Winter break plans might fall through - help us plan a backup trip
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Anonymous
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We were supposed to go to Florida with my mom (so not a vacation, but a family trip, but whatever), but now it looks like my mom is not feeling well enough to go. That trip was going to be out of our price range, so we won't be able to pay my mom for the hotel and plane tickets and go ourselves (and she hasn't offered to give everything to us, which I wouldn't want her to do anyway).
Now we're looking for something else that's no more than $5K total. We have 3 kids, 12-18 years old. Everyone has said that they would be happy to learn to ski (but apparently that's not going to be a possibility in the ski resorts near the DMV). We're happy to fly or drive (if we drive, we'll have 4 drivers between us and our older kids, and we have credit on Southwest). Any suggestions for a winter break trip that won't cost more than $5K? We have religious dietary preferences, so food will not be our top concern wherever we go. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| The weeks of Christmas break and spring break are the most expensive travel times during the year. I don't think you can do much with $5000 for 5 people. |
Anonymous
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Drive to Vermont; rent airbnb in a random town and drive to ski resort. Eat at airbnb.
It's possible to do for 5k. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for the Vermont idea (we drove there this summer and enjoyed it and NH).
Do you have recommendations for where a family of teens and adults can go to learn how to ski? We will all need to rent equipment and take lessons. I really want to learn to ski cross-country, not down some huge slope. My teens have also expressed interest in snowboarding, too, so that would be a plus. |
Anonymous
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Burke
Stowe Killington All of those should be good options for you in Vermont. Do remember the snow situation up there can be hit or miss around Christmas so check to see if they're making snow. |
Anonymous
Typical out of touch DCUM. You can do plenty for 5k if you think hard enough. |
Anonymous
Burke is an interesting idea. It's one of the quieter ski areas in VT and it is FAR from the DMV. But if you have 4 drivers it's doable - I think it would be nearly all interstate. If you don't feel like driving far, there is Mt Snow is southern VT and there is also skiing in Western MA. If you fly to MHT or PMW there is skiing not far from both airports. NP |
Anonymous
Since you don't have a ski pass, such as Epic, I would really focus on finding a local mountain with reasonable lift tickets. Maybe Magic Mountain. The results owned by Vail all have insanely high rates for day passes. Also conditions in VT will be iffy and learning to ski in the rain or icy conditions won't be fun. I love skiing, but honestly I would drive to FL if I were you or go to NYC for a few days. Or see if you can get reasonable Southwest flights to Ft Myers (maybe leave Christmas day?) |
Anonymous
| Somebody was telling me over the weekend that she was considering going to Mont Tremblant. The price was surprisingly affordable for a week ski vacation. |
Anonymous
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Tremblant will have more to do than a lot of other places if the weather is awful.
And it might be. Looking at the current 10-day forecast for Burlington, LOTS of days with well over 32 degrees. And some rain. The mountains are a bit colder than Burlington but not by much. |
Anonymous
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I have family going to Quebec to ski this winter and they typically ski in NY but the prices were amazing. I think they found a place near Stoneham to ski (not sure of the name). I've heard Tremblant is wonderful and there's lots to do if skiing ends up being more challenging than anticipated.
My family has really enjoyed winter/snow hiking and ice skating. Check google flights too...you might be surprised at what you find within budget. |
Anonymous
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OP, check out this thread: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1243142.page
East coast skiing over winter break can be good but is often not. Even when it's good, skiing is REALLY expensive. For lift ticket, lessons, and rental equipment at the lowest cost setups in VT, you're probably looking at $200 per person per day. Then you also have to eat and sleep. So it may be technically doable in your budget (assuming you already have most of the right gear)... but tight. |
Anonymous
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Drive, first of all. If you want to ski, choose the resorts in PA that are about a 2-3 hour drive from here. Then, stay somewhere that's 30-60 minutes away, for example in Western MD. Look for deals on lift tickets.
Or skip skiing and just visit north and west from here, like Pittsburgh, western MD, West Virginia, and Ohio. Hike parts of the C&O Canal or Appalachian trail. Visit a new town every 1-2 days. There's a lot of cute ones out there, and they are not big tourist destinations so not expensive either. |
Anonymous
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If you go anywhere to ski, check out onthesnow.com for latest conditions.
The snow in Vermont has been coming down the past couple of weeks. We are headed to Killington, but I'd check out Smuggler's Notch, Okemo, Stowe or Jay as well. |
Anonymous
Give us some ideas. On another tread it was over $1500 per person just to fly somewhere warm. |