RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTubeIt's the time of the year that I start dreaming of beach vacations...
Any favorites? I'd like to stay under $1000 for flight & hotel for a 3-4 night stay if at all possible. I'm game for anything except Cancun.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Travel
Beach Destinations
[40 posts] [25 contributors]
Topic Rating:
(Total Ratings: )
Rate this topic:
Rate this topic:
-
catnfiddle
Giant Corncob District
Login to Send PM
I've had some great times hanging out in and around Delray Beach in Florida.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Cardiff
Login to Send PM
I'm saving my dollars for Puerto Rico! Sunshine! Beaches! Don't need a passport! :-)
http://www.seepuertorico.com/Posted 1 year ago # -
tourist19
Merion Village
Login to Send PM
I love St. Pete Beach. The beach is amazing, the town is the perfect amount of kitschyness, and there's some great food. I generally go in between spring break and summer break so there are some good hotel deals to be found as well. And now I want to go to the beach.
I've been looking at Vieques off of Puerto Rico, but haven't made it there yet. There's a bioluminescent bay!
Posted 1 year ago # -
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
Login to Send PM
I'd say for your timeline and budget San Juan PR. Stay in the Ocean Park area of SJ and avoid Condando. Old San Juan has some cool bars you can hit at night. If you stayed for five days I'd say hit the Vieques islands in PR.
You could fly out early in the AM and be on the beach by noon.
Seems like you want to avoid Mexico, but Puerto Morales in the Riveria del Maya is awesome and would be my pick. Flying to most any other beach town out of CMH can be a royal pain if time is of the essence IMO.
Also, be sure to look for flights on AirTrans site. They're not always listed with the travel booking search engines.
Posted 1 year ago # -
GViewProgrammer
Columbus/Grandview-area
Login to Send PM
All the above Florida Beaches are great, but not if you want to stay ON the beach and not pay an arm and a leg. Typically I go to Melbourne beach, it is about an 1.5 hour drive from Orlando to the east (You can also fly into Daytona but Orlando is cheaper) you should be able to swing a flight for about $180-$210 RT and a rental car for another $100.
Next the Hotel and this is where the trick comes in...
Typically I go on Priceline and name my own price. I am leaving for Melbourne on Friday and I got this hotel...
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/MLBHIHF-Hilton-Melbourne-Beach-Oceanfront-Florida/index.do
For about $70 a night, however, in September I got it for $45 using Priceline. Either way it is a good deal, all you have to do is but in Melbourne Beach and whatever the highest star rating is there (3 or 3.5) and you will be guaranteed a room that you can open the door to the beach (nothing like sleeping to the surf).
That should keep you well under $1000! As for what to do, you have access to Orlando, Daytona, Cocoa Beach, and even Jacksonville/St. Augustine(A bit of a drive). The best time to go is July-October so you can see the Sea Turtles! Nothing like seeing tiny turtles going back to the ocean!
Posted 1 year ago # -
sean2outerspace
Clintonville
Login to Send PM
I love folly beach, SC. My vacations tend to be pretty food centric, so on top of the beach, there is great tacos at taco boy and all you can eat steamed oysters at bowen's island. You're also only 20 minutes from Charleston, where the food is unbelievable, check out the hominy grill if you get the chance.
Posted 1 year ago # -
JoeMitchell
Login to Send PM
jost van dyke, probably too expensive but my favorite
bomba's full moon party, tortola, put on your bucket list
southwest florida, fairly inexpesive, direct airtran flight to fort myers, good weather and beaches from tampa to marco, stone crab season
Posted 1 year ago # -
drew
Login to Send PM
I just returned from Puerto Rico recently. Weather was awesome, beaches were great, San Juan has lots to do. But, it's high season there and as a result it's expensive - like Manhattan expensive. I have a hard time seeing how you'd do 4 days there for much under $1500.
I'd second SW Florida. The Ft. Myers/Sanibel Island/Captiva area is pretty nice and definitely more budget-friendly. You're close to Naples there as well.
Posted 1 year ago # -
AmyJ
Login to Send PM
I'm down with Mexico, just not Cancun. I've been there before and won't go back. The only other place I've been in Mexico is Ixtapa, which I enjoyed. My friends are recommending Puerto Vallarta, but the flight situation seems terrible -- overnight flights with looooong layovers.
I'd like to avoid Florida as well just because I've been there so many times before. I know that's probably my cheapest option though.
$1000 is a target, but I can spend more. I just don't want to do a ton of travel time since it's already going to be a short timeframe.
