NWR--Planning short trip, maybe Hill Country area, TX or New Orleans?

monkeysip

Hi Ladies,

I'm just looking for travel advice.  H and I want to go on a little trip (first since the honeymoon) around Christmas.  I'm a teacher, so I'm off for winter break, but that's also peak travel time, so a lot of destinations are too expensive or crowded.

We live in Houston, and we don't want to spend too much money.  We really can't afford to fly anywhere (unless we found $100 airfare or something).  We've been to Austin and San Antonio a million times (although those are great!).  

We'd really like a place just to go for a few nights where we can relax, get a nice hotel room, and have a few little fun places and restaurants to go to.  Nothing crazy.  We're looking at the following options within a decent drive from Houston

1.  New Orleans.  We went once briefly, and H didn't like it because he doesn't like the crowded bourbon street scene.  But I'm thinking we could go to a more quiet part of town and enjoy the city's more historical side.  Any ideas/suggestions?  Is New Orleans nice around Christmas/New Years?

2.  Hill Country area, TX.  Maybe Marble Falls, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg.  I don't know.  Maybe a nice bed and breakfast or resort with some nice shops and restaurants nearby?  Ideas/Suggestions?

3.  Any third option that I'm not thinking of?  Probably need to stay somewhere in TX or LA.

Thanks for any help!  

fallbride1109

We did Fredricksburg this year on spring break.  They have some nice wineries there although we didn't go to any of them.  We mainly just walked up and down main street and saw the shops and we also hiked to Enchanted Rock.  The only question I would have would be the weather at that time of year.  There is a lot of walking around outside to be done so if it's cold, not sure how fun that would be.

When hubby and I were looking for a cheap getaway, we thought about Hot Springs, AK.  We found a really nice B&B.  We ended up going to Vegas instead but this trip is still on our list!

monkeysip

Hot Springs, AK.... hmmm... that wouldn't be too bad of a drive!

Yes, I need to figure out the weather in all these places to see what would be more fun!  

mrsb53

We're going to New Orleans in a couple weeks. Check out the Garden District -- it's more old school Victorian houses and family-friendly stuff, and seems to have a more relaxed pace.

cruffino

FI and I have been to new Orleans several times, including last years Christmas break (he's a teacher too). There is so much more than the bourbon street scene.

definitely check out the garden district, uptown, the warehouse district (where we usually stay) and the marigny if you want to be away from the French quarter.

hotels can get very pricy, but also check out condo rentals from homeaway.com or vrbo.com. you can get better deals. Also, if you don't plan to do a lot of drinking, think about staying in a suburb where you'll find much better hotel rates and free parking.

good luck and have a blast!

monkeysip

I've actually been scoping garden district hotels!  Seems like they have some really nice hotels for a more reasonable price, it's a little more quiet, and we can take the streetcar to the french quarter and downtown area if we want.

We're also thinking of maybe doing a swamp tour if its not too cold in december, or a river dinner cruise or something.

nikib0210

I'm from NOLA; and you can definitely do New Orleans without Bourbon. Especially if you're into good food. 

Anytime we want to stay in the city (as opposed to the suburb where we live), we stay at the Renaissance Arts Hotel - it's nice and reasonably priced. It is in the Warehouse District, which is quieter than the French Quarter, but not as quiet as the Garden District, but it is a pretty decent location to a lot of restaurants, and close enough to the street car route. 

December in New Orleans is hit or miss with the weather - sometimes we are in shorts and other times it can get pretty cold. PM me if you want any more info, recommendations or I can ask around for you if you are looking at a specific place!