TTMA Family Vacations/Reunions

[walterjenne]

So DHs family is starting to talk about getting together for a vacation next year. As a little background, most of them are crazy cheap people. I am all about saving money but they take this stuff further than anyone I know. They would try and fit 20 people in a rental house with 3 bedrooms and have the extra people sleep on the floor. This was all good and well when DH and his cousins were growing up but we are all grown adults, many with families of our own.

Anyway, any suggestions for vacations were we could all get our own space, still be together, but won't break the bank? They want a rental house near the beach but I'm open to other suggestions. There will be at least 3 toddlers and probably 15-20 adults. Also, there is a good chance a few of us will be extremely pregnant or have new babies too.

I was thinking a place with multiple cabins or a family resort where everyone could get their own space but still have common areas together. Possibly also a cruise but some people didn't like that idea.

TLDR: In search of family vacation spot that won't break the bank and good for large group.

[littlemissmarla]

walterjenne Aren't you the Disney vacation planner? Go to DISNEY!! Lol I would do Fort Wilderness - I think that's pretty affordable.


Though my best advice is never vacation with that many people lol, I will only vacation with my parents. Every other family trip has been a disaster! Best of luck!

[Lola]

We went to Myrtle beach this year and all rented separate condos in the same building. That was pretty manageable. We split the 3 bedroom with another family and all the kids slept in one room of bunk beds. If we went again, we would get the entire unit for ourselves though.

We are sharing a house with my parents and sister and BIL at Folly Beach in September. The house is pretty big so I think it will be fine.

It was definitely cheaper to drive compared to flying. Although in Sept my sister and I are flying with the babies and our husbands are driving together.

I think a cruise would be a great idea. You get your own room, you can eat together and do excursions with ppl that want to do the same thing as you. If not, there is no pressure because there are lots of other things to do too.

[honeybee434]

I second a beach vacation with rentals in the same building. You can look on VRBO and other sites to see what's available, but that way you can rent your own condo if you want and if a few of them wanted to cram a bunch of people in one they have that option, too.

Cruise idea would be good, except for me it would depend on nap situations. I don't know that I would want to hang out in a small cabin during an LO's entire nap if they're long, where a condo you can have the living area to your self while they nap in a bedroom.

[walterjenne]

Jul 31, 2015 10:49:01 GMT -5 littlemissmarla said:

walterjenne Aren't you the Disney vacation planner? Go to DISNEY!! Lol I would do Fort Wilderness - I think that's pretty affordable.


Though my best advice is never vacation with that many people lol, I will only vacation with my parents. Every other family trip has been a disaster! Best of luck!

We've definitely talked about disney but waiting a few years probably. I don't want to be 8 months pregnant in the middle of summer there. Also, so people with Littles would only go once so they will want kiddos to be old enough.

We are open to anywhere really, although some have suggested the beach. Everyone will probably drive and that would get us to Carolina or northern gulf coast without too much difficulty.

For the record, I don't want to go at all with everyone but if I must, then I want some control over it. If I left it to chance we would be at the Wisconsin Dells in a 2000 sf house with 2 bathrooms. No thank you!

[dawnfire]

A cruise ship. We did a cruise with my parents in May and it was great fun. Plus lots of family groups do it. The only cons are they don't allow pregnant women to sail past a certain date (I think 24 weeks?) and on some cruise lines infants need to be at least 6 months old.

We have no regrets with the cruise. There was something for everyone. And the families with kids ages 2+ years can have them go to the ship's camp for fun days at sea!

[jnnfrrose6]

We're leaving tomorrow morning for a beach vacation with: my parents, my brother and his fam, my uncle and his family (plus cousin's gf), my aunt and 2 cousins (plus fam of one of the cousins). My parents rented a house in Garden City (south of myrtle beach) that has 6 or 7 bedrooms. I'll let you know how that goes in a few days.

[honeybee434]

Jul 31, 2015 18:10:26 GMT -5 jnnfrrose6 said:

We're leaving tomorrow morning for a beach vacation with: my parents, my brother and his fam, my uncle and his family (plus cousin's gf), my aunt and 2 cousins (plus fam of one of the cousins). My parents rented a house in Garden City (south of myrtle beach) that has 6 or 7 bedrooms. I'll let you know how that goes in a few days.

I hope you have a great time!

[missilini]

Our friends just got back from a reunion. She said the house they stayed in was 14,000sq. It was built just for hosting reunions. You should see you you could find something like that.

[Leapinglizards]

I just went to the Outer Banks there are a ton of HUGE houses that would fit that many people. Most of the large houses also have separate entertaining spaces which is nice

[walterjenne]

Aug 1, 2015 13:07:02 GMT -5 Leapinglizards said:

I just went to the Outer Banks there are a ton of HUGE houses that would fit that many people. Most of the large houses also have separate entertaining spaces which is nice

The outer banks tops my husband's list of places! I think our biggest issue with 1 house that is big enough is going to be getting some people to be realistic about prices. Either we will have to pay more and all be together, or we can split up and do multiple condos.

