My girlfriends and I are going on vacation over Labor Day weekend. We were planning to go to Cancun, but a few of our family members have vetoed the idea. Now we're looking at alternatives. Siesta Key, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; South Beach, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia are all options at this point.

Does anyone have any other ideas of destinations that are great for chick trips, particularly over the Labor Day holiday? Spa, shopping, nightlife and/or beach will be major criteria in our decision.

Money is no object. However, our trip is only Friday through Monday, so we'd prefer to stay within a 3-hour flight or 4-hour drive of Orlando, Florida.

6/3/2009 8:25:12 AM

Why in the world would anyone go to Atlanta for a vacation? I went there for an interview and thought I was going to die in the 8 hours I was there.

lol, should have read the whole thing.

Anywhere in Florida should meet your criteria. Sanibel Island is nice.

[Edited on June 3, 2009 at 8:34 AM. Reason : s]

6/3/2009 8:33:03 AM

ruckus on TWW night

the flying saucer on monday at about 7pm

carmichael gymnasium at 3pm

6/3/2009 8:33:19 AM

Atlanta is an option because there's decent shopping and we'd stay at one of the W Hotels in the area--so we'd be guaranteed a decent spa and half-off all drinks at the hotel. Plus, there are good bars/clubs/shopping/etc.

Either W Atlanta-Buckhead: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3167

or W Atlanta-Downtown: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1788

The big drawback is that there's no beach. I hadn't thought about Sanibel. I've never been, but I hear it's wonderful. How does it compare to Captiva Island, Marco Island and Siesta Key?

6/3/2009 9:09:39 AM

Sanibel and Captiva are maybe a 15 minute drive from each other, so it's basically a moot point. Never been to Siesta Key but if it's anything like Sarasota I'd pick Sanibel and Captiva over that.

I still don't get going to Atlanta. Of course, I've been totally turned off since I was offered crack multiple times on the street in broad daylight and stumbled across an apparent murder scene while walking to the Coca-Cola museum. I've felt safer in Harlem than I did in Atlanta

6/3/2009 9:19:20 AM

Atlanta is fucking awesome.




and if this were chittar char i'd suggest my pants NUDGE NUDGE WINK WINK



but since it's not, I'll suggest South Beach, where everyone in the world goes to look at other people and be looked at.

6/3/2009 9:23:13 AM

Charleston, SC. I went there with 2 of my bests. It was extremely fun!

6/3/2009 9:25:07 AM

If we do South Beach, we'll stay here: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1599

Charleston could be very chill, though I prefer Savannah and its vibe if we go for that type of trip.

And Nick's pants might not accommodate 6 women. Not sure.

6/3/2009 9:28:22 AM

world's biggest mall? --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berjaya_Times_Square

or just america's --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mall_of_America

6/3/2009 9:30:24 AM

^^ Try em.

6/3/2009 9:47:56 AM

I totally recommend sietsa key. I lived near there last summer and spent most weekends on the beach there. the beach is great, though sometimes there is alot of seaweed, but that is a day to day thing, so seaweed one day doesnt mean it will be there the next. Also, there are several good beaches within driving distance that wont have seaweed if siesta key does. The night life is great on the strip there, lots of good seafood bars. Siesta key has a tendency to be more family oriented of the many beaches in the area, but at night, after 9 anyone under 21 is not allowed in any bar in the area, so it gets better. The beach gets pretty crowded during the height of the season, but it really is beautiful all the time.

6/3/2009 11:23:23 AM

My gf planned a girls weekend for her friend that was getting married down in Charleston and they had a great time.

6/3/2009 11:27:37 AM

just go to Cancun anyway. you're other destinations suck, and you're already going to Vegas this summer. no vacation can be considered worthwhile if you don't have at least a slight risk of getting kidnapped.

6/3/2009 11:43:18 AM

Quote :

" but a few of our family members have vetoed the idea"

how old are you? or is this because of the swine flu aka media hype?

6/3/2009 11:46:29 AM

go to vegas twice! or you could check out houston texas...

6/3/2009 12:10:58 PM

I'd be more worried about vigilante Mexicans in Houston, TX than I would be in Cancun.

6/3/2009 12:23:55 PM

Other than Rice Village, Houston is EW! I lived there for a couple of months. Not so awesome. Austin, however, is amazing and fun. But I want to hold off on Austin until the W hotel there is open.

The girls didn't want to see the ruins anyway, so it makes sense to postpone Cancun until I can get a different group together. Don't really want to see the ruins by myself.

Vegas twice in one summer could be fun, but two girls in the group don't like Vegas.

I should mention that I just got back from Beverly Hills and San Diego last week, so no need to repeat those destinations just yet. Though they were AMAZING.

And I'm 26. My family has no problem with me going to Cancun (obviously). My brother wants me to get kidnapped. The girl with the really paranoid family is 28 years old AND her fam is from San Antonio, ironically. They're probably at more risk of swine flu/Mexican gangs.


[Edited on June 3, 2009 at 12:55 PM. Reason : addendum]

6/3/2009 12:51:59 PM

of your list, i'd do south beach

my first thought though was san francisco and/or sonoma (wine country)

6/3/2009 1:57:33 PM

6/3/2009 2:00:14 PM

Mmmm ... Sonoma and San Fran would be amazing if we had a week. That's on my list at some point. I've never been!

