{"id":385,"date":"2008-05-21T16:12:11","date_gmt":"2008-05-21T21:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/beach-vacations-champagne-tastes-on-a-beer-budget\/"},"modified":"2016-12-17T20:42:02","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T02:42:02","slug":"beach-vacations-champagne-tastes-on-a-beer-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/beach-vacations-champagne-tastes-on-a-beer-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Beach vacations: ‘champagne tastes on a beer budget’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Laplantes_3\"<\/a>
\nBy Marie LaPlante<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

With both of us working full time while trying to keep up with the ruminations and daily activity level of our 3-year old, we tend to look for the laziest vacations possible -\u2013 which by our definition means the beach. After 3 years of traveling with our daughter, we have it down to a science.<\/p>\n

Now, not every family looks for the same thing in a beach vacation<\/a><\/strong> \u2013- our family definitely has champagne tastes on a beer budget. We also try to avoid crowds (or, in my husband’s case, any human contact whatsoever). So we tend to travel<\/a><\/strong> off-season, when we can get low rates at hotels<\/a><\/strong> we otherwise couldn’t afford. Admittedly, this is much easier to do since we don’t yet need to work around school schedules — though I like to think my daughter will get into Harvard even if she misses a week of second grade … and our vacation savings can go right into the college fund!<\/p>\n

So we take our summer vacation in September and our spring break<\/a><\/strong> in February or May -\u2013 and we’ve been able to stay at some great places:<\/p>\n

Kiawah Island, South Carolina<\/a><\/strong>: our favorite thus far. Kiawah Island is right outside Charleston, which is one of the most charming cities I’ve visited. And the island has a lot to offer families -\u2013 you can rent bikes and ride right on the beach, follow dolphins in a boat down the Kiawah River, and see baby\"Laplantekiawah\"<\/a><\/em> alligators and other wildlife at the Nature Center. My husband enjoyed golfing the Ocean Course<\/a><\/strong> and I spent some much needed time at the spa.  We went in mid-September \u2013- it was still hot and we got a great off-season rate at The Sanctuary<\/a><\/strong>. And from Chicago, it was only a 1.5 hour flight \u2013- bonus!<\/p>\n

Amelia Island, Florida<\/a><\/strong>: a good alternative to your standard Florida beach \u2013- this is outside of Jacksonville. We went in April and got off-season rates at the Ritz-Carlton<\/a><\/strong>, which had a great kids program, bonfires on the beach -\u2013 complete with s’mores and pirate stories — and a ‘Pirate Tuck In’ that my daughter loved.<\/p>\n

San Juan, Puerto Rico<\/a><\/strong>: This was our way to test traveling internationally with our child, without leaving the states. We stayed about 45 minutes outside San Juan at El Conquistador<\/a><\/strong>, which is a huge hotel\/villa complex on a cliff. It had stunning views, but you had to take a boat to a private island to enjoy the beach -\u2013 which would be great for older kids, but a pain with our then 1-year old. We stuck to the pool.\n<\/p>\n

Related Orbitz resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n