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10 Last-Minute Memorial Day Getaways You Can Still Book

It's not too late to get out of Dodge.
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Sarah Elliott/Courtesy San Miguel De Allende Mexico

This Memorial Day, take advantage of the long weekend and consider adding on by taking a few vacation days. Across the country (and yes, even the continent), these 10 cities have some of the best Memorial Day weekend travel deals—think the cheap hotel rooms, affordable flights, and great events. Whether you're taking the kids to the circus in Vancouver or relaxing at an adults-only resort in the Florida Keys, there's something for everyone to do over the holiday weekend, even if you're only just starting to plan now.

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    Douglas Friedman/Courtesy Isla Bella Beach Resort

    Florida Keys

    Best for: Beach lovers looking for a domestic dose of Caribbean chill

    An hour from Miami (and not much farther from Fort Lauderdale), Key Largo has a brand new resort: Baker’s Cay, completely renovated and on a former pineapple plantation. If you want to push on further, the secluded two-month-old Isla Bella Beach Resort (pictured), on Marathon, seems worlds away from any sort of urban hustle and bustle. And all the way at the end of the archipelago, on Key West (which has its own airport with commercial flights), Parrot Key, a 2018 Readers’ Choice Award winner, reopened in January after a $25 million renovation.

  • Sarah Elliott/Courtesy San Miguel De Allende Mexico

    San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

    Best for: An easy international jaunt—there are direct flights from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, and L.A. to the two closest airports, in León and Querétaro

    The dreamy hilltop city of San Miguel de Allende attracts creative types from all over, and with good reason. Its colonial architecture, stylish boutiques, local artisans, and cocktail, culinary, and coffee scenes make it a must-visit urban destination. Book the five-room Hotel Amparo, a 2019 Hot List winner opened by the Texas tastemaker behind Hibiscus, a handmade textile company. Or, try established faves from Belmond and Rosewood—both 2018 Readers’ Choice picks—if you want a resort. As the sun sets, rooftop restaurants are where it’s at: Check out Amparo’s, as well as La Unica, a recently opened satellite of the Mexico City original.

  • Courtesy Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

    Puerto Rico

    Best for: A passport-free fly-and-flop getaway

    Puerto Rico is back in a big way following September 2017’s Hurricane Maria—but the island can still use our love, and dollars. Air traffic has increased by nearly 25 percent recently, and demand for hotels and rentals is super-strong, too. Don’t worry, though: There are still MDW flights and rooms available. Two of the last resorts to reopen after the storm are among the most luxe, and both Readers’ Choice Award 2018 winners: the St. Regis Bahia Beach, which poured $65 million into repairs and a complete redo; and Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve on a former Rockefeller estate, where you can now dine at Coa, a restaurant inspired by the island’s indigenous Taino people.

  • Courtesy Collective Retreats on Governor’s Island

    New York City

    Best for: Extroverts looking for a bit of everything

    Why wouldn’t you head to New York City for MDW? The final stage of the High Line, the new Statue of Liberty Museum, the Whitney Biennial, and the Met Costume Institute’s annual big show, this year devoted to camp, have all just opened—and let’s not forget the restaurant and retail hub of Hudson Yards. Another must-visit: MoMA, which will close June 15 for a major expansion and redo. And don't underestimate the fun of Fleet Week, running from May 22 to 28. As for where to stay, the glamping grounds from Collective Retreats launched their sophomore season on Governor’s Island May 1, and Ace’s affordable Sister City hotel opened earlier this month on the Bowery.

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    Las Vegas

    Best for: High rollers over the usual scene

    Celine Dion’s heart may go on, but her show at Caesars Palace—in a theater designed specifically for her—will not. Two of her last 10 performances take place over Memorial Day weekend. Should you need more reason to plan a trip, how about the NoMad Las Vegas, cousin of the Manhattan hotel? Though Strip-side, it feels like a safe, sane haven, with signature soaring bookshelves, chic interiors by French designer extraordinaire Jacques Garcia, and a restaurant from Eleven Madison Park’s Daniel Humm. Best of all: The pool just opened, and Mark Ronson and Questlove will be DJing. (If Celine’s not your thing, Janet Jackson’s shows start May 17.)

