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I am looking for a great beach (preferably over New Years) sometime in Dec.-Jan. We have a group of 6 to 8, all mid 20's and we need some place that is not too expensive.
Any ideas?

If you have passports, I'd go to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Welcome to Buffettnews!

I think y'all could really enjoy South Padre or even Port Aransas. South Padre will have fireworks and much more to do and the weather will be warmer, although there's no guarantee even down that far. Neat place called Pirate's Landing in Port Isabel by the lighthouse just this side of the causeway over to So Padre. Places for camping. Cheaper places to stay on Gulf...Wanna Wanna Beachfront Bar. Be careful if you go over into Mexico. Good music at little bars and grills. Great food that's not too expensive in places. Good Tex Mex. Volleyball nets on the Gulf side at some places, like Boomerang Billy's.

Your group would probably like Louie's Backyard.

There are places to rent jet skis, parasail, charter boats, bay cruises, etc.

Depends on where you are coming from, but it's way down south. There is an airport in Harlingen about an hour away. Flying in t San Antonio and driving is very doable. You could also fly into Corpus and drive from there. Hit some spots around Corpus too.

Where are you coming from, are you looking to drive or fly there, and can you please define "not too expensive"? Do you want to look at the beach or actually go in the water?

Puerto Rico could be great- but not if you're trying for a road trip and you're leaving from the left coast.

Welcome! More details would be really helpful since my definition of not too expensive is significantly different than many others here and where are you originating? For example, if you are starting out of Detroit, we can skip a lot of West Coast/Hawaii type of suggestions because they won't be cheap. And speaking of cheap, most warm destinations are more expensive over the Christmas/New Year Holiday than at any other point in the year.

Check out FunJet vacation packages.. We use them every year and have had some awesome trips...

Okay, first of all thank you to all who have helped. We will be leaving from Kansas City, and want to spend something under $900. I know it is the most expensive time to travel, and maybe we will have to push the date back. I thought I would at least try. Thanks again for all you thoughts.

Drive down interstate to Galveston and be there in about 15 hours. Rent a house for a week. Not a problem. It'll be colder there than South Padre, but Galveston is nice at Christmas. Celebrate New Year's Eve at Kemah with Jerry Diaz and Hanna's Reef.
Just a thought.

OR:
HEAD south to Gulf Shores Alabama and be there in 18 hours.
Go to Lulu's!
Lots of music in the area:
http://www.gulf-shores-alabama.net/gulf ... tlife.html

farmchick wrote:Okay, first of all thank you to all who have helped. We will be leaving from Kansas City, and want to spend something under $900. I know it is the most expensive time to travel, and maybe we will have to push the date back. I thought I would at least try. Thanks again for all you thoughts.

Right now Fun Jet has some awesome trips 900 and under from KC, I live in St. Joe and we use it all the time.

Most of the flights on Airtran to the really warm places- Cancun, Puerto Rico are running around $500. With 8 people, a $200 per night house- doable on VRBO- would still leave $200 per person, which might be ok depending on what you want to do when you're there. If you just want to parkass your carcass on a beach, eat cold cuts and drink rum, it's plenty.

Expedia has flights from KC to Miami for $210.