Country Inns & Suites by Carlson is actually providing me with two free nights and a fun roadtrip itinerary in San Diego. We will be heading down south for a quick, fun and hopefully inexpensive getaway. The roadtrip itinerary that was provided by Country Inns & Suites has us heading off to explore Balboa Park and other excursions that are inexpensive and some that are off the beaten path.
I want to pose a question to you – What’s your idea of the best last-minute vacation? I want to hear from you! Just leave your answer under comments and you will also be entered to win a family 4 pack of Angel tickets to a Big Bang Friday game.
Thank you in advance! Looking forward to reading about your favorite last minute vacation tips!!
I forgot to add you have until Sunday to enter. Thanks!
I love to head to arrowhead for the weekend.
I would probably say any beach in a nice hotel with my husband 😉
We love a quick trip to Grandma's for the weekend!
We LOVE to get away to Palm Desert! Yes, in the summer it is QUITE warm, but there are a few nice indoor things to do. There is agreat children's museum and there is always swimming. If you can get ther in the spring or fall, the Living Desert is amazing and there is also a really great park with water play and an outdoor amphitheater!
When we're feeling adventurous, we like to find a local campground for an overnight campout. If not, then a Day trip to an amusement park or the beach is fun.
We like to go over to the Hollywood area. The kids get a kick out of looking for celebrities! The Chineese theater with all the hand prints is always a family favorite! We all enjoy driving through Beverly hills and looking at the mansions. The only expense is gas and food.
Mommyesq4@aol.com
We drive out to Vegas and stay at the Tahiti Village, where there is a sandy beach entrance to the pool with beach toys available for the kids. Because its half time-share, half hotel, all of the rooms have kitchenettes or better. We then take the kids to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum, where they have 2 floors of hands on exhibits to play with. I've taken the kids tour the Dairy, but the talking cow freaked them out.
We loved driving up the California coast and pulling off to the side of the road for a hotel when we are tired. There are so many beautiful sites along the way!
A trip to visit family is always high on our list. Surprisingly I enjoy it more than I ever thought I could because it means I have a few extra helpers to entertain the kids.
My husband and I did some internet research on last minute get-a-way deals and found a awesome weekend get-a-way deal and we took a last minute trip to San Francisco (two weeks ago) for our 3rd Anniversary. We also saw the musical "Wicked" while we were there. It was a fantastic trip! Highly recommend it!
weekend getaway to pyramid lake. NOT EXPENSIVE AT ALL. bring packed meals from home, sleep in camping tents & you have the water for HOURS of entertainment!
Anywhere as a family is a great vacation! We were supposed to go to the fair Saturday but it was way too busy so we did an impromptu change and ended up at Balboa Island and road the ferry across. It felt like a mini vacation and planned in 5 minutes ! haha
My family and I are huge Disney Fans. Although we live close, every year we plan a "Disney Vacation". We get a hotel at Disneyland and spend a few days exploring like tourists!
*Inexpensive to do if you already have passes
My Husband and I went on a VERY last minute (we left the day after we decided to go!) trip to central California w/ my MIL. Loved EVERY single second of the entire week-long trip! The planning was a bit hectic since I only had about an hour to plan the whole week but SO worth it!
We hit Hearst Castle, Morro Rock, Cambria, Santa Barbara and more and it is one of the most memorable vacations I've ever been on!
San Diego is always one of our favorites for spur of the moment mini vacations. You can always find a good hotel deal and there is soooo much to see and do–Balboa Park which is huge and always cool things are happening there, Sea World, the Zoo, the beach and even Wild Animal Park (which is a little bit of a drive, and can be really hot in the summer, but still worth it).
We did a last minute stay at the Disneyland Hotel in May. It was the best getaway we have taken the kids on. They loved the pool!!!! We spent the mornings in Disneyland, the afternoons in the pool, and then a dinner and music in Downtown Disney. Such a great escape and we only live 20 Minutes away!!
Palm Desert is usually our last minute get-away. My in-laws have a place out there so it's cheap and usually available. But, we LOVE trips to San Diego…we're going to the Wild Animal Park in October. We will drive down there early in the morning just to have the best french toast ever at Ricky's Restaurant off the 8 fwy. at Hotel Circle. You should check it out…delish! Have fun!
Ours is the same as yours. A few nights in San Diego to explore all the fun things down there.
Hope you picks us we are die hard ANGELS FANS!!!!
In the last few months, I've noticed more special rates offered by hotels. My husband and I took just took an anniversary trip to a beautiful bed & breakfast in Dana Point called the Blue Lantern Inn. We had a great time and didn't break the bank.
We like to pack up and head to San Diego. We have an annual pass to Sea World and we love the atmosphere down there… so laid back.