6/3/2009 2:02:09 PM

You can come to Charlotte.

6/3/2009 2:18:07 PM

NYC

/thread

6/3/2009 6:22:09 PM

^ Yeah that was going to be my suggestion too for non-beach location. If you're desperate to get out to a beach you can take the train to Westhampton while you're there.

6/3/2009 6:25:24 PM

I concur with Atlanta or Charleston. We were in Atlanta for 4 days in January for a bike co-op conference, and there were plenty of bars, shows and restaurants around. We were in the 5 Points area and stayed within 100 feet of a bar

Charleston was awesome- historical tours and stuff to do during the day, pretty with all the classic Southern architecture, ok beach (went down to Folly Beach for a punk show/beach party), and I'm sure there are shops and boutiques in the downtown area.

6/3/2009 7:46:48 PM

Not CC oops. On a more serious note South Beach is sweet.

[Edited on June 4, 2009 at 2:32 AM. Reason : .]

6/4/2009 2:31:45 AM

San Jose, Costa Rica is a 3 hour direct flight from orlando on jet blue to san jose costa rica...the flight is 3 hrs and 8 mins

but there is only one flight there on fri and one flight back on monday...$370 roundtrip

6/4/2009 4:41:08 AM

my pants

6/4/2009 5:10:08 AM

I see what you did there.


To bad this isn't chit-chat.

6/4/2009 6:48:38 AM

http://www.welivetogether.com

6/4/2009 7:47:40 AM

Vegas

6/4/2009 9:48:44 PM

6/4/2009 9:55:32 PM

Tyler, been there, done that.

Costa Rica could be awesome. I went last year and loved it. But there are some super girly girls in the group who may not love it as much.

Siesta and SB are frontrunners, but NYC is a GREAT suggestion. Surprised we haven't mentioned it yet!

One of the girls suggested Destin, FL. Not familiar with it, but the panhandle always seems so trashy. Anyone been to Destin?

6/4/2009 10:32:07 PM

jamaica...negril is awesome

6/4/2009 10:36:29 PM

never been to destin but i know a lot of houston and louisiana folk who vacation there regularly and love it

6/4/2009 10:40:08 PM

Destin is a smaller version of Myrtle Beach.

There are inexpensive direct flights to Jamaica out of Charlotte. Just don't stay in Montego (Negril is nice).

6/5/2009 9:51:16 AM

So, now it's down to Nashville, Niagara Falls and Sarasota.

How are the casinos in Niagara? Has anyone been?

7/9/2009 9:02:25 AM

Niagara Falls sucks imo. Probably went there too many times when I used to live in NY.

7/9/2009 9:12:52 AM

^ Yeah, but how are the casinos and vineyards? That's what we'd plan to do.

7/9/2009 9:14:15 AM

If you want to do casinos and vineyards I'd head out to California. Or skip the casinos altogether and go to Long Island/NYC.

7/9/2009 9:25:11 AM

The flight to California (plus time change) is a deterrent. NYC would be awesome. The other girls don't seem down for NYC though.

7/9/2009 9:54:59 AM

my house.




zing!

7/9/2009 10:13:55 AM

Quote :

""

i lol'd

7/9/2009 10:34:19 AM

My place is better than Bobby's! Come one, come all, cum often.

7/9/2009 10:42:12 AM

sanible island, FL

7/9/2009 10:48:51 AM

Yeah Sanibel is awesome.

7/9/2009 9:21:26 PM

just took a short cruise (4nts) with my best friend back in may. we weren't too concerned with the destinations, just wanted a decent beach. went out of miami to the bahamas. was dirt cheap... but we more than made up for it with drinks and spa treatments. had a ball.

7/9/2009 9:30:00 PM

I'd go to Nashville.

7/10/2009 12:24:56 AM

I can tell you a bit about Niagara Falls.

First of all, NF Canada is much better then NF USA, both in terms of what to do, places to stay, and view of the falls. There are casinos on both sides. Seneca Casino in NY isn't nearly as nice as Casino Niagara in Canada, however, Seneca will give you free well drinks while you're sitting at a table playing cards which for me is a big plus. I think there's another casino there now but I haven't been to it. Casino Niagara really is pretty nice though.

The Cave of the Winds attraction is really the only attraction on the US side and is pretty cool. You gotta go on the Maid of the Mist boat though, it's awesome, and that's on the Canadian side. Clifton Hill (Canada), adjacent to Casino Niagara, is the party district. There's clubs, bars, all sorts of cool, interesting places, and if you don't know where to go just hop in a cab and ask the driver. I don't know if this applies, but legal age in Ontario is 19, and they only serve liquor up to 80 proof so sorry girls no Bacardi 151. For the men, the strip clubs are phenomenal, I'm pretty sure there's strip clubs for women too there but I don't know about the quality.

Oh the vineyards are nice too, get drink off some Niagara Ice Wine.

[Edited on July 11, 2009 at 12:39 PM. Reason : ]

7/11/2009 12:38:28 PM

Key West
South Beach
NYC
LA

7/11/2009 1:03:07 PM

Puerto Rico,

its like a 30 minute flight to San Juan from Orlando

Bonus points for going to Vieques for the weekend

7/11/2009 1:23:43 PM