Posted 1 year ago # -
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
Login to Send PM
I would imagine drew it's easy to get sucked into stuff and have it add up. I've been in slightly off season.
CMH to SJU on AirTran is about $306 with tax (I just looked). Try this hotel in Ocean Park. It's about $110/ night (call for a discount). It's clean, and has a good bar. A great local beach is a 2 minute walk.
lol, my GF said the same thing about Cancun and I convinced her to go to Playa del Carmen south of there. She swears that's the best vacation she's been on.
I love the Riveria del Maya. I've visited Playa Del Carmen and Tulum several times now, which is about an hour thirty minutes south of Cancun. Flights to Cancun on Airtran can also be had for about $300rt with tax.
You can take a bus from Cancun airport for about $8 US to either of these towns. It's called the ADO and is very clean and easy to do. The buses run every hour.
If you're more adventurous in terms of accommodations don't discount a site like Airbnb.com for finding entire apartments for rent by owner.
It's possible to rent an entire apartment for $40 - $60 a night in Playa.
Playa del Carmen is getting a bit over developed in my opinion, but still fun, especially going out at night, but this is why I recommended Puerto Morales. This city can also be reached by flying to Cancun and taking the ADO bus about 45 minutes south.
Here is a NYTimes story on that city.
Best of luck and safe travels.
Posted 1 year ago # -
cyclist II
Short North & Peach District
Login to Send PM
JonMyers wrote >>
I would imagine drew it's easy to get sucked into stuff and have it add up. I've been in slightly off season.
CMH to SJU on AirTran is about $306 with tax (I just looked). Try this hotel in Ocean Park. It's about $110/ night (call for a discount). It's clean, and has a good bar. A great local beach is a 2 minute walk.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147320-d151679-r1421563-At_Wind_Chimes_Inn-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html
lol, my GF said the same thing about Cancun and I convinced her to go to Playa del Carmen south of there. She swears that's the best vacation she's been on.
I love the Riveria del Maya. I've visited Playa Del Carmen and Tulum several times now, which is about an hour thirty minutes south of Cancun. Flights to Cancun on Airtran can also be had for about $300rt with tax.
You can take a bus from Cancun airport for about $8 US to either of these towns. It's called the ADO and is very clean and easy to do. The buses run every hour.
If you're more adventurous in terms of accommodations don't discount a site like Airbnb.com for finding entire apartments for rent by owner.
It's possible to rent an entire apartment for $40 - $60 a night in Playa.
Playa del Carmen is getting a bit over developed in my opinion, but still fun, especially going out at night, but this is why I recommended Puerto Morales. This city can also be reached by flying to Cancun and taking the ADO bus about 45 minutes south.
Here is a NYTimes story on that city.
Best of luck and safe travels.Buses in Mexico are very awesome. Fly to Cancun then bus down the Yucatan places Jon said or to Belize and Guatemala. Take a side trip to Tikal.
Posted 1 year ago # -
drew
Login to Send PM
JonMyers wrote >>
I would imagine drew it's easy to get sucked into stuff and have it add up. I've been in slightly off season.
CMH to SJU on AirTran is about $306 with tax (I just looked). Try this hotel in Ocean Park. It's about $110/ night (call for a discount). It's clean, and has a good bar. A great local beach is a 2 minute walk.We stayed at the Windchimes (thanks for the recommendation, BTW, great place!).
Our flights were about $400 each, nothing outlandish about that. The kicker was the public transportation - we waited for a so-called 20 minute bus for over an hour, then gave up. Probably ended up spending about $150 just in cab rides - in retrospect, should've just rented a car for the time in SJ (though that would've made parking an extra expense). Found food to be fairly expensive also... and found that the food that wasn't expensive was almost shockingly bad (bear in mind that we're people who could contentedly eat at taco trucks for 3 meals a day).
Posted 1 year ago # -
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
Login to Send PM
Yep, that Windchimes is a great spot. :) You also have use of their sister hotel (Acacia) down the street.
Honestly, I don't remember much about the food in SJ because there was this burger place, which I probably ate at 3 times (it was that good). It was called Top Burger and has evidently closed.
Having a drink on the beach at one of those places sounds good, but those places definitely gouge you big time. It's better to just grab a cooler and throw some Medalla in there and venture out on your own.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Kbear919
Villaggio Italiano
Login to Send PM
Just bought my Mexico City ticket for 468 on US Air, if that helps anything. I've stayed in small town Mexican beaches towns before.
Zipolite and Mazunte a days bus ride/short flight away. Not sure of your time frame.
I'm not headed to the beach this time, but have been before, and recommend it.
Posted 1 year ago #
You must log in to post.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.