Jen R
jlchurray@hotmail.com
I like Anaheim…really! Disneyland, DCA, Downtown Disney, the GardenWalk, Honda Center, Angel Stadium, Luigi's! What else could you ask for.
mommyofone@live.com
We have disney passes and live close, but just staying at one of the nearby hotels made it an entirely different experance!
Check out Temecula! Their web site is http://www.cityoftemecula.org. This city always has family events going on nearly everyday for free or next to free. Old Town Temecula has Hot Summer Nights going on every Friday night, there's really good free concerts at the Temecula Amphitheater every Thursday night, Monday nights are Family Fun Nights which are either free or next to free, there's free movies in the park with free crafts and activities for the kids, and the Temecula Children's Museum has special events for families every Friday night for only $5.00 (every other regular session is only $4.50). We spent the whole summer in Temecula last year and stayed at Extended Stay America studio suite (it had a full kitchen, wi-fi, pets allowed). We were busy doing somthing fun nearly every single night and, aside from rent (which was $1500/month including maid service, utilities, and other nice hotel amenities like a free membership to Gold's Gym, and discounts to restaurants and city-wide events). It was the best summer ever! If you want a cheap mini vacation, go to the city's web site where you can plan out a lot of fun. Of course, there are lots of other hotels to stay at if you would like to spend a night or two, but for a longer term, we recommend the Extended Stay America. Their rates are only $49 a night!
Santa Barbara has a great "car free" program. You ride the train there, stay in a hotel/motel close to the station (which is also close to the beach and downtown!). Various hotels/motels, restaurants, and attractions offer discounts when you show your train tickets! Some of the accomodations provide you with free bikes to use while there! It is a fun adventure! We are doing it again in August!
http://www.santabarbaracarfree.org/
Pre mommyhood I would have said Vegas or San Diego. Now I would say a trip to the beach with friends or a camping trip to a local camp site sound fun.
We love surprising our kids with an "out of the blue mini-vacation" by checking into the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier hotel. We don't tell the kids when or where or what is happening…they LOVE the surprise!
Our last minute getaway roadtrip is to down south towards San Diego. This weekend we'll do the same. Some of my husband's relatives unexpectantly came down to LA so we are actually planning on leaving to San Diego tomorrow, which works out perfect. This Sat we we will be in San Clemente ocean festival and Sunday we are going to the Sand Castle Competition in Imperial Beach. You can never go wrong with San Diego county.
without kids, the perfect weekend getaway would be Vegas. With kids, we'd go to San Diego to visit Sea World, SD Zoo and Legoland. mrsjh77 at yahoo.com
I have to admit, I don't like last minute vaycays. I like to know what we're doing, when and where every second of the trip! However, 2 years ago before my baby was born, my husband, 6 year old son, and I all jumped in the car to go crusing along PCH, and we ended up driving to San D for the weekend! It was relaxing, amazing, and a little exciting.
I'll go there this summer too. I hope I'll have a great time:)
We love to ride dirtbikes. We will often pack up the trailer and head out to the desert. We have most often gone to Johnson Valley, but now we go to an awesome place called Trona Valley. There is a neat natural landmark there called Trona Pinnacles. It is worth a drive there in the winter months, and you can camp there, primitive style.
A more civilized weekend would be up to Big Bear to stay in one of the nicer campgrounds, with bicycling, the luge ride, the lake. I love travelling. I could go on and on with my favorite hideaways.
I love Ghost towns, too. Calico, Randsberg, and Bodie to name a few.
I like going to San Diego because there is so much to do and see and my kids always have fun going to the tidepools in La Jolla which is also great for the weekend.
We like to go camping. There is a great campground off the 91 and gypsum canyon called Canyon RV. Very woodsy!
Up to San Francisco is always a favorite of ours. But I think that has a lot to do with the fact I grew up in the Bay Area.. 🙂
Our last minute getaways would consist of getting online and look around for hotels that have great deals around Southern CA. But our last trip to San Diego was so great because we got to use our passes to the San Diego Zoo. 🙂
Actually Las Vegas is tons of fun. Summer room rates are very low and there are rooms with kitchens/pools– and animals to see. In Ca. I would camp if possible or find friends that are camping and join them–if they cannot accommodate you to sleep, then at night stay in a nearby motel room with a pool.
We have family in Monterey so we enjoy going there… lots of outdoors family activities : )
Stay dow near Laguna Beach. I recently went there with some friends and our little family and the beach was AMAZING. It was a little piece of Hawaii. I couldn't believe how clear the ocean was. I can't wait until we have time to maybe take a mini vacation down there.
After traveling all around the world, I've noticed that handling the English vocabulary is a must.
Before heading to a place you've never been before, my advice is to read opinions on forums or blogs about that place, and not only the guide books, in which everything sounds great.