Tell Me Where To Vacate?

December 12, 2005 4:40 PM

Christmas Vacation Rentals: I need an island. Or, maybe a peninsula. Or fine, just some peace and quiet.

Anyway. I got a week off around Christmas, and I'm obsessed with renting a house for a week or a long weekend. I've been looking for days, and everything I can find is like a horrible nightmare of new development and suburban sprawl. Desires: Must be within a (very very long) day's drive of New York City--I'm thinking South Carolina to Maine, though Georgia is possible--should be on the ocean, should be isolated, and definitely not surrounded by golf courses and condos, but somewhere weirder, more interesting. And I'm not at all looking for a palace, though I wouldn't mind a little luxury, either. But shacktastic? Sure, I'd love to get all Unabomber!

So: Been anywhere interesting like that? Care to point me in the right direction?

posted by RJ Reynolds to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket fit your criteria. They'll both be pretty devoid of tourists at this time of year. I should think you could find something nice for under a grand per week given the season, too.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 5:07 PM on December 12, 2005

Boy, have I! I spend summers in Truro, the next-to-last town on Cape Cod (yay, cable modem). It's beautiful and austere in the winter, and the Cape's only a couple of miles wide out there so the ocean and bay are never far. There's a golf course somewhere, but essentially no commercial development - I promise, it's what you want. And it's a five- to six-hour drive from Manhattan.

I actually live in a shack when I'm there, but you'd want to rent a heated house - the weather is serious. A lot of people rent out their houses in the summer - call Duarte/Downey Real Estate at 508-349-7588 to see what's available in the off-season.
posted by nicwolff at 5:12 PM on December 12, 2005

I'm thinking Ocracoke, a small island in North Carolina's outer banks. Definitely funky and isolated, even at the height of its tourist season, and I'll bet it's quite deserted at this time of year.
posted by CiaoMela at 5:26 PM on December 12, 2005

I highly recommend the beautiful old cabins at the Oakland House in Brooksville, Maine. Most overlook the water and have big stone fireplaces. The resort is more than 100 years old, a bit remote and not at all touristy.
posted by jrossi4r at 5:36 PM on December 12, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for all these suggestions -- they're all great leads. Much appreciated.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 9:31 PM on December 12, 2005

I have no suggestions, I just want to know if I can come with!
posted by lia at 8:41 PM on December 15, 2005