Student Vacations

[schurchill39]

I would like to plan a vacation for the girlfriend and I during the reading week in February (16th-24th). Neither of us have travelled before so I thought it would be a great experience. The only downfall is that I am a student and would like to try and keep the cost down to about $1000 per person if possible. With that in mind we dont need anything super luxurious but I also dont want to go to a dump. I am looking for suggestions for places to go, price estimates, and places book this all through. Here is what I have so far.

Canada:
Vancouver: Its warm that time of year and there is tons of nice things to see and do.
Montreal: Yes its cold but its a very beautiful city with lots of history.

United States:
San Diego: Its a warm beach city nuff said.
LA: Tons of tourist attractions and fairly warm

Mexico:
Anywhere (not sure of specific locations... suggestions?) simply because its mexico.

Like I said I have no experience with things like this so I am open to suggestions and input. If you guys have been anywhere you think it worth checking out please let me know.

Thanks.

EDIT: Just for the sake of saying it: It does not need to last the whole break but full 4 days there minimum would be nice. We would be leaving from the Calgary airport.

[A790]

Hey man, I don't want to harp on your ideas but being a student myself I know how fricken tight money is. I'd rather save that kind of money and go on a mini-vacation (which can be just as romantic and fun if you do it right).

For example, during spring break last year I took my girlfriend to an all-inclusive hotel for four nights. The hotel had a spa/gym/pool/lounge/club/room service, you know, the whole deal. The best part is that we never left London and it only cost me $1,000 for both of us, including drinks, food, champaigne, etc.

Besides, any trip that you take your girl on, even if it's just to a hotel for a few nights, will be unexpected and appreciated.

I dunno, probably not what you're looking for, but just my two cents.

[R-Audi]

You can get flight/hotel to Vegas for ~600/person in nice hotels... then spent the rest shopping of gambling. Or rippers if she doesnt mind.

[teggypimp95]

I was lucky growing up and my parents took us on 2 vacations a year and i have continued that trend myself. So if you have questions about places i would be happy to answer.

Out of the ones you have mentioned above i would say do a all inclusive resort in mexico. The other places u have mentioned are nice but u will still need to pay for food, boose attractions etc.

Doing an all inclusive is a great way to do a holiday for the first time. Your meals are always prepared, always activities and shows going on. You can take many different tours from the resorts to see the mian ruins etc.

If you could up your budget maybe a few hundred more, you could do a nice cruise together. That would be the best for a holiday.
You get to stay on a nice ship with plently of activities, food is always amazing, and you get to see 3 or 4 differnt places around the world rather than just visiting one. I have been on 8 cruises so if you got any questions just let me know!

[Godfuader]

Take a road trip!

Last may, four of us packed up a rental, and drove south for a 9 day trip (fri-sun). Managed to hit Vegas, LA, San Diego & Tijuana, Mexico. The drive from Calgary to downtown LA is exactly 24hrs, but you guys can take a couple days to get down or stop in Vegas first. Whole trip including rental, gas, 4/5 star hotels (priceline), meals and a Flames playoff game in Anaheim cost us $499.15/person.

Or like R-Audi said...Vegas flight/hotel packages are easy to find under $1000

[picmerollin]

i did this on reading week for my last two years of univ. and all i can say is wawawiwa very nice.

but i was single both times and that may have contributed to the memories that will last a lifetime. so with that said you may be able to go to less of a party paradise and more of a relaxing paradise like cabo or peurto vaillarta (wow that is spelled wrong) but i tell you nothing is better than being on the beach for a week in feb. cancun cost me 1400 the first and 1500 the 2nd time and about 500-700 US for spending cash, but like i said i was single and crazy for those two reading weeks. you can definetly do it for less, but get at least a 3 star resort or your eating situation will become a little questionable.

i liked cancun b/c there is actually places to go besides the resort, but if your planning on mostly tlc with your lady you may not need the atmosphere cancun delivers, and it actually may make you want to kill all the single guys who will be trying to bang your woman.

if your confident your gonna have the $ to cover this down the road, crack out the visa and live it up plus the cdn dollar is alot stronger than when i went so itll likely be cheaper. you can do a road trip any old weekend, vancouver is nice but man its reading week and your a student this is the time to live it up!!