These people want a house with 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, on the beach, with a private pool and a dining room big enough for everyone. They want all of this and no one wants to spend more than $150/person for a weeks stay. They are crazy!

[Lola]

Aug 1, 2015 13:18:41 GMT -5 walterjenne said:

Aug 1, 2015 13:07:02 GMT -5 Leapinglizards said:

I just went to the Outer Banks there are a ton of HUGE houses that would fit that many people. Most of the large houses also have separate entertaining spaces which is nice

The outer banks tops my husband's list of places! I think our biggest issue with 1 house that is big enough is going to be getting some people to be realistic about prices. Either we will have to pay more and all be together, or we can split up and do multiple condos.

These people want a house with 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, on the beach, with a private pool and a dining room big enough for everyone. They want all of this and no one wants to spend more than $150/person for a weeks stay. They are crazy!

You could probably find better deals off season. It's still beautiful in September!

[Leapinglizards]

Aug 1, 2015 13:18:41 GMT -5 walterjenne said:

Aug 1, 2015 13:07:02 GMT -5 Leapinglizards said:

I just went to the Outer Banks there are a ton of HUGE houses that would fit that many people. Most of the large houses also have separate entertaining spaces which is nice

The outer banks tops my husband's list of places! I think our biggest issue with 1 house that is big enough is going to be getting some people to be realistic about prices. Either we will have to pay more and all be together, or we can split up and do multiple condos.

These people want a house with 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, on the beach, with a private pool and a dining room big enough for everyone. They want all of this and no one wants to spend more than $150/person for a weeks stay. They are crazy!

If you look last minute off season there are some crazy good deals for houses that haven't been rented

[lea]

I would either go with a huge house or some place that has cottages you can rent together. When we visit ILs we stay on a lake that has cabins for rent and we can get them next to each other. When we went in the off season it was $70/night which is more than your cheap family wants, I'm sure, but still better than staying in a hotel because we had the separate rooms/kitchen/porch and lake and playground access.

I would just price out some different options and send a mass e-mail. If they all still give you a hard time, then you take your family on your own little vacation and screw the rest of them.

[walterjenne]

Aug 1, 2015 20:54:24 GMT -5 lea said:

I would either go with a huge house or some place that has cottages you can rent together. When we visit ILs we stay on a lake that has cabins for rent and we can get them next to each other. When we went in the off season it was $70/night which is more than your cheap family wants, I'm sure, but still better than staying in a hotel because we had the separate rooms/kitchen/porch and lake and playground access.

I would just price out some different options and send a mass e-mail. If they all still give you a hard time, then you take your family on your own little vacation and screw the rest of them.

Where did you go? This sounds fabulous! I told DH at dinner tonight that if they can't be reasonable, then he can take DS and go on their crazy escapades and I will gladly stay home and enjoy the leave and quiet.

[walterjenne]

Aug 1, 2015 16:29:06 GMT -5 Lola said:

Aug 1, 2015 13:18:41 GMT -5 walterjenne said:

The outer banks tops my husband's list of places! I think our biggest issue with 1 house that is big enough is going to be getting some people to be realistic about prices. Either we will have to pay more and all be together, or we can split up and do multiple condos.

These people want a house with 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, on the beach, with a private pool and a dining room big enough for everyone. They want all of this and no one wants to spend more than $150/person for a weeks stay. They are crazy!

You could probably find better deals off season. It's still beautiful in September!

I'm hoping that we can convince people to go after labor day next year or late spring for the off season. Luckily no one is in school so we can get around that for a few more years.

[lablover13]

We also just got back from the Outer Banks and we love it there. This year we had 21 people- 14 adults and 7 kids. We had 8 bedrooms and 8.5bathrooms. This is a yearly tradition for DH's family. We never stay right on the beach because those houses are crazy expensive. This year we were a little further away from the beach so the entire house split the cost of a golf cart for the week so that it was easy for everyone to lug their gear down to the beach.

If you can go off season- do it! The prices drop dramatically. My BIL tries to convince everyone to do off-season rentals every year, but SIL has school aged kids. There are also places like Wilmington, NC or Atlantic Beach, NC that might be more affordable than the Outer Banks (and IMO the beaches are much nicer and the water is much warmer).

[walterjenne]

Aug 3, 2015 5:58:42 GMT -5 lablover13 said:

We also just got back from the Outer Banks and we love it there. This year we had 21 people- 14 adults and 7 kids. We had 8 bedrooms and 8.5bathrooms. This is a yearly tradition for DH's family. We never stay right on the beach because those houses are crazy expensive. This year we were a little further away from the beach so the entire house split the cost of a golf cart for the week so that it was easy for everyone to lug their gear down to the beach.

If you can go off season- do it! The prices drop dramatically. My BIL tries to convince everyone to do off-season rentals every year, but SIL has school aged kids. There are also places like Wilmington, NC or Atlantic Beach, NC that might be more affordable than the Outer Banks (and IMO the beaches are much nicer and the water is much warmer).

Thanks for the ideas! Sounds perfect!