Fun, unique, affordable places to vacation?

[altonb1]

Originally posted by: Mill

Originally posted by: altonb1

Originally posted by: jmdeathsquad
i live in tampa, you can crash on my couch (its a fold out futon) for the low fee of... beer. 20 minutes or so to the beach... and beer for me!!

The nice thing about Orlando is you'll have a nice resort to stay in and relax, you can do the tourist stuff if you want, go to theme parks, Pleasure Island or Citywalk, etc, plus you can day-trip to some of the best beaches in the country. Clearwater and some of the other beacjes on the Guld are really nice and not completely over-run with tourist traps. You also have mutliple beaches on the Atlantic coast to choose from as well, including Cocoa Beach, Daytona, etc.

AND...airfare to Orlando should be very reasonable considering the competitiveness of travel into MCO. I did a quick search on Orbitz and Travelocity and it looks like DEN to MCO would cost in the neighborhood of $380-$450 round trip per person, depending on flights. The rental car, for a mid-size car from Thrifty (also found by Orbitz) would be about $160 with unlimited miles. That leaves you ~$1000 for lodging and spending money. Orlando will give you a lot of variety for a nice vacation.

Yet Orlando is not on the ocean. No offense, to you altonb, but I don't think the OP should go to Orlando. Orlando is cool if you want to do something decidely American and touristy, but I thought he was looking for a relaxing outdoor/beach type of thing. I'd suggest the Panhandle before I'd say Central Florida.

The entire state of Florida is ON THE OCEAN!!! That was my point--it will be well within his budget, he will be within an hour's drive of the Atlantic. Depending what beach he picks on the Gulf, he could be there in an hour to 90 mins. Orlando is not ocean-front, if that is what you meant, but there are also lakes/springs that would give him the "beach" experience.

I'm not too familiar with beaches in the panhandle, but when I lived in Tampa, there were plenty of beaches on the Gulf that were very nice.

 

[jmdeathsquad]

yeah but if he stayed in orlando he would have to drive down I-4. Talk about a nightmare... Tampa is nice, and there are plenty of non touristy places and cool little islands you can drive to...

 

[WT]

Catalina was very interesting for a day trip. Not what I expected, but the bus trip to the airport at the top of the island was an adrenaline rush.

Avalon

Harbor

View from bus down the ravine - advice: don't fall

Long & winding road

Watch the door dings, buddy !

Not a lot to explore, but given two days you would cover about everything. One of my favorite places to visit regardless, so it would make a great vacation spot.

 

[jmdeathsquad]

isnt Catalina a type of salad dressing?