Blue bay getaway club=major thumbs up, its adults only so you get no kids to make you feel bad for drinking all the time, and its kinda got a "swinger appeal" so there is lots of nudity and all night beach parties. oh yeah and the food is great quality and taste. The barcelo las parlas= cheaper, food is a recipe for the loose duece, farther from the action, kids allowed so you may run into a few families with attitude if your being loud and spring breakish.

hope that helps, i cant wiat to go back to the blue bay getaway, that place is heaven!!

[schurchill39]

Thanks for all the advice so far, keep it comming.

Unfortunately my employer fucked around all summer so I wasn't able to save as much as I would of liked to so that $1000/person is kind of my limit.

I never considered vegas because both of us are just shy of 21, But I definitly like the idea! What sorts of things are there to do if your not quite legal; casinos and clubs are out but I would assume there is lots of sight seeing and shopping to do. At $600 each that would fit nicely into my budget with ample spending money left over.

I am still liking mexico but it looks like its a fairly expensive trip, definitly over my budget.

On another side note, I dont think I want to do a road trip because she's never been on an airplane so I wanted to give her that experience plus it would only be the two of us driving....

[schurchill39]

What about hotels in Las Vegas or Los Angeles? Do I have to be 21 to book one or would just having a valid credit card in my name work? Same for renting a car...

[n1zm0]

shopping is cheap there, compared to here, depending on what you want, but if your not 21+, theres alot of sightseeing, wax museum stratosphere, just the whole environment of las vegas is like no other.

you can drink in the streets, so if you try and get someone to boot for you (not that hard), you should be good to go

im sure you could gamble(slots) just hope you don't win over 200$, no one will question you.

p.s: i paid around 700$ to stay in the bellagio for 3 nights and return flight. even cheaper if you pick a cheaper hotel

[anarchy]

Originally posted by schurchill39
What about hotels in Las Vegas or Los Angeles? Do I have to be 21 to book one or would just having a valid credit card in my name work? Same for renting a car...

I remember when we rented a car, there was an extra charge if your'e under 25.

[teggypimp95]

Hey bud try these 2 sites

www.expedia.ca

www.tripres.com


You can get good package deals here. Flights and hotels together and some you could add a car rentel with also.

Screw around with it for a while and see what you can find. I have work it out through these and then the same trip booking stright through hotel and air lines to compare prices. These seem to come in at a couple hundred cheaper. Good luck.

[adidas]

You can get into some clubs in Vegas if your 18+ its just that they will give you a different color wristband then those who are 21+. It basically lets the bartenders/waiters know that your not old enough to drink so you cant get served.

But i say hit up LA there is ALOT of stuff to see if you do ur reasearch before hand.

Have fun.

[SunniSunShine]

www.selloffvacations.com

also go on expedia and go to the packages and feast your eyes on the savings

[thrasher22]

Vegas has alot of things just to look at walking the strip and the many attractions, but if you're just shy of 21 hold out... and go all out.

[citylimits]

There are a lot of all-inclusive packages in Mexico, Caribbean and Central America that you should be able to swing for less than $1000 if you are really good about budgeting. Central America in particular can have a lot of great deals since it's not as big of a destination yet. My went to the volcano side of Costa Rice and LOVED it. No clue what flights will be like from Canada though. What about Miami? There are some affordable places in South Beach right by all the action. Vegas is awesome too but all the entertainment options can drain your wallet.

[schurchill39]

Just figured I would give this a post midterm bump... Does any one else have any recommendations, experiences or places to look for good packages?