  • Douglas Friedman/Courtesy Hamilton Hotel

    Washington, D.C.

    Best for: Pop-culture addicts with a political bent

    With its moving monuments, Washington always feels appropriate for Memorial Day weekend. This year, book a stay at the newly renovated Hamilton Hotel’s Selina Meyer Presidential Suite furnished and decorated with pieces from the set of HBO’s just-ended Veep. There’s also a suite curated by actor and activist Alan Cumming that’s devoted to the nearby Newseum exhibition “Rise Up.” That show chronicles the LGBTQ-rights movement on its 50th anniversary—something that’ll be celebrated next month during Pride. Other stylish new D.C. stays: the Dupont Circle Hotel, updated by Martin Brudnizki, and the Conrad, in a Herzog & de Meuron-designed glass building.

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    Santa Barbara County

    Best for: An ultra-luxe girlfriends’ retreat

    Thanks to its wineries, culinary scene, wellness-minded hotels, year-round great weather, and proximity to L.A., Santa Barbara County proves a perennial draw. The big news here is the opening of the Rosewood Miramar Beach, set on an impressive stretch of sand with rooms overlooking the Pacific. Two Readers’ Choice Award-winning classics have also just had big redos: San Ysidro Ranch reopened in April after a 15-month renovation that followed the Thomas fire and subsequent mudslides; and the Ritz-Carlton Bacara debuted a new spa, restaurant and bar, club lounge, and lobby as the first phase of its Ritzification—it became part of the brand in September 2017.

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    Vancouver

    Best for: Families with little ones who wilt in high heat, as it’ll still feel spring-like

    Memorial Day isn’t a holiday in Canada, so Vancouver won’t feel overwhelmed by vacationing crowds, especially on Monday, which is when the city’s annual International Children’s Festival begins. That’s just one of the reasons the area will be great for kids this weekend: Thomas the Tank Engine is offering rides an hour north of the city, in Squamish, and the Royal Canadian Family Circus is playing about an hour south in Tsawwassen. Closer in, a 12-minute Seabus ferry ride from downtown, the seasonal Friday-night Shipyards Night Market offers food trucks, art, and entertainment. And Science World, the aquarium, and the Skyride gondola up Grouse Mountain are always kid-pleasers.

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  • Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

    Boston

    May can be madness in Boston, with graduates’ families everywhere, but MDW is light on commencements and locals skip town, leaving you room to check out “Gender Bending Fashion” at the Museum of Fine Arts (Vogue’s Hamish Bowles attended the opening) and top new restaurants like Italian enoteca Fox & the Knife from James Beard-approved Karen Akunowicz. The weekend hosts the Boston Calling festival, with more than 60 acts—Betty Who and Michael Che among them—and the season welcomes more wine- and beer-garden popups than ever, from City Winery, Nantucket’s Cisco Brewers, and more. Want a day trip? Hop the 90-minute ferry to Provincetown for some of Cape Cod’s best shops, galleries, cafes, and beaches.

    Best for: Those looking to ease into summer slowly—temps may not break 70

  • Courtesy The Maven

    Denver

    Best for: Adrenaline junkies who also love food

    This gateway to the Rockies offers entrée to top hiking, mountain biking, and rafting—the last of which should be especially rad this year, thanks to the winter’s major snowfall. If you’re not too exhausted from exploring alfresco, check out the year-old Dairy Block, a newly pedestrianized alley lined with small-maker shops, cafés, and craft-cocktail bars. Hit up of-the-moment restaurants like Wolf’s Tailor, where Italy meets Asia, and the chef and pastry chef both got James Beard shortlist nods; or Call, the all-day café and bar that Bon Appetit named one of 2018’s best new restaurants.