Help me plan my Mini-Getaway!!! Read inside for details....

[oo7ibm]

Hey everyone,

So I need some help planning a mini weekend getaway. But first, a little background about myself:

I am a 22 year old Aviation student based out of Oakville Ontario. I love to travel and experience new things. I have worked my butt off this year and need a little break from my routine.

I have a few days booked off in the beginning of August (Aug 2 - 7). I would like some insight and assistance in booking a getaway during these days. I will either be going by myself or with a friend.

I am interested in going somewhere new. And of course, being a student, I would like to make this trip as cost-efficient as possible (not CHEAP, just cost efficient). I do have some options at my disposal to accomplish that. That being said, here are the general outlines:

I have 30K+ points saved up with Aeroplan. This allows for one long haul or 2 short haul flights in North America. I would like to use these points to save on airfare, so my travel is restricted to Canada and the USA.

I have 45k+ points saved up with Hilton Honors, and I am a gold member with them. That being said, Hilton is my preferred brand of hotel. I am not restricted to this hotel, but would prefer to redeem points for free nights if possible.

As I stated, I would like to go somewhere new. I have traveled extensively throughout North America, and don't wish to revisit these places. They include:
Halifax, Montreal, Edmonton (Banff), New York, Detroit, Michigan, Las Vegas, Florida, California, Rhode Island
Tropical including Mexico, DR, Bahamas, Cuba.

I am not a huge "nature" person, so parks/hiking/camping trips are not my cup of tea. I do like culture, historical sites, "interesting or different places", gambling, shows, etc.

Thanks for reading, any ideas or suggestions are appreciated. The more details you provide with your suggestions, the more useful they will be to me! If you suggest a place, kindly suggest things to do and places to see (if you have been there yourself)

Final Note: Please leave any negative or "trollish" comments out of this forum.

Thank YOU!

[wszeto28]

Two places that I could recommend:
Spain: My parents just recently came back and said they had a great time. Food and transportation was very cheap and they have a ton of historical stuff to visit i.e. museums.
Honolulu, Hawaii: Assuming you and your friend are both guys, it'd be kind of strange but Hawaii is awesome. The flight may be a bit long for you especially since you're limited on days but you will have a great time. Hawaii is a good mix of city and tropical stuff. You can do stuff like lie on the beach, go snorkelling, or go shopping. They have great food (a lot of Japanese food) and you can visit places like Pearl Harbour.

[TrevorK]

If you are into culture/history and your limitation is Canada/US have you thought of checking out:
- Washington DC: There are many, many museums here as well as a lot of US history.
- Portland: Portland is a wonderful place with a unique history as being home of Shanghai'ing (http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/tours/underground_portland.php). It's definitely a unique place to visit and has a wonderful youthful vibe. If you don't find enough to do in Portland it's a short train ride to Seattle where you can check out more stuff then fly out of.
- Arizona: Home to one of the world's best preserved cave systems that you can view in person (I'd classify this as "unique/interesting"). Many other historical/cultural things that relate to the area.
- Chicago: I have never visited but is a major city left off of your list. Perhaps someone else can chime in on this one?
- Atlantic City: I have never visited but from what little I know it has a lot of characteristics of LV (obviously not the same scale). Maybe look into it?

Those are just my thoughts.

[matdwyer]

With your Aeroplan points I'd opt for either Chicago (short haul, 15k) or New Orleans (25K). Both have a TON of things to do and will be bumping in the summer. It just so happens that lollapalooza is that weekend in Chicago (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence & the machine, Avicii) so that could be awesome if you're into music at all. Chicago isn't exactly cheap for hotels so your Hilton points may go far, although I have no idea of their redemption levels.

New Orleans is party central, lots of things to do, etc. I'd suggest doing a layover stop if you had more time (since you can with the long haul flight) but I don't think there would be any great ones (unless somehow you could get chicago as a layover, lol)

[oo7ibm]

Two places that I could recommend:
Spain: My parents just recently came back and said they had a great time. Food and transportation was very cheap and they have a ton of historical stuff to visit i.e. museums.
Honolulu, Hawaii: Assuming you and your friend are both guys, it'd be kind of strange but Hawaii is awesome. The flight may be a bit long for you especially since you're limited on days but you will have a great time. Hawaii is a good mix of city and tropical stuff. You can do stuff like lie on the beach, go snorkelling, or go shopping. They have great food (a lot of Japanese food) and you can visit places like Pearl Harbour.

Thank you for your input! Unfortunately, Spain is outside of the Canada/US requirement, and Hawaii seems to be out of my price range at this point. The comments are noted!

[oo7ibm]

If you are into culture/history and your limitation is Canada/US have you thought of checking out:
- Washington DC: There are many, many museums here as well as a lot of US history.
- Portland: Portland is a wonderful place with a unique history as being home of Shanghai'ing (http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/tours/underground_portland.php). It's definitely a unique place to visit and has a wonderful youthful vibe. If you don't find enough to do in Portland it's a short train ride to Seattle where you can check out more stuff then fly out of.
- Arizona: Home to one of the world's best preserved cave systems that you can view in person (I'd classify this as "unique/interesting"). Many other historical/cultural things that relate to the area.
- Chicago: I have never visited but is a major city left off of your list. Perhaps someone else can chime in on this one?
- Atlantic City: I have never visited but from what little I know it has a lot of characteristics of LV (obviously not the same scale). Maybe look into it?

