can see cool stuff, and come back to the same place every evening. If you don't drink, what you pay, is what you pay. All inclusive.

You won't escape the heat so much, but you can sit by the pool and bitch about all the kids that are hanging around.

I'd normally recommend San Diego or San Francisco but that budget is kind of restrictive.

Vegas is a cheap vacation, especially in the summer. It's always the perfect temperature in the casino. If you want a real el-cheap-o place to stay, we had a great time at Sam's Town. I think we paid $35 a night for a room there.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:26 AM on July 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

Escaping the heat in August means going (very far) north or going into the mountains. Durango is pretty nice and is high enough up that it's much cooler. Also, it's only a day's drive from much of Texas, but there are places to stop along the way.
posted by wierdo at 11:08 AM on July 10, 2014