Top Presidents' Day Weekend Travel Destinations

Baltimore, Maryland, surprisingly topped the list of the 50 most popular destinations for Presidents' Day Weekend (February 17-19) in a survey of more than 30,000 hotel booking requests made on Priceline.com, an online travel service.

With a bone-chilling cold currently whipping through the East Coast, it's a bit questionable why this harborfront town would be so popular among travelers in mid-February. But perhaps its weekend getaway deals (advertised online for as low as $89/night) or its world-famous soft-shell crabs are drawing visitors despite the forecasted Presidents' Day Weekend forecast of about 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

Not as surprisingly, warm-weather destinations comprised a full three-fourths of the rest of the Presidents Weekend list of mainly domestic cities. The only international cities were San Juan at number 7 and London at numbers 37 and 50.

Florida was a big winner, with its coastal destinations and inland tourist towns taking 16 of the 50 spots. New Orleans scored high on the list, taking the number-8 and number-10 spots. New York City managed 3 of the top 10 spots. California, led by San Diego and Los Angeles, occupied 12 places on the list. Hawaii enjoyed one of its strongest performances on a priceline.com Top 50 list, taking 5 spots.

Here's the entire list of Priceline's 2007 Presidents' Day Weekend Top 50 Destinations. Where does your hometown or dream destination rank?

#1 Baltimore, Inner Harbor Area
#2 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity
#3 San Francisco, Union Square West
#4 New York City, Upper Midtown/Central Park South
#5 New York City, Midtown East
#6 New York City, Midtown West
#7 Orlando, Universal Studios/Sea World Area
#8 New Orleans, Downtown/Convention Center
#9 Miami, Miami Beach
#10 New Orleans, French Quarter
#11 Key West
#12 Oahu, Waikiki Beach Area
#13 Maui, Wailea/Makena
#14 San Francisco, Union Square East/Embarcadero
#15 Las Vegas, Convention Center/UNLV Area
#16 Orange County, Disneyland Area
#17 San Diego, Coastal Area
#18 Orlando, Disney World Vicinity
#19 Orlando, Sand Lake Corporate Park Area
#20 New York City, Soho/Financial District
#21 Miami, Coral Gables/Coconut Grove
#22 Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Lauderdale Beach Area
#23 Naples, Sanibel & Captiva Islands
#24 Orlando, West Disney Area
#25 Los Angeles, Hollywood
#26 Ft. Lauderdale, Downtown
#27 San Juan
#28 Miami, South Beach
#29 San Diego, East County
#30 Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage/Indian Wells
#31 Las Vegas, West of Strip Area
#32 Oahu, Waikiki Marina Area
#33 San Diego, Point Loma/Shelter Island/Old Town
#34 St. Petersburg/Clearwater, St. Pete Beach/Treasure Island
#35 Ft. Lauderdale, Miramar
#36 Rochester (MN)
#37 Chicago, Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park
#38 London, Mayfair/Soho
#39 St. Louis, Downtown
#40 Oahu, Waikiki City Central
#41 San Antonio, Downtown/Riverwalk
#42 Oahu, Waikiki South
#43 Orange County, Laguna Hills/Mission Viejo
#44 Miami, Airport Area
#45 Los Angeles, Beverly Hills/West Hollywood
#46 San Diego, Downtown/Harbor Island
#47 Ft. Lauderdale, West Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation
#48 Tampa, Airport and Westshore Area
#49 Los Angeles, Downtown
#50 London, Bloomsbury/Marble Arch

Sources:

Baltimore Area Visitors and Convention Bureau, (http://www.baltimore.org/winter2007/)

Accuweather.com, (http://wwwa.accuweather.com/index-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=1&zipcode=21201&u=1)

Priceline.com Investor Relations, (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=72780&p=irol-newsArticle_print&ID=959985&highlight=)