Those are just my thoughts.

Thanks for the suggestions. Washington is a place I have been considering visiting, but I don't think it has the night life I may want. Arizona might be a little too hot for this time of year, and I have already been to Chicago and ATL as well (forgot to add them to the list)

Although I did really enjoy Chicago, I may end up going there again.

Portland seems like an interesting place, its on my short list for this trip! If anyone can suggest other things to do in Chicago or Portland, I would appreciate it!

[oo7ibm]

With your Aeroplan points I'd opt for either Chicago (short haul, 15k) or New Orleans (25K). Both have a TON of things to do and will be bumping in the summer. It just so happens that lollapalooza is that weekend in Chicago (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence & the machine, Avicii) so that could be awesome if you're into music at all. Chicago isn't exactly cheap for hotels so your Hilton points may go far, although I have no idea of their redemption levels.

New Orleans is party central, lots of things to do, etc. I'd suggest doing a layover stop if you had more time (since you can with the long haul flight) but I don't think there would be any great ones (unless somehow you could get chicago as a layover, lol)

Your comments are making me lean towards Chicago again! lol I have yet to go to New Orleans, but I always said I would go during festival time!

Ill have to look into hotel cost/redemptions in Chicago, can anyone suggest things to see and do there (aside from the pier arcade place which I went to last time)

[matdwyer]

Your comments are making me lean towards Chicago again! lol I have yet to go to New Orleans, but I always said I would go during festival time!

Ill have to look into hotel cost/redemptions in Chicago, can anyone suggest things to see and do there (aside from the pier arcade place which I went to last time)

Chicago? Food & baseball are my main points there. I haven't been able to get there yet as my schedule hasn't worked, so I haven't looked into it in depth. Lollapalooza could be a full 2 days though - Are you going by yourself?

As for New Orleans, it's a party any time. Literally. The french quarter is nuts at like 3pm on a Tuesday. I did go for St. Patricks day (coincidentally) and it was probably the most insane party I've ever been to, wall to wall people in the streets, etc. It is also insanely dirty, filthy, and gross. You can fairly easily get out of the quarter though and explore around with the street car, swamp tours, boat ride, etc. Lots of things to do. I was there for 5 days but I could have reduced it to 2 or 3 and saved my liver. I also happened to be 20 at the time (ooops) but that wasn't a big deal.

[djpositivek]

My suggestion is to check out the Aeroplan site to see what's available for your dates. Then from those choices you can narrow it down to one. Since you're dependant on that flight redemption, no use deliberating over a few possible destinations only to find out there are no seats available. Since your dates are specific and you're booking short notice I'd start there. I know whenever I look on Aeroplan there aren't a lot of choices especially when not flexible with dates. Perhaps it's easier to find flights out of TO than Hali?

Good luck.

[herrdude]

Just a head's up.

Check out prices as if you were going to buy the ticket. I say this because by the time you pay the taxes on your Aeroplan flight, the difference between the two might be minimum. In which case, you would be forking over a whole lot of points for nothing.

[oo7ibm]

thanks for the info guys, I have been checking a couple of destinations and aeroplan seems to be wide open for dates. Unfortunately, Chicago is showing up as 25k per ticket (long haul), and as herrdude suggested, the cost of the ticket is 280 vs. 180 w/25k points. For the 100 bucks, ill just pay the fare.

My issue at this point with chicago is the hotel prices. I am assuming because of the concert that weekend, the rates are absurd! Im getting 1 night free on points, but each additional night is $250+. So at this point, I am reconsidering Chicago...

Back to square one.... any other ideas folks? Any hidden gems you can share?

[IceBlueShoes]

If you want history, I'd suggest Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax or St. John's.

Although if you could extend your options outside the US but stay on the continent, I'd say Mexico. Puebla, Mexico City, Guanajuato among others are all cities full of history.
IMO, might be worth looking into these. It's not uncommon to find a sub 650-700 flight to Mexico City.

[matdwyer]

thanks for the info guys, I have been checking a couple of destinations and aeroplan seems to be wide open for dates. Unfortunately, Chicago is showing up as 25k per ticket (long haul), and as herrdude suggested, the cost of the ticket is 280 vs. 180 w/25k points. For the 100 bucks, ill just pay the fare.

My issue at this point with chicago is the hotel prices. I am assuming because of the concert that weekend, the rates are absurd! Im getting 1 night free on points, but each additional night is $250+. So at this point, I am reconsidering Chicago...

Back to square one.... any other ideas folks? Any hidden gems you can share?

Chicago is indeed a short haul - you must either be a) getting United flights or b) getting classic plus rewards. I just did a sample itinerary, and 15k works for all AC flights