No, this is the rate in July - so the most expensive part of the summer. The most expensive weeks there are the last week of June through the first three weeks of August. So, you could be cheaper by going in early June (first three weeks) or late August/early September. That same house goes for about $3300 during those weeks. May and October are significantly cheaper.
Gosh, we are having trouble finding 4 beds on or NEAR Lake Michigan for even 5-6K for a week!
Are you looking now for this summer? We booked our summer (well after Labor Day) vacation for this year…last fall. That’s when the best rates were available.
For desirable locations…looking now is actually late.
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I honestly don’t understand why the rates are so high around Lake Michigan when you can take a two hour flight from here and be at the actual ocean and spend far less money. I’m from Virginia, so I’m sure it’s my East Coast bias kicking in, but it seems crazy to spend that much to be on a lake.
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Wow. I must always be paying more as I never book more than several months ahead.
we went to the Outer Banks for the first time with our adult kids the year we went in March. Every restaurant was closed, but we don’t eat out and we had a terrific time. It was coldish, but not awful. Couldn’t have afforded anextended weekend, otherwise, and the condo was gorgeous. We tend towards shoulder seasons and gravitate towards the less popular destinations so OBX felt like a splurge.
My DH was raised doing the whole-family-Jersey-shore thing, but we can’t afford it, even shoulder season.
We’ve had nice trips to DC – stayed in Maryland, took the Metrothe whole way in. Cost for the hotel was not awful and so many museums are free.
I booked last year for my Spain/England vacation, the hotel I booked is now gone. But I just recently rebooked my summer vacation by a lake, cancelled the hotel I reserved a few months ago, I didn’t see any increase.
Have you tried searching for the UP on Lake Superior? The Munising area is BEAUTIFUL.
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The ultimate cheap adventure is hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Most albergues (dorm style bunk bed rooms, shared spartan bathrooms) were 10 Euros per night/per person. And some places didn’t charge but expected donations of what you could afford.
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We are members of a home exchange site. This is the cheapest way for vacations. $100 for the year and the world is your oyster. We spent 3 weeks in NC in the most amazing homes. All mod cons as it is a home and not a holiday home.
The more flexible you are the more chance of a swap. This adds to the fun. We were not planning NC but that is where we got the exchange and it has to be one of the best holidays. We’ve had offers from all over the world. Unfortunately 4 months in Barcelona was not possible for us but boy would I love that when we are retired. 
Yes, you have to tidy up your own place but to be honest it keeps you on your toes. It’s not a good idea to let things slid so in fact my own home is nicer to live in!
I would definitely recommend it.
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Sure in a best case scenario booking ahead that early is ideal. Not ideal is figuring out a week or several days for 7 people in different locations, various jobs including new job positions, one grad student ending a program and studying for boards and one professional back in a Master’s program! Dates couldn’t be whittled down before now… we aren’t worried! We will find something.
I live here in NC. If I am planning the vacay I am too cheap to ever spring for an oceanfront place in the high season for our immediate family. I don’t mind old and dated or a walk to the beach as long as it has enough toilets and doesn’t break the bank. Don’t mind admitting I am cheap. We have done the occasional family reunions with extended family at an oceanfront place at other NC beaches, though.
I am not a huge fan of the northern OBX. For the OBX I like Hatteras and Ocracoke better. Ocracoke is my fave on the OBX. I also like Sunset and Ocean Isle, have had fun at Topsail and Surf City, Emerald Isle, Bald Head Island (friends invited us, not my speed), and many of the other NC beaches.
There are some very posh places on the OBX. A friend had a wedding party in a house that was going for $7 million 25 years ago. Probably worth two or three times that now. Had marble floors, etc, ocean front with the pool. I would never pay my money to stay in a house like that, but it was fun to see how the other half lived. And I know a lot of folks who love treating themselves to a nice place and find it well worth it. It’s like a friend of mine who likes to splurge on shoes. It would just make me feel bad about myself to spend the kind of money that she does, but it makes her feel good and I certainly don’t mind her doing it.
I definitely would not be the target market for the Lake Michigan house that rents for $3,630 a night! But that is a big house.
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My folks used to do an annual 2 week vacation the same two weeks of August every year at the same rental house at the beach in NC. Everybody in the family knew when they would be going and everybody came when they could during that 2 week period. Some folks stayed the whole time and some could only come for part of it. I hope to do something like that in the future with our fam.
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@Sweetgum 100% agree about the $3630/night for Lake Michigan, or anywhere! I grew up going to Nagshead, which we loved, and we now spend a week in Duck every summer. Would love to explore some of the more southern beaches and towns, though. This has given me some inspiration to do that when we back this summer.
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Cheap for us is camping. In the winter when we want cheap we use FL State Parks and Ft DeSoto (a Pinellas County Park). View means a lot to us, so waterfront is our first choice. You have to book around midnight when slots become available or get luck with cancellations.
In summer we look for state and national parks - great views. With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii, we’ve camped in almost every state. We’ve also camped in Ontario and the Canadian maritimes.
We still love tent camping TBH.
Trips to stay with family at their places we don’t actually consider vacations. Those are visits.
We mix frugal and condos or similar with views (not frugal) as we see fit for a trip.
In the middle would be something like Docteurs Cottages in Cape Vincent, NY on the St Lawrence River. They’re hardly high end, but they’re sufficient enough for us - and they have the view without being super expensive.
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Almost $4k a night?! Holy JP Morgan. That’s like renting a posh suite at the Four Seasons in Hawaii and having money left for room service. Of course, one can’t pack 12 people into that suite, but having 11 housemates is not my idea of a vacation. 
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One thing I’ve noticed in planning summer trips this year is the cost of US car rentals. Like over $120/day. That’s making me think twice about a flight anywhere that requires a car. Maybe I’d rather drive and use that $1000 towards nicer lodging. So I’m still deliberating.
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I was talking with a friend today about going to a NC beach in late July/August, and she shared they have an 8 BR place and it’s 2K per BR per week - so sounds like 16K for a week, on the beach.
We are renting a place at a NC beach for MUCH less than that during the 2nd week of May.
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Hopefully, it won’t be that bad for car rentals. Search wide and long, and I am sure you’ll come up with something better. Just for kicks, I searched just now for a weeklong car rental in the Bay Area and came up with SUV/large car rentals for as low as $303, all in, for a full week in the summer. If you want something smaller, the prices are a bit lower.
Check the aggregators like Kayak and Priceline, not just the name brands if you haven’t done so already. A lot of folks have mentioned that Costco has good rental rates.
Gas prices will probably be through the roof this summer, and I doubt aviation fuel will be cheap.
Rental car for the week I booked for our fall foliage in New England has doubled, so glad I already booked with Costco.