Arab13's spring break is coming up in a week or two. We want to go somewhere that is no more than 7 hours driving. We also don't want to spend more than $100/night. We have thought about Charleston and Savannah.

Does anyone have any reccomendations for a fun cheap trip?

3/6/2011 9:34:07 PM

I was going to say Charleston haha. I love that place

3/6/2011 9:38:03 PM

I'd go to Hilton Head

3/6/2011 9:53:01 PM

anyone have accommodation suggestions?

3/6/2011 9:59:57 PM

1.cancun, mx
2.south padre island, tx
3.panama city, fl
4.daytona, fl
5.myrtle beach, sc
6.Virginia beach, Va
7.Wilmington for the night
8.Kerr Lake
9.Tanger outlets, Mebane
10.Silver Lake

3/6/2011 10:06:36 PM

st simons

3/6/2011 10:56:50 PM

Quote :

"I'd go to Hilton Head"

But you're probably too late to score some good deals. We stayed for 4 nights for like $280 a few years ago.

3/6/2011 11:32:12 PM

destin, fl

3/6/2011 11:52:28 PM

Montego Bay, Jamaica

It is cheap to travel there and AMAZING

3/7/2011 12:34:18 AM

greenville, sc is a nice city to hang out for a weekend. its like raleigh but nicer and heard they had some good bars/clubs. definitely some nice restaurants and atleast one brewery place. i went through on a monday and liked it

new orleans, tampa, biloxi, orlando, key west, miami, austin, some beach places....ft. lauderdale and st. augustine.

3/7/2011 1:05:33 AM

Depends on what you consider fun. Personally, I would avoid Daytona like the plague. There is a reason that Floridians call Daytona Beach 'Dirty Beach'....

I would vote St. Augustine, especially since it puts you close enough to a whole bunch of other places if you want to head out for a day.

3/7/2011 7:00:32 AM

Just go to Charleston. Do some kayaking, tour a Plantation, go on a Carriage Tour, eat at some baller restaurants, and get drunk. If you go that route, I'll make some recommendations.

3/7/2011 7:08:19 AM

I think Savannah is looking the most possible.

3/7/2011 1:23:48 PM

Quote :

"10.Silver Lake"

shit is closed down.

3/7/2011 5:03:42 PM

Quote :

"greenville, sc is a nice city to hang out for a weekend. its like raleigh but nicer "

3/7/2011 7:41:02 PM

i am planning to go to panama city

3/8/2011 12:15:48 AM

^^Although not an accurate statement because I don't really see the similarities between the two (Raleigh being a capital city with several universities, pro sports team, and surrounded by more cities/towns)...I do think Greenville is "nicer." That city has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. Only city in South Carolina, besides Charleston, that I even think about living in.

3/8/2011 8:29:57 AM

jbrick, have you ever eaten at 82 Queen?

3/8/2011 9:33:01 AM

interesting.

I need to visit soon. I have two employees who work in GV and i've never even been out there.

3/8/2011 9:37:16 AM

^5 haha I was thinking the same thing. Last time I was down there it was still sketchy as ever. Granted that was 5 years ago now but still.

3/8/2011 9:46:57 AM

there are a lot of aerospace and tech jobs that moved into the greenville area in the last 10 years. its sort of like what happened to huntsville, AL when NASA set up shop. amazing what an influx of educated citizens can do for a place

3/8/2011 9:50:42 AM

Quote :

"jbrick, have you ever eaten at 82 Queen?"

Yeah...it's okay. Really nice courtyard to eat in if the weather is nice. But there are tons of other restaurants I would eat at in Charleston before 82 Queen.

3/8/2011 9:53:08 AM

yeah, i was just wondering. One of it's owners is an old family friend.

3/8/2011 9:59:20 AM

Quote :

"^5 haha I was thinking the same thing. Last time I was down there it was still sketchy as ever. Granted that was 5 years ago now but still."

You thought Greenville, SC was sketchy??? Which part of Greenville were you in? It certainly isn't some amazing city or anything but the downtown area is very clean, active, and extremely un-sketchy. I wouldn't visit here for a spring break or anything really since it isn't big enough to spend a whole week in for a vacation unless you are visiting friends/family imo but sketchy is not the word I would use to describe it in the least.

Quote :

"^^Although not an accurate statement because I don't really see the similarities between the two (Raleigh being a capital city with several universities, pro sports team, and surrounded by more cities/towns)...I do think Greenville is "nicer." That city has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. Only city in South Carolina, besides Charleston, that I even think about living in."

Agreed. I was really hesitant about living in SC until I spent a little time in Greenville. Charleston is definitely about the only other place I would want to live here. I definitely wouldn't compare it to Raleigh because the size and scale like you mentioned is just totally different. However it certainly has been a nice place for me to live since I moved here in 2007. Low cost of living, great downtown, lots of young, educated professionals (one of the highest engineers per capita of any city in the country), one of the best minor league baseball parks, etc.

[Edited on March 8, 2011 at 10:14 AM. Reason : .]

3/8/2011 10:04:58 AM

I had some family that lived there and the area they lived in was a bit sketchy. Not downright ghetto or anything, but I probably wouldn't be hanging out in the street late at night either.

3/8/2011 10:23:25 AM

Interesting. I mean there are definitely a few areas that I wouldn't want to live in within Greenville that I would consider "sketchy," but they're mainly the same kind of isolated areas every city has. They don't speak for the city as a whole. If you're down here again you should definitely head down to the main area of downtown.

