Florida versus Hawaii versus Mexico versus South West USA for winter

[easyrider]

I was wondering where Tuggers go in the winter. We have been breaking our winters into Hawaii and Mexico. We are thinking of changing this up. Where do you like to go and why ? Thanks

Bill

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Bill, There is a lot of personal viewpoint in this poll. Dollars vs. weather vs. travel effort vs. political stability.

Mexico has always been off my chart. (Personal viewpoint, born and raised in South Texas. Too much crime and corruption, dating back to before I was born. Y no se habla espanol!)
Florida. Orlando is out - too cold for my taste. (I'm a lizard. Not real happy until it's 85 F.) Coastal Florida is too expensive for what I get in timeshares.
Hawaii. Expensive and a looong hoof for me. But ever so nice. It is starting to price itself out for me as a modest retiree. (Bay Club is calling. . . calling. . .)
Southwest US. Don't like California, might try low elevation desert in Arizona. (Know any good timeshares in that area?)

 

[klpca]

It just depends on what you want - some place that is warmer than where you are, or some place warm?

I live in Southern Ca and I don't think that it is warm in the winter but others disagree. The desert is nice (Palm Springs or Anza Borrego) but it can get windy. I think that Mexico is great, Hawaii is fine too. Not interested in Florida, nothing in particular but most of what we like to do is in the west. Of your list, I would choose the Southwest but only because winter is great weather for hiking. In fact our next trip is Sedona, Monument Valley, Moab, and Zion. But we are fine as long as it doesn't rain and stays below 70 degrees.

 

[Brett]

Florida is an easy drive from Virginia and it's warm(er)

 

[easyrider]

I'm leaning towards Florida but it's so flat in the areas we visited. I wouldn't mind driving to Florida. It's about a 45 hour drive with alot to see inbetween.

Bill

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Cabo, and Southwest (Scottsdale, Sedona) are easy from the west coast. Florida too far and IMHO too vanilla strip mall commercial - little cultural or historical. Alligators scare me. We like to hike.

Hawaii is nice and easy to get to from west coast but we tend to travel there in summer since it has longer season than these other places which get too hot.

San Diego too cold to sit on the beach in winter.

 

[easyrider]

Cabo, and Southwest (Scottsdale, Sedona) are easy from the west coast. Florida too far and IMHO too vanilla strip mall commercial - little cultural or historical. Alligators scare me. We like to hike.

Hawaii is nice but we tend to go there in summer since it has longer season than these other places which get too hot.

San Diego too cold to sit on the beach in winter.

The one thing I like about Florida are the walking paths along the Ocean. We love Sedona. I could live there.

A couple of things I'm not really liking is how many people my age are staying at the resorts we have been going to. I'm getting old and most of the people I see at the resort are older, lol. I like a mix of ages. It's kind of why I like Waikiki and Cabo. Every where else in Hawaii we visit is old people every where. Same with Puerto Vallarta. I'm thinking Florida is a mix but I'm doubting it.

Bill

 

[CalGalTraveler]

You might see different ages during spring break and summer when school is out.

 

[Luanne]

We live in the Southwest, so we're here all the time.

Maui is our go to in the winter. Mexico has never appealed much, and I really dislike Florida. I've spent way more time there than I would have liked to.

 

[artringwald]

It's a long trip from Minnesota, but Kauai is our very favorite winter destination by far. We also like Saint Martin, Cabo, Sedona, San Diego, and other Hawaiian Islands. We often due a cruise to scout out new destinations, but so far, Kauai is still our favorite. Florida is our least favorite trip to someplace warmer.

 

[geist1223]

We alternate. One Winter in Mexico. Next Winter in Hawaii. Then every couple years we go Downunder. Last Winter we were in Cabo for 3 weeks. This Winter we will be on the Big Island for 3 weeks. We are making plans for the Winter of 2025 to spend 3 weeks in Tasmania. We both dislike Florida.

 

[Dori]

We spend about 4 months in Florida during the winter season. It’s about a 24 hour drive from Toronto. Back in 2010, we bought a 1200 square foot mobile home in a lovely 55plus community. we love the park and its wonderful people. We have made so many friends there.

Dori

 

[Talent312]

I live in Florida, so to me, a vacation means going elsewhere.
But IMHO, its a very diverse state with a lot of culture & great beaches.

 

[slip]

After trying out multiple different locations, we settled on Hawaii after our first trip there. It wasn't the most convenient to travel to from Wisconsin but there was something about it that we just loved.

We still mostly travel to the neighboring Islands since we moved here five years ago.

