The boyfriend and I were talking about going somewhere on my spring break in March. He needs a vacation, I need a vacation, and it’s right before our 2 year anniversary.
Caveats:
-We’re from St. Louis, and want to go somewhere warmer. Not necessarily 88 degrees, but at least probably 60s+ would like 70s or more though
-I don’t have tons of money, and I don’t want him to pay for too much of my stuff. I could probably swing $900 or less on flight+hotel (like from Priceline). Maybe slightly more. So no Caribbean or Europe or anywhere out of country.
-We won’t have a car with us, so if you suggest somewhere, what area should we stay in that will have the most stuff within walking distance? What’s public transportation like? etc
-What is there to do? Why should we go there?
You don’t have to answer all those questions of course. I really just want some suggestions on places. We’re young, like eating out, bars, he likes outdoorsy stuff a lot - walking trails and stuff, I like shopping and good places for photography. We’re probably gonna fly since STL isn’t too close to anywhere cool and warmer. We’d probably go for the better part of a week, mid-March 2009. So, where have you been that’s cool?
DC and Vegas are both good at that time of year, but Vegas will be less “iffy” weather-wise.
Both have a lot of free stuff to do and both require a lot of walking. You can also rent a car on the cheap if you have a day that requires a further than walking distance event. I’m from Chicago so your airfares will be similar to mine, I’d imagine.
I really really want to go to Vegas, but the bf is going in November for a conference for a week (damn why did I decide to take more college? coulda gone with…) and he goes to DC on business twice a year (another place I wanna go damnit).
Phoenix, Arizona is perfect in March. Excellent weather (mid-80s) and low humidity.
You will find life much easier if you rent a car, but the light rail should be running by then and there is a bus system.
My top picks would be New Orleans and Washington D.C. New Orleans has more hedonism and should be plenty warm (or hot). DC would probably be warm and has plenty of obvious things to do. If you have never been to either, I think you should pick one of those based on your criteria. Other notables may be somewhere like Austin, Texas if you really love live music.
We talked some more, and he really wants to go somewhere he hasn’t been. We somehow managed to come to San Antonio or Austin, TX. Mainly because they are warm and look affordable on Priceline.
Anyone have any experience with San Antonio or Austin?
Honestly, there’s not too many touristy things to do in SA or Austin. I mean, apart from the Alamo and other mission houses in SA, and the music scene (and maybe rowing) in Austin. I love living in Austin, and there’s cool things to do if you’re a resident. Even so, the only reason to visit Austin for the music would be if you come for a festival (like Austin City Limits or South by Southwest), or if you live in a place with no music at all. I have to think St. Louis has at least an OK music scene. However, it might not be too bad if you flew into either Austin or SA and rented a car to drive to the other. San Antonio and Austin are only about an hour’s drive apart. You could also take side trips out to some place like Fredericksburg. You could even fly to Mexico if you wanted. One-way flights from Austin to Cancun are running $79.99 right now for March 2009, and are sometimes under $20.
How about somewhere in California? Los Angeles has tons of sights to see and places to go. I’ve never been to San Francisco but it’s #1 on my “U.S. places I want to go” list. Likewise, I haven’t been to Miami, but it’s the first place I thought of when I read the OP. I wonder how much Puerto Rico costs as well. No real expertise here, but maybe something to think about it.
I also know that Texas weather can be fickle as hell in March. It can be gorgeous or it can be cold as hell. When I lived in Dallas, I remember snow on Easter one year.
Been to San Antonio. Got my head shaved, smokes confiscated, yelled at a lot. Was made to get up at ungoldy hours of the AM, dress in camoflage, and perform mundane tasks for loud, profane people in funny hats. Can’t say I enjoyed the place.
BF has been to Cali a lot in his life, and we’ve both been to FL a lot. Trying to do something new.
We’re not really looking for something super touristy. We are looking for nice weather, a cool city to explore, good food, etc. Maybe some nice parks or trails. A museum. Nothing crazy. We just wanna get away basically. We could drive to TX, about 14 hours from STL. Neither of us has even been there.
This is the first vacation either of us has ever planned. We don’t really know where to go, what to look for, how to do this, anything.
I’m definitely open to suggestions beyond TX. Just probably not California, Florida, Las Vegas, or DC, because we’re looking for something totally new. Or anywhere for sure to be colder than STL in March.
Smoking was not allowed in basic. Well, not for us maggots. The guy that took my smokes delighted in smoking them in front of me.
Had I only had the good sense to stay in, rather than getting out and going to law school, I’d be up for retirement next month. Or dead. Either is preferable to what I do now.
Warmer than STL in March narrows your playing field a bit. Have you considered Charleston? Memphis looks to be a fairly easy drive, but no guarantees that it would be warm. If you like the Blues or barbeque, Beale St is a must.
If you’re driving, I definitely recommend New Orleans. Not only is the city itself awesome and filled with stuff to do, but there’s lots of cool things all around in South Louisiana. You can go west and explore Acadia (Cajun Country), or check out plantations, or just wander through neat old towns like St. Francisville. Or just stay in NOLA, if you can stand the humidity.
March is such a fickle month weather wise that most of the United States can not be guaranteed to be warmer than St. Louis. I guess the later in the month the better. I’ve been to the Gulf Coast area in March several times. Some times gorgeous, sometimes cold, cloudy and rain with temperatures in the low 50s.
The only parts of the US that are guaranteed to be warmer would probably be Southern California, the Arizona deserts and far south Texas. Hawaii also, but that is probably beyond the budget.
May want to look at northern Florida. Pensacola has shopping, beaches, bars, a great Navy Museum (Pappy Boyington’s plane is there…or was, years ago), and there’s a Spanish fort to tour. A hour or so down the road is Navarre and Ft. Walton/Destin. More beaches, the Air Force has a museum outside the gates of Eglin. Some of the Spring Breakers go to this area rather than further South. Or, east of Pepsicola, there’s Mobile, an old school battleship (USS Alabama) you can tour, and other touristy stuff. You said the boyfriend likes outdoorsy stuff…lot of fishing charters available pretty much anywhere in the area. I did a few out of Destin years ago. Boat had a deal with a restaurant. Think it was like $40/man, for half a days fishing (tackle & bait included), and they’d bring you back so the restaurant could cook up your catch on the spot. This was pre-summer of 1992, so it prolly costs more now.