Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Orlando. Hear me out - hotels and flights are very cheap. One day at Epcot to see the aquarium, do the Living with the Land tour, and seafood dinner at the Coral Reef watching the fish, and ride Guardians of the Galaxy. Then go swim with manatees. All of the other suggestions sound freezing cold and not fun.

San Diego isn’t a bad idea but that’s a long and expensive flight and expensive hotels.

If he is truly into ocean life, then Monterey Bay Aquarium could be special.

Orlando will cost more than $2k for three people

It’s 2 people. Flights for 2 pax = $600. hotel $150 @ 3 nights = $450. food $100/day = $300. Epcot tickets = $300. manatee excursion = $150. car rental = $150. total = $1900.

I would check Google flights for the dates you're interested in and go from there. You may be surprised to find a weirdly cheap flight somewhere or narrow down a lot of expensive stuff. Then do hotels. Also depending on location you'll need a rental car (or not in Boston or NYC). I absolutely think it's doable, but flights are already way up in March so I wouldn't get locked into a location until you can narrow down from flights for those specific dates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Orlando. Hear me out - hotels and flights are very cheap. One day at Epcot to see the aquarium, do the Living with the Land tour, and seafood dinner at the Coral Reef watching the fish, and ride Guardians of the Galaxy. Then go swim with manatees. All of the other suggestions sound freezing cold and not fun.

San Diego isn’t a bad idea but that’s a long and expensive flight and expensive hotels.

If he is truly into ocean life, then Monterey Bay Aquarium could be special.

Orlando will cost more than $2k for three people

There’s one adult and kid on this trip.

I don't know if anyone's suggested Sarasota. The weather will be good, and there's tons of things to do: the Ringling Circus museum is terrific, as is Myakka State Park. Also great: Mote Aquarium, Big Cat Habitat, Classic Car Museum, Jungle Gardens, kayaking in Ted Sperling Park, Historic Spanish Point, Selby Botanical Gardens. The beaches are gorgeous and plenty of seafood. I suggest flying into Tampa for cheaper airfare.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will be cold, but Boston is the first place that came to mind.

+1

I immediately thought of Boston too, but March will be a pretty miserable time to go. Could the trip be gifted in March, but scheduled for May or June?

If the trip has to take place in March, then maybe somewhere like Key West (for the seafood). No museums, but there is historical stuff like Hemingway’s house.

There are some museums in the Keys - and you'd fly into Miami, which has good museums. Not sure that's doable for this budget, though.

Anonymous wrote:Orlando. Hear me out - hotels and flights are very cheap. One day at Epcot to see the aquarium, do the Living with the Land tour, and seafood dinner at the Coral Reef watching the fish, and ride Guardians of the Galaxy. Then go swim with manatees. All of the other suggestions sound freezing cold and not fun.

San Diego isn’t a bad idea but that’s a long and expensive flight and expensive hotels.

If he is truly into ocean life, then Monterey Bay Aquarium could be special.

Orlando will cost more than $2k for three people

Anonymous wrote:San Diego.
The zoo and museums in Balboa Park are great. Hike + tide pools on Coronado Island is free. Splurge for a whale watch.

Montreal is close and feels very European. It might be cold in March, but there’s a great ropes course downtown and plenty of museums.

Mystic Connecticut. The historic seaport and aquarium could be fun for a short trip and you could drive or take train from DC.

Florida Keys. Take the ferry out to Dry Tortugas National Park and go snorkeling.

None of those is really doable on this budget - unless you drive to Montreal or CT

Anonymous wrote:It will be cold, but Boston is the first place that came to mind.

Boston is a great suggestion - you can drive there, too. It will be VERY cold.

Providence or Newport could also be nice - and also drivable.

If you want a little warmer, how about Savannah or St Augustine? It won't be beach weather in March but it'll be better than Boston!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13 is coming of age? Is this a Jewish thing?

No. I am just calling the trip this. 13 is a a significant age.

Can you tie it to something of significance? Make it a service trip or visit a place to try out another language?

Oh for gd's sake - how about they just want to take a trip together to make the kid's birthday?

Anonymous wrote:I was gojng to suggest New Orleans. Can do the WW2 museum, walk around French quarter and do whatever free stuff is offered at the NPS visitor center (we did a drum lesson but they also do walking tours), and also possibly one of the following: Mardi Gras museum, aquarium, day trip to swamp tour (although that’s early in season to see gators — they hibernate), or day trip to see a plantation (many now have well done presentations about the lives of enslaved people).

This

Thank you for the replies. I was leaning Boston but a lot of posters have commented on the weather and so I believe that going South is the better choice. I am looking at a few places mentioned above. Thanks so much. I also like the idea of gifting in March and waiting until summer. We may just go that route.

This will be a surprise so we don’t want any input from my son and DH isn’t much of a planner. I am running all of the ideas by him from all of you. My son isn’t the only child so having a solo trip with his Dad will be the best part for him. Add in a plane ride, and a few activities and he will feel so special which is the ultimate goal.

Florida Everglades You could contact some of the science y places and find educational tours of the everglades and do some hands on science. Some of it won't be available yet in March, but some of it will.

You could check out sites like redaroundtheworld.com for specifics.

Hope they have a great time whatever y'all decide!!!

Anonymous wrote:It will be cold, but Boston is the first place that came to mind.

+1

I immediately thought of Boston too, but March will be a pretty miserable time to go. Could the trip be gifted in March, but scheduled for May or June?

If the trip has to take place in March, then maybe somewhere like Key West (for the seafood). No museums, but there is historical stuff like Hemingway’s house.

It sounds like this is a trip for DH and DC that Op herself is not participating in? If that’s the case I’d suggest it would be more meaningful for DH and DC to step up and plan it themselves (especially since this is being billed as a “coming of age” trip).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13 is coming of age? Is this a Jewish thing?

No. I am just calling the trip this. 13 is a a significant age.

Not significant in our family. Nice to have money like that. If I could do it, though, I would opt for the old-fashioned Grand Tour at 18. Children at that age will appreciate it more. But, alas, saving for college

Have heard of other families, not Jewish, doing a trip marking end of child/beginning of teen years. It’s ok if it’s not your thing. My family doesn’t do this but it’s still a nice idea.

A weekend with a parent is a fine idea. Sometimes really special if there are siblings.

+1 our family is Jewish (non-observant) so we will do a trip at 13 instead of a bar mitzvah but also because I know from friends that the older they get the harder it is to schedule travel. A big trip at 18 sounds good but we will be preparing/paying for college at that point.