FatWallet

My husband and I have between Nov23rd - Dec 5th to take a vacation.
We live in Chicago and would like to take a min 5 day vacation. We would love to go somewhere warm, and if he had his passport, Mexico would seem like the way to go, but he's procrastinated and hasn't gotten a passport so we're stuck in the US.

I've looked around but I can't really seem to find any warm places that are in our price range.
We're looking at no more than $1500 (less if possible). 5 nights (more if possible). Warm weather.

Any help that you here at FW can offer would be so great. I've started going a little cukoo looking all over the place. I've completely turned myself upside down and inside out!

Thanks in advance for any help given.

Bella

Check the passport rules, but I think you can still take a cruise to the Carribbean with just a birth certificate and no passport.

There are some awesome deals on cruises for that time period. Check the Norwegian threads.

Bella, go to the Passport office in Chicago at 6am and stand in line for the office to open. You can get a passport that day. Or make an appointment. http://www.passportsandvisas.com/localpassport/chicagopassportagency.asp

Make your man get off his butt and DO IT!!! Mexico is nice

Key West is lovely then (if the low 80's for a daytime high is warm enough).

Find a cheap flight to MIA
Rent a car for a scenic drive on the Overseas Highway
Call Susie at www.keywestkey.com, 800-881-7321 to find the best deal on accommodations (Hotel or B&B)
Have a Rum Runner at Captain Tony's
Have a Mojito and dinner at Kelly's

Or if nothing cheap in KW, several nice resorts in the Middle and lower Keys.

bella54330 said:those are all very good suggestions, and I very much appreciate them. Do you know if it's crazy expensive to get a passport same day? I didn't even realize that it was possible as I didn't see anything about that at the passport website.

May I ask why I received red? I didn't realize I was doing anything wrong by asking for suggestions.

I gave red and will tell you why. This is for travel deals and not trip planning. No one here knows you, your likes, dislikes. You ask someone for suggestions for warm places in November without giving any more information on ages/likes and what you found. So people don't duplicate your efforts you should have stated I searched here and this is what I found for this price.

If you update that is great but basically red for not folowing the request guidelines and not showing what you have found. Also, that is over Thanksgiving travel period and the news is covered how flights are being cut drastically from last year and also how expensive flights are. At this "last minute" you probably won't be able to find a cheap flight.

Noticed you contribue a lot to the LV threads...have you thought about there.

Wrong time to be putting together a budget Thanksgiving vacation. Best chances for cheap flights will be departing on Nov 27, returning on Dec 2 (and 11/28 to 12/3). It may be possible to find cheap outbound flights before the 27th, but good luck getting back before Dec 1.

For example, American still has some cheap flight from LAX to HNL during that period, and it should be possible to find some cheap options from Chicago - perhaps spending a day in LA at either end.

From personal experience, I agree with the Florida Keys; Arizona is a possibility, but depends on your personal preferences - could be a LONG 5 nights.

Consider Costa Rica - we went this past August and had a GREAT TIME - Flight + hotel packages on Expedia start at $853 pp to the Guanacaste region (Liberia airport), with a $200 coupon for your next trip if you use a MasterCard. http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-deals/871052 for another 410 off per night.

While a bit risky, you can wait until the week prior (11/18), when American publishes their weekly Net SAAver Fares, offering discounts on excess capacity. Then look for cheap, last minute hotel deals on Hotwire and Priceline.