Suggestions for a Winter Trip W My Preteen Daughter!

Hello! I live in Houston. Most places in Texas you would need to rent a car. Its a big state.

Also, not sure what type of weather you think you are going to get at that time of the year. It does get chilly here. Swimming in the Gulf could be very chancy that time of year. You would have to go further South. Perhaps Miami Beach. Galveston, Padre, Corpus all would be too chilly. Not sure about Alabama.

I would hate for you and your daughter to be disappointed with our winter weather.

San Antonio would be fun. You wouldn't need to rent a car. You could take a taxi from the airport to the Riverwalk. You have the Alamo, the Riverwalk with restaurants and shops. Lots to do.

You could also go to the Bahamas! =)

We love South Beach in Miami. We live in the Dallas area.

I love our weather but TX can get chilly sometimes!

No need for a car, it's a quick trip from Miami airport ( about $40) or Fort Lauderdale airport (about $100) cab ride.

No need for a car while you're there. Our favorite spot is the Loews on Collins. Wonderful beautiful hotel!! Walking distance to Lincoln Road shopping/dining and on the beach.

The Hilton Cabana is a little further north on the beach and beautiful place but not too many good things in walking distance. We ended up using a cab more from this place but loved the hotel.

Depending on the age of your daughter.... SB is very open minded and a lot of things going on you might not want her to see. The beach is topless, optional. We prefer the section furtherest north which is nicer. The furtherest southern portion can have a lot of adult activity.

We did stay at the Hilton Bently which is s nice place but it was too far south for us because we prefer to do a lot of walking. The Beacon is a classic and in the middle of everything. Clevelander is adult, no guest under 21.

Fort Lauderdale is nice too. The Marriott has a nice resort on the beach.

Marco Island is very nice and both Hilton and Marriott have great resorts there.

Miami or South Florida would probably be the warmest spot.

ETA: I have done Miami by myself and with my daughter several times with no car and had no trouble at all. I've heard wonderful things about cruises but we are just not interested in cruising.

Have fun!

I highly recommend a cruise. They are simply amazing, don't require a car, and you'd get somewhere warm for sure. When we cruised in January 2013, Miami was almost 90 degrees...we LOVED it considering it was 19 when we left MD that morning.

I recommend St. Thomas and San Juan as stops. We also had the Bahamas and Grand Turk - but we didn't leave much at those stops. We could have spent DAYS longer at the other two.

If you don't want to cruise, look for an all inclusive resort.

Try and find a cruise. If you are a smart shopper and do your research you can typically find a great cruise with food and on boat entertainment for under $500 a person for 4 or 5 days.

C.,

I think it's great you want to vacation with your daughter.

However, I think your expectations are wrong. The only way you are going to get to "sight see" without a rental car is going on a cruise.

Florida is great - but you'd have to get a hotel DIRECTLY on the beach and then taxi, uber or something to other places...even DisneyWorld...

There are a couple of mom's on here from Texas - I hope they answer!!

unless you take a cruise, or get a hotel right on the beach and spend every day just on the beach, i can't think of many places that won't require some driving.
i would also want warm weather, but don't rule out a fun winter break. my former 13 year olds would have been over the moon if i'd taken them to a ski resort and let them rip.
:) khairete
S.