I want sun, beach, good food, cheap- in April.
Sort of want to keep my $$ in the USA.
Any ideas? TY!

NC Beaches, the best non-comerical beaches in the US.

Lanny

How far from NY do you want to travel? The outerbanks of NC are a wonderful vacation destination. If you wanted to travel a little further, the Morehead City, Beaufort area is really nice too. The outerbanks area would be closer for you and would probably suit your purposes a little better.

How about Pensacola, Fl or somewhere on the fl. gulf coast panhandle area. Destin is nice but more expensive. I lived in P'cola for 30 years. The beach is great, beautiful white sand, great places to eat. Some things to do would be the air museum on Pensacola navy base. A & E store outside of base has the best fabric selection in town, I love going there. It is only a short ride to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Al where there is a water park but not sure if open in April.

OMG We went to Myrtle Beach last summer & it was my dream vacation. We didn't do much, sat on the beach, went for walks, had a day of shopping, cooked in most of the time (by choice) & it was WONDERFUL. I want to go back sooooo bad. In fact I told DH when I die, I want to be creamated & my ashes sprinkled on that beach. It was great. TIP: take a sun umbrella bought from home & some lawn chairs to sit in. You can rent them but we wound up buying them.

In April? Well we went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Loved it there. a lot of creative people there. Not sure how cheap it is. I liked Potosky, Michigan. Stayed at Tearce Inn. Really neet old place. Look them up on the internet.

Not sure what kind of vacay you want. We had fun here a couple of years ago:

http://www.trails.com/rentals/proper...20St.%20Joe_FL

The Cape is very laid back and there isn't a lot going on. But that was what we were looking for! And we ate our weight in fresh oysters and shrimp! Appalachiccola is less than an hour's drive and fun to explore too.

I've been to both the NC beaches and the panhandle of Florida in the spring. They're really great destinations. I think that we are going for NC or SC because of the rising gas prices. We tow a trailer, daughter is getting married in June and I want to go away several times this spring/summer. I know what you mean about needing some warmer weather.

I LOVE Carolina Beach, NC. It's my favorite spot in the world. Never super crowded. Very casual. Good prices on rentals with full kitchens, so you can eat a few quick meals without having to go out. Easy drive to Wilmington if you need city activites. Near Fort Fisher if you are a Civil War buff.

We love Venice Beach Florida. A quaint little town. Venice Beach Villas is a very clean but modest place to stay. We do the shark teeth diving there if you're into scuba diving. Some night life but not much...we're not into that.

Myrtle Beach,there is something for every one high dollar to low dollar. Go to their Chamber of Commerce web site and they will send you a nice book complete with coupons.I do not cook on vacation we eat out,we shop and I can actually get my husband to the movies every day.And to walk the beach in the evening's is great.

I like the beaches at Port Aransas, TX

Come to the west coast...San Diego is a whole lotta fun.

OMGosh my husband and I love to stay at the Terrace Inn in Petosky. It is about 130 miles north of us but so worth the trip.

Distance-wise you can't beat the N. Carolina beaches. They are absolutely gorgeous, food is great, pretty little towns. The people are almost as nice as in Texas. Supporting my local beaches: 2) Love both Port Aransas, TX or Padre Island, TX

Padre Island Texas.

We went to the murder mystry weekend their. and really loved it. We even helped out a couple of times with the acting. we live too far away now to do that. I wish I could find one out in the sw area. I loved the idea of no tv's and you have to be social with the other guests. you meet some really nice people their.

We did the sleigh ride that they have in the winter, my kids couldn't believe that there weren't any tv's in the place, they said no way would stay mom.

Savannah, Georgia. Don't know the temp in April because we usually go down south in the summer. Tybee Island is fun too.

Clearwater Beach on the gulf coast. One of my two favorite beaches.

I would vote for Myrtle Beach, SC. The state park there is absolutely wonderful if you have a camper or RV and I think they also have cottages for rent.

Arizona! April is real nice in Phx or tucson.

THE OUTER BANKS IN NORTH CAROLINA

Take a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines! I just came back from the Eastern Caribbean and it was the most fabulous vacation of my life. Cruises are the most affordable way to travel: lodging, food, entertainment, and things to do without schlepping luggage around and not knowing where to go. It had me so distracted, I never once tried to hunt down any fabric; now that's a major distraction!

My son has a condo in Destin.. It sleeps 8 people if needed. They just bought it and are going in April to upgrade and repaint, PM me, anyone, and I will send you information.

With the price of gas and air line tickets going up nothing will be cheap :-(

I found other things to do. played cards and quilted in the loby and talked to other people staying there. we also went window shoping. there are some neet places to eat in the town also. Lots of fun. How old are the kids?

Heres my suggestion....wait til June and come vist me in WI! Free romm and board and all the fres veggies you could ask for. Plus my neighbors are COWS!

And we have lots of lkes with beaches, lol, does that count?

We drive to Port Aransas twice a year in Spring and Fall for a week of fishing. Love, love, love Port Aransas. The beach is very nice and fishing is great. Not much to do there except beach, fish, sleep and eat. Very small town, but a short distance from Corpus Christi. We would retire there if we could afford it. Lots of snowbirds spend the winter there.

I used to live in Clearwater Florida, the gulf is absolutely beautiful the water is warm also not like the beaches on the Atlantic side

The water in the gulf of Mexico is much prettier and cleaner that the Atlantic and the sand is whiter.

We used to have a winter home near Stuart FL (40 miles north of West Palm Beach). Lots of resturants, easy driving, beaches are very nice. Lots of thrift stores and good shopping. Flea market on weekends. Not touristy. Golfing, fishing. Nice area.

going to Carolina Beach in Sept. with family...

Dotty, my daughter and sil and I are going on a 7 day cruise. Leaving 3/5/11. We went on one in 5/11 and took her whole family. We all had a wonderful time. Food was good and entertainment was good ,too. You may enjoy a cruise ,too.

Isle of Palms, SC. It's a quiet family beach outside of Charleston, SC. Rent a house for a week. Enjoy the beach and Charleston.

S, C. has a nice state park right on ocean with camping might still be cold in april was there 3 yrs ago didn't drive so don't remeber how we got there some where between charleston & beauert

Love Sanibel Island, Florida, but it's not cheap there, but so beautiful. Love Williamsburg, Virginia, but not real cheap there either, but they may have some good deals on their website for lodging/ admission combinations.

Florida, south Texas, east coast. I don't like California cause of the Pacific. It is always dirty looking. Lots of areas to vacation in the spring and summer in those areas I mentioned.

I also agree with the Myrtle Beach area, something for every price. More activites at the northern end, but we like the southern end because it has less activities and the beach is slightly bigger. We plan on going a bit further south to Surfside Beach, looks like more home rentals as opposed to hotel/condo type accomodations.