[Edited on March 8, 2011 at 10:29 AM. Reason : .]

3/8/2011 10:28:54 AM

^^Even downtown historic Charleston has tons of "sketchy" areas. Lots of generalizations ITT where people are only seeing small portions of cities.

BTW...Greenville's downtown is beautiful. Lots of work has been done to it the past 5 years and it's great.

^ Have you checked out the Greenville Beer Exchange yet??

3/8/2011 10:31:12 AM

^I have not. I really need to though; I am right in that area of downtown quite a lot.

3/8/2011 10:36:18 AM

^Definitely check it out. I know the guys at the Charleston Beer Exchange and it's awesome. They say the Greenville one is run the same way but much much bigger. Makes me jealous. They're extremely helpful no matter how much you know/like beer and their growler selection (as well as overall beer selection) is great.

3/8/2011 10:54:41 AM

Spring Break is the best. Only holiday of the year when you can go skiing or to the beach.


I'm still holding out for my dream spring break that I've yet to accomplish. 3 days in Park City, 3 days at Lave Havasu, then 3 days in Vegas on the NCAA opening weekend.

One of these days, Alice.

3/8/2011 11:17:53 AM

^ I have done that, minus NCAA and Havasu, but then it was two weeks in Hawaii so pretty baller. Actually it was couple days in LA (Beverly Hills) two or three days Vegas, Three or four days Skiing at Park City, then two weeks Hawaii.

3/8/2011 12:52:35 PM

so given all of those baller things you've done in the past, why are you cheaping out this year?

Did the daddy's money train come to an end?

3/8/2011 1:05:37 PM

GET BACK TO THE BEER MOOT!!

(cheaping out b/c it's on MY buck, and school is precluding obtaining coin)

3/21/2011 11:56:55 PM

Quote :

"But there are tons of other restaurants I would eat at in Charleston before 82 Queen. "

jbrick83 - name a few you suggest? I've been to 82 Queen and thought it was nice, but overpriced. My wife and I go down to Charleston a few times each year and are always looking for new places to try.

3/22/2011 3:28:06 PM

I live in North Padre Island Texas- it's the least expensive waterfront property available in the U.S. You can come stay down here for $600/week during peak season rather than the ridiculous $1500/week fees in eastern NC's waterfront. I'm talking those big mansions right on the water.

However, it is a 20 hour drive, but it goes through New Orleans....

3/22/2011 11:24:15 PM

That's it...I'm going to visit DJ Lauren...and stop in N'awlins for a couple of days on the way.

3/23/2011 1:08:13 AM

Quote :

"Interesting. I mean there are definitely a few areas that I wouldn't want to live in within Greenville that I would consider "sketchy," but they're mainly the same kind of isolated areas every city has. They don't speak for the city as a whole. If you're down here again you should definitely head down to the main area of downtown."

Absolutely.
Frankly, 90% of the city is the same as every other city in America. Gas stations and fast food joints. Might be boring and ugly, but most of the city is completely fine.

Downtown is absolutely fantastic. Clean, pretty, lots of places to go, good mix of people. Not that I'd come here for spring break, though. Go to Charleston.

3/23/2011 7:09:27 AM

Quote :

"You can come stay down here for $600/week during peak season rather than the ridiculous $1500/week fees in eastern NC's waterfront. I'm talking those big mansions right on the water. "

that's because, outside of austin, TX is a shithole of a state.

3/23/2011 7:45:43 AM

Quote :

"name a few you suggest? I've been to 82 Queen and thought it was nice, but overpriced. My wife and I go down to Charleston a few times each year and are always looking for new places to try."

The following I will list are all over the price range, but IMO, each one is worth it:

F.I.G., Trattoria Lucca, La Fourchette, Al di La (West Ashley), McCrady's, Basil, Husk, Hanks, Zia (James Island).

F.I.G. is my favorite, Mike Lata is one of the best chefs in America IMO (James Beard winner, on Iron Chef recently, lost by a point, but won the taste category by several points). Lucca is a recent favorite. It's a couple blocks from my house and has the best Italian in town. Fresh made pasta daily. Chef Ken Vedrinski use to be the head chef at 5-star Woodlands Resort. Basil is the best Asian food in town (Thai). Hanks best (all) seafood place. La Fourchette for French. Zia is the cheapest of the bunch, but probably my favorite place...closest you're going to get to authentic Mexican in Charleston unless it's a roadside food truck run by Mexicans.

That's about it. Tons of other great restaurants, but those are where I take people when they come into town and where I look forward to eating the most.

3/23/2011 9:18:15 AM

Um...Texas isn't a shit hole at all....


Unless you hate mexicans. In which case- yeah- it probably would suck for you.

I just hate people that lie and steal.

3/23/2011 7:59:42 PM

@ barksdale house for a few nights, hit 82 queen for lunch, not a bad value at that time. been wondering around shop browsing etc.

will hit up hanks tomorrow before we leave.

been to F.I.G. before for dinner, it was top notch.

3/25/2011 12:14:33 AM

Make sure you check out Marion Square at night. Red Bull has an amazing exhibit going on for Fashion Week. Just walk around and look at some bad-ass pictures.

And I'm sure you already have, but just walk around the neighborhoods from Broad Street to the Battery (Tradd is my favorite) to look at all the old, beautiful houses. Me and the lady always start off our Sundays with a bike ride/run around the Battery.

3/25/2011 10:09:33 AM