 

[Krteczech]

We go to Central America or Big Island Hawaii before Christmas and stay in Colorado all winter. The weather and ski conditions in Colorado are perfect for us.

 

[easyrider]

We spend about 4 months in Florida during the winter season. It’s about a 24 hour drive from Toronto. Back in 2010, we bought a 1200 square foot mobile home in a lovely 55plus community. we love the park and its wonderful people. We have made so many friends there.

Dori

I'm thinking that four months would be great. Popular with people we know is Arizona. Many people from here go to areas near Phoenix and Palm Springs for the winter.

Bill

 

[PcflEZFlng]

I'm in the Southwest, and mostly like staying close to home (or in our region) most of the winter. Similar to what others have said, our winters are a far cry from beach weather. But it's still nice most of the time, just to be outdoors and doing things. We get lots of sun and no snow.

That being said, I'm going to Kauai later this month, then to Oahu and Molokai in March. Not because I'm planning to lie on the beach, but for the scenery and hiking.

 

[jabberwocky]

When you live in the frozen tundra any of the options are good!

Personally, it depends mainly on flights for us. PHX, LAS and CA airports are all within a 2.5 flying time on direct routes.

HI is six hours direct during the winter months with seasonal service from our major airlines. Cancun is about the same.

Personally I like HI because I can get all my work done for the day by 11 am and spend the rest of the day on the beach/snorkeling without being pestered by the office.

All our direct flights to FL are gone on the airlines I’m willing to fly with - so it’s a minimum 8-12 travel time with connections. For that reason alone I’m avoiding Florida altogether.

 

[tripplanner]

Hawaii does sound lovely but it is a long trip. I think I'd enjoy the Southwest like Arizona or New Mexico - nice warm weather without breaking the bank. Maybe Sedona would be a good choice, I've heard it's beautiful for hiking.

 

[dougp26364]

I guess it depends on your definition of Winter. We’ve been visiting Florida in Nov/Dec since 2001, and that’s where I put our answer. Because the hospitals are generally busy in the winter, we usually don’t take another vacation until March, and I suppose you could say that’s Spring. We’ve taken vacation in February before, but flights are generally a little dicey because of weather. Our last February vacation we lost a day due to snow related delays. We’re going to give Feb another shot this next year with a trip to Hawaii. Our flight plan will be a little different with a late afternoon flight to Dallas, an overnight stay at the DFW Grand Hyatt and an early morning flight from DFW to Hawaii. A little cumbersome of a travel plan but gives me some leeway in case the weather at home doesn’t cooperate. Dallas is a 5 hour drive in decent weather, but given 15 hours to get there before our departure time we can drive it, even in poor weather.

 

[beejaybeeohio]

Won't be as warm as Florida, but after last year's time near the Villages with the traffic and throngs of villagers everywhere, we are opting for Hilton Head this February.

 

[jp10558]

I haven't really gone anywhere for winter recently, but I am also going to Hilton Head the first week of February. I'm considering Florida because it's about a 2.5hr flight, everywhere else I'd go would cost a lot and a connection, or I'd have to drive ~5 hours to go to Newark. That said, I am keeping an eye on Mexico and the Caribbean again for shorter flights. Hawaii would take forever to get there, but maybe someday with a stopover in LA (family) on a trip perhaps even over to Japan. IDK.

 

[sun starved Gayle]

Hawaii. It’s an easy direct flight from the west coast, and we love to be near the water.

My husband is very active and not one to stay in the resort all the time, he is out snorkeling, hiking etc. For us, it’s much easier to get around and do that in Hawaii than in Mexico. As my husband says “Hawaii is easy”.

Looking forward to escaping the rain here in the PNW in February while relaxing barefoot on the lanai at Lawai Beach resort at the end of the day and watching the surfers while having a cocktail !

I

 

[LisaH]

Last year, we went to Costa Rica which is lovely. This year, we went to Colombia in Jan/Feb, then Peru and Ecuador/Galapagos in Sep/Oct. We really enjoy Colombia. Beautiful country with a lot to do, still very cheap for Americans. A nice steak dinner in Medellin costs about $35 for two including drinks and dessert. Weather is also great. We plan to go back again.

 

[b2bailey]

Last year, we went to Costa Rica which is lovely. This year, we went to Colombia in Jan/Feb, then Peru and Ecuador/Galapagos in Sep/Oct. We really enjoy Colombia. Beautiful country with a lot to do, still very cheap for Americans. A nice steak dinner in Medellin costs about $35 for two including drinks and dessert. Weather is also great. We plan to go back again.

I've recently considered a trip to Costa Rica or Ecuador -- mostly because I've lost track the number of visits I've made to Hawaii and Mexico.