I want to convince hubby to go on a real vacation just the two of this year. We have only ever been to Branson MO. This year we will be married 7 yrs. It has been an extremely rough past two years. He has finished a 4yr. college program in 2 yrs. taking over 20 hrs. a semester and working full-time. We have 3 kids and just need to GET AWAY!! so please tell me any fun/romantic trip ideas that are less costly. Any ideas welcome!!

A starting point would be helpful - where do you live? Are you looking for something to fly to or within driving range?

Your marriage is at a transition point. I recommend going to a Marriage Encounter weekend (just google the website). It isn't the 'vacation' you have envisioned but will do wonders for your marriage.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

No we arent looking for a counseling weekend. WE just need to have fun together again. Right now we are in Arkansas. The plan was to go to Branson MO. We have talked about doing Vegas or a Sandals trip.

Well, we've done a couple trips to an all inclusive resort in Mexico - 3x now - and we just loved it. This is the most expensive time of year to go, but sometimes you can get last-minute bargains if you check the apple vacations or funjet websites.
We went to the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar. All the food & drinks and included, all your meals are included. The resort is gorgeous, incredible pools, right on the beach. Lots of activities but you can also just lay back & relax and read or go to the spa or have massages on the beach. It is not a couples-only resort, but we saw so few children when we went all 3 times that it was not a problem. It is about 40 minutes S of Cancun and about 25 minutes N of Playa del Carmen, which is a great town. Good snorkeling. Lots to see and do.
The Iberostar complex has the Iberostar del Mar and Iberostar Beach resorts, which are identical & share facilities. Next door is the Lindo and the Maya. Maya is newer & more expensive. If you go to Maya or Lindo, you can also use the del Mar/Beach facilities, but not vice versa. And they just finished building the newest one, the Grande, which is big bucks. Closer to town (Playa) there is the Iberostar Tucan and Quetzal which are sister resorts and share facilities as well. I've not been to that one personally but it is supposed to have even prettier gardens & is only 5 minutes from town.
We fly from Detroit, so our airfare is probably higher, and we have paid anywhere from $1100/per person to $1800 per per depending on the time of year. Check out those web sites for last-minute deals and pricing. If you drink a lot (alcohol or even soft drinks) it is worth it. In the heat, you drink a lot of water & the mini bar in your room is always stocked (it's included/no extra charge) so you can take the bottles on excursions or into town with you & not have to buy water.

I probably should mention we plan on going end of may beginning of June. If that makes a difference

We've never been able to get any spectacular "deals" in Vegas. The hotels that are worth staying at are not super-cheap. The buffets provide a huge amount of food, but the ones that are $8.99 per person are scary. As DH says "where desserts go to die." But there is a lot to do that doesn't cost a thing once you are there, so that's a point for Vegas.

If you like gambling (even nickles), dining (doesn't have to be buffets), shopping and sightseeing, I'd say Vegas. My DH and I try to get there for a long weekend at least once a year - we consider it our Disney for grownups. It's just such an adult weekend and we have so much fun together. In fact, I'm planning our summer trip right now!

Do you have certain hotels or deals that you know of/use? I hust found airfare on cheap o airfare (never used it before) plus 5 nights at Plaza Hotel and Casino (3star), and a rental car all for just under 700. Do you know anything about these or others?

Well, you can stay on the strip or you can stay downtown. Or you can stay at a completely off-strip hotel. Most any hotel on the main strip is nice to very nice. A lot depends on where you want to be on the strip, what you want to be able to walk to. If you stay downtown, you will be miles away from the strip, but it's pretty cool down there as well. A lot of the older hotels are there, the nicest of them is The Golden Nugget.
On the strip, we stayed at The Mirage & were very happy w/the hotel & it's location. it's the only place in the world where half the fun is checking out the other hotels...I don't know about the Plaza.