DH is celebrating a milestone birthday this November. These days we are not doing gifts but experiences. Therefore, we had booked a 5 day cruise that stopped at Turks & Caicos and Havana,Cuba. We just got the notice that the Cuba port has been eliminated and replaced by a private island and Nassau. The main reason we chose the cruise was to visit Cuba with T & C as a bonus. We cannot find another cruise with ports we want to visit for that short period of time. I can cancel the cruise for a full refund. However, now we have no place to go with equal appeal.
The cruise price was very good, and including airfare, our cost would have been $1,200 for both of us. I am looking for suggestions at that cost for 4 to 5 days in early November. Where would you go? We are in New York.
While we like the beach, we also like to go somewhere that has some interest (scenic hiking, historic or interesting cities, good food). Believe it or not, we don’t want to sit on the beach for 5 days. I can tell you that the east coast from Maine to Florida has been covered by prior travels. We have travelled to many of the Caribbean islands, except Turks and Caicos and St. Marteen. Land travel to T & C will be over our budget because the hotels are $$$$$! I don’t know anything about St. Marteen except they are still recovering from Irma.
We have been throwing around Lake Tahoe, Arizona but not sure this is the right time of the year,
Looking forward to any ideas you may throw my way.
Charleston? I’m not sure you can do five days at your price point…but check and see. Lots to do there…and fun.
If it were me…I’d still go on the cruise…and just relax.
What about St. John’s VI?
We had friends who went to Vegas…their goal was to find inexpensive airfare, and lodging…and that is where they found it. There is a LOT of great hiking and biking…and day trips you can do from Vegas. You don’t have to spend your time at the strip…but you might want to do one show. The Beatles Love by Cirque d Soleil is getting rave reviews…I believe it’s at the Mirage.
I would not recommend Tahoe in early November if you want hiking. The storms in the Sierras are big and they roll in fast, so hiking that late in the fall is often unsafe. You do not want to be stuck in the mountains when wet, heavy snow is dumping. They call it Sierra cement for a reason. It will also be too cold to swim by that time.
What about southern Utah? Not sure how you’d get there but it sure is pretty.
Yes, I’d think about southern Utah, Arizona or New Mexico at that time of year. Plenty to see in the national parks and it will be nice and quiet, for example from Phoenix you can go to the Grand Canyon South Rim, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde and back through northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Petrified Forest, etc.) in 7-10 days. For 5 days you wouldn’t want to go that far, but Sedona and the Grand Canyon and then either Page (for Antelope Canyon) or Monument Valley is feasible.
I think at that price I’d take the cruise. It’s disappointing that Cuba is off the itinerary but the rest sounds nice. I love disney’s private island and there is a lot more to do than just sit on the beach (although that’s my favorite) and often the cruiselines offer stuff on the ship for that day. Nassau has a pretty great botanic gardens and other stuff away from the docks.
I always think “the Eternal City” is an appropriate spot for milestone birthdays. From NY, it should be relatively cheap and November would be about as off season as it gets, without being really cold.
That being said, New Orleans is great in November. Arizona would be good too, but chilly in the northern half, especially at night.
Sorry about your cruise. We had a cruise to Cuba scheduled for October 2020 that we had already decided to cancel a few weeks ago. We are going to Toronto , Niagara on the Lake,Buffalo,and Niagara Falls instead.
