My best friend of 17+ years is getting married in October. (Hi, Natalie!) As the maid of honor, I've been trying to plan a fun bachelorette weekend in August for six girls and for under $500 each. We don't want to do the stereotypical dinner and strip club, and Atlantic City is definitely out of the question. To stay in Manhattan for the weekend and have spa treatments will run us each about $400 after you calculate meals and other expenses, which is kinda silly considering we all LIVE in New York. We've been looking into destinations outside of New York with a $500 budget, and here's what I've come up with:
Palm Springs, CA. It'll be 110 degrees, but we can stay in a 2-bedroom villa with a kitchen, which will cut down on meal expenses. Fun things to do include outlet shopping, desert parks, a ski lift to the top of mountain where they may be snow, and a huge resort pool.
New Orleans, LA. Hotel and airfare seem to be under $400 per person, but NOLA is notoriously expensive. By the end of the weekend, we'd be well over our budget.
Miami, FL. I sort of feel like this is been-there-done-that territory. While we can get down to Miami for very little, hotels are expensive and so it the nightlife. And really, why go to Miami if you're not gonna partake in the nightlife?
Cruise. A cruise always sounds good in theory because package deals keep costs down. But what they don't tell you about cruises is all the extra fees, port taxes, and expenses [read: alcohol] that go along with the trip. Yes, your accommodations and meals are included in the price, but what about the flight to whatever city the ship leaves from? And the one-night hotel stay in said city the night prior to departure? And all the DRINKING we plan on doing?
Here's where you guys come in. I've gotten comments from readers all over the U.S., so I know y'all are from more places then just New York and San Diego. What are YOUR suggestions for this bachelorette weekend? How do you feel about the places I suggested? Do you have any advice? Can you suggest any other fun places to relax? All you need to know: 6 girls, Friday-Monday any weekend after August 1st up until Labor Day weekend, limit $500 per person. No outdoorsy type activities, please.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Rants? Any suggestions and advice would be most helpful! Thank you!
