Help us decide on Thanksgiving travel

April 16, 2023 5:44 PM

I have e-vouchers from canceled COVID travel that expire at the end of the year. We've decided to go somewhere for Thanksgiving week, but are kind of going in circles deciding where to go. I know y'all will have opinions.

What we've ruled out: My wife's first idea was the beach in Florida, but we've decided against that. My first idea was Vegas/Zion/Grand Canyon, but research revealed that Zion and the Grand Canyon is summer holiday weekend busy over Tday week - so screw that. Also, not interested in a cruise or all-inclusive resort type of place.

Currently, we are thinking to fly to Austin, spend a few nights, then move onto San Antonio to spend a few nights before flying home from San Antonio. Also under consideration is Puerto Rico. We love PR, but it would be our 4th trip there in 8 years.

Requirements - Delta must fly there, and it needs to be warm. It doesn't need to be beach weather, but jackets not needed is ideal. We don't want to spend 2 full days of the trip traveling to and from, and we are starting from Richmond, VA. West coast is in play, HI is not. We have passports, so international is okay, but it is still hurricane season, so a little leery of committing to something in the Caribbean. But I could be talked past that.

What we like - live music, history, nature, birding, good food, but we are not foodies. The locals place or a food truck is more our vibe than a 5-star dining experience. We aren't budget travelers but are not stay at the Ritz folks either. Think normal middle class accommodations. AirBnB is fine too.

Hit us with your ideas - we are looking for inspiration.

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

Have you considered New Orleans?
posted by dpx.mfx at 5:52 PM on April 16, 2023 [6 favorites]

If it fits your budget, going to San Diego and spending the week sitting within eyeshot of the beach at La Jolla sounds very pleasant.
posted by praemunire at 7:22 PM on April 16, 2023

Roatan, Honduras is a beach resort island that Delta serves from Atlanta.

If you'd like a more urban escape, Mexico City and Bogotá both have relatively easy Delta connections.

Nothing wrong with Austin/San Antonio, frankly.
posted by gimonca at 7:31 PM on April 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Why not go to Arizona, but not the Grand Canyon? There's interesting nature, good birding, historical and archaeological sites and museums, good Mexican food and plenty of other food options, too. The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix is fascinating. And you might want to hit some of the birding hot spots.
posted by Redstart at 7:53 PM on April 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Arizona is a weird vibe but it's very affordable. You can do anything from the Four Seasons to legit retro dude ranch. Saguaro Lake does a Thanksgiving special for that week and I can attest it's genuinely charming.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:00 PM on April 16, 2023

Read the fine print on your vouchers. Whenever Delta has given me vouchers, there were many blackout dates when they could not be used, including all major travel holidays.

How about Sedona by way of Phoenix? There are a number of amazing places a day trip away including the volcanoes north of Flagstaff.
posted by Ookseer at 8:21 PM on April 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

We actually did Thanksgiving in New Orleans one year and we enjoyed it.
posted by metahawk at 8:39 PM on April 16, 2023

We did Vegas Utah and Grand Canyon over turkey week and it was fairly quiet; the GC in particular (north side on the Thursday) was as dead as a grave. Zion day before had some traffic but not insane. Just FYI.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:53 PM on April 16, 2023

I second Bogota, though it's perpetual jacket weather (when I lived there, it was a year-round high of 68 degrees).

If you want warm weather you can look to Cartagena. Stay in the old city, explore plazas and museums (please do learn about San Pedro Claver if you go).

Colombia is full of fincas (coffee farms converted into bed and breakfasts) if you want a relaxing experience. I used to stay at one near Pereira.

Colombian food is lovely. Ajiaco (a chicken stew), delicious steaks, fresh fruit juices, amazing desserts.
posted by champers at 4:33 AM on April 17, 2023

Seconding Mexico City if you’re up for a big city! It’s amazing. So much cool history, beautiful art, and incredible food, and it’s pretty affordable. One of my favorite places I’ve ever been!
posted by bijoubijou at 5:57 AM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Or, you could go to Vegas, but head the other direction and do Death Valley + Joshua Tree. I did that in a week recently (plus a day in the Eastern Sierras/Lone Pine) and it was great. Death Valley is never really crowded, and while Joshua Tree does get crowded at peak season I found it was pretty easy to avoid the crowds by doing the popular parts early (like, starting at the crack of dawn) and then heading out to the peripheries in the afternoon.
posted by coffeecat at 7:41 AM on April 17, 2023

Oh, and while November is technically hurricane season, it's really just tropical storm season by November. And especially by Thanksgiving, even with climate change, it would still be very unusual for a hurricane to happen that late in the month.
posted by coffeecat at 8:13 AM on April 17, 2023

Response by poster: Great ideas here - thanks everybody.
posted by COD at 1:57 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: If you are curious - our plan is to fly to Vegas, rent a CamperVan, and spend the week in Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Park with one night at the Palm Springs KOA in the middle of the week, mostly to use the showers, and maybe have a decent meal that isn't cooked on a one burner propane stove.

I've already booked the van, which makes the trip real.
posted by COD at 12:31 PM on May 17, 2023