Miami! It is beautiful, Christmas-sy and warm in December. You can sun bathe and swim in bath-tub warm water - wonderful experience!

I took a Christmas cruise, 5 or so years ago. Spent Christmas Eve in St Thomas.

Pick a costal area of Mexico they are all pretty nice. And not too far away.
Google some of these.
Patzcuaro, Todos Santos (Casa Bentley), Troncones beautiful beaches, Ixtapa, the Oaxacan coast, Tampico, Rosa Rica, (on the Gulf Coast side).

Edit to say of course anytime you travel outside the borders it's essential to check out what is happening in the area, drug wars happen all over the place in some countries. I know Tampico was experiencing that not long ago.
I know you are a well seasoned traveler and know that, but the warning is cautionary.

I also wanted to mention a fabulous state Park down in South Texas that we have been wanting to go to. Many state parks have cabins to rent but they get reserved fast. The link is to Mustang Island

Here is a link that might be useful: Mustang Island

This post was edited by ravencajun on Fri, Sep 12, 14 at 21:14

Drats, you'll miss the good German beer, but also, the Kraut cold. Wrong season to be thinking cheap escape, and lucky to find warm 80, instead of comfy 90's. Days are shorter too, less outdoor fun for the few hours of max warm. Snoop for a Caribbean Beach with AI. Immense choices. Floating around the ocean on a cruise sounds boring. Do something different and add it to your archives of fun. Most important, go home with an envious tan. And a bottle of Duty Free Tequila or Rum.

A Caribbean cruise at Christmas, is certainly not boring. Very festive with lots of familes and merriment.

Thanks Raven, haven't thought of south Texas. I used to go down there in the winter, while my daughter was stationed in Corpus Christi.

Michele and I will put our heads together... and prolly do something together again this year.

Will check out the link you gave us.

Cruise is really to boring to me. Sorry, Glenda. I know, you love cruising... but... I like more action. :)

Somehow, even though I thought winter sport after Christmas last year, I am not thinking so now. I kinda liked the warmth.

Moni

Palm Springs, Ca.

If you want to stay in USA, then San Diego is not too bad. Lots going on there. It is not really warm, but it will be better than a lot of other places.

If you don't mind flying out of the country, Costa Rica is consistent with its temperatures, Spanish is the primary language. If that puts you off a bit, then consider Belize (used to be British Honduras). Again, the temps are consistent and the days and night are about equal in length.

Not quite as far south, yet airlines can get you there with ease, would be the east coast of Mexico (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel).

Long flight, but Hawaii is nice anytime.

Jim

My sons and I went to Mazatlan for Christmas a few years ago. Had a fabulous Home Away rental right on the beach. Weather was delightful.

Can't wait to see what you pick! I nominate Charleston, South Carolina-that's a place I would like to see!

Arizona is nice around Christmas....Phoenix and Tucson.
New Mexico too.

There goes the condo thing again. Michele and David had bought in to a condo thing before he died Christmas 2012. Through it, she can get us in to one in Galveston. Thus, Galveston is looking nice and nicer to us right now.

She really is not a camper, but I would love the Mustang Island State Park, that Raven linked. I shall keep that for a future use. Thanks again, Raven.

Now, I have to see, if she gets us in for the time frame we have available. :)

Best thing is, we can just drive there.. and no rental fee will apply.

Moni

I was thinking Palm Springs, too but after checking it out, the normal highs for December are 69â¦not warm enough for me if I'm looking for warm.

I would go with the Galveston condo. Lots to do there. I really enjoyed it in February several years ago.

That's exactly why I suggested it I thought it was your kind of place. There are some very reasonable hotels right on the beach near there, not fancy expensive, but laid back directly on the beach and reasonable.

I go to Galveston frequently, there's a great rv Park right on the beach, there's also a nice state park rv and camping area. You might consider going there while in Galveston. It's out towards Jamaica beach. Great trails and good beach access, there's $5 gate fee I think for the day.
When I was there in June Galveston was experiencing a huge amount of seaweed it was piled up in mountains and was not pleasant. It was due to particular tide flow that was happening in the Gulf.
There's definitely some good restaurants around and if you have never been to the pyramids, moody gardens, it's a fun experience.

Wish I could spend Nov through Feb in Hawaii every year!

I think Galveston would be neat. We've taken a couple of day trips down there. We didn't go swimming. The last time we chartered a boat and went fishing. Expensive and I got sick, but the kids and dh had a great time. They all caught something exotic to us or huge. A few nice restaurants in the area. I'd like to go look at the above ground cemeteries some time.

Another option would be San Antonio. We went there the week before Christmas last year. The weather was gorgeous. I really enjoyed the visit to the Alamo. It gave me the chills to be there. We walked around the Riverwalk, but didn't ride the river boats because we had my little dog out with us. I'm sure there is more to do there. We were just there for a short weekend.

We used to go on a Caribbean cruise and/or stay on one of the islands in the Caribbean over our DS's Christmas break from school. Florida and the Bahamas had proven too likely to have a cold spell, and you can't get warm where there's no central heating. We hope to be on Maui with DS and family.

How about Arizona or New Mexico? A dude ranch? (Horses instead of bicycles?)

Costa Rica? Panama? One of those all-inclusives?

Galveston is a fun place to visit. We lived north of Houston for 6 years and always hit Galveston before we headed south on the Island for quieter beaches. There are GREAT restaraunts and FUN shops. My son told me Col. Buppies is closing -- so sad.

Belize for sure! You can fly straight from Houston, so, a few days in a Galveston! Ruins, rainforest, beaches, Heaven! My favorite place on earth!