Trip Ideas By Activity
There are so many ways to vacation with your children.
City explorations, museum sleepovers, condo-style rentals, road trips, mountain and lake cabins, beaches, cruises, and all-inclusive vacations stretch budgets. Resorts run the gamut from moderate to pricey. Staying midweek or during shoulder season saves money.
Dream trips—African safaris, Galapagos treks, polar bear watches—deliver the thrill of wildlife encounters but at a hefty price. Farmstays, state and national parks, and hikes through Costa Rican rain forests let you enjoy animal encounters at a fraction of the cost.
Time travel fascinates kids. At living history parks, march with the militia and meet pioneers. In Europe, tour centuries-old castles, climb atop medieval walls, and stroll streets laced with 18th-century buildings. Go back millions of years to the dinosaur era. Satisfy your kids’ curiosity by going on a dinosaur dig, walking in dinosaur footprints, and ogling fossils of these fierce critters in museums.
Build sandcastles at the beach, canoe and fish at a lake, get tossed, twirled, and dropped on rollercoasters at an amusement, ski downhill, or snowshoe through snowy woods.
Stay overnight, for a few days, or a week. Plan carefully, allow for spontaneity, know that things will go awry, and maintain your sense of humor. Have fun.
Florida’s Best Beaches: East Coast-Gulf Coast Smackdown
USA TODAY||by Candyce H. StapenCategories: Adventures, Beaches, Family, National and State Parks in the US, Nature Vacations, Relaxing Getaways, Southern United States Destinations, Trip Ideas, United States DestinationsIt’s the time of the year when visions of sugar soft sands top travelers’ wish lists. Florida, with its 825 miles of beaches, lures sunbathers, surfers, action lovers and solitude seekers to its shores.
To find the best Florida strands, USA TODAY hosted an east coast-west coast smackdown. “Dr. Beach,” aka Stephen Leatherman, professor and director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University in Miami, helped select the destinations for each of five categories.
Each week, readers voted for one pair of contenders. Here are the champs they chose:
Best family beach
With 95% of the vote, Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County delivered a near knockout to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne. Situated on five interconnected islands, Fort De Soto features 1,136 acres that include nearly 3 miles of sandy beaches.
“North Beach is the best beach for families,” Leatherman says. “It’s on the gulf and has good swimming. The water is clear and calm. Families can also kayak through the mangroves, fish and boat.”
Kids also like climbing the fort, built in 1898-1900 for the Spanish-American War. Tall pines shade the shore and covered picnic areas come with grills. Four-pawed family members can romp in the dog park.
Located in Tierra Verde at the mouth of Tampa Bay, Fort De Soto Park is south of St. Petersburg.
Best tranquil beach
Although the east coast’s Anastasia State Park, with 1,600 acres, a campground and more than 4 miles of beach, received 42% of the votes, the gulf’s 230-acre Don Pedro Island State Park won with 58%. Don Pedro, part of a chain of barrier islands, can be reached only by the year-round ferry, Pirates Water Taxi, or by private boat. That reduces the number of visitors, which makes sunning and walking more solitary and serene than on easily reached shores.
“Don Pedro is one of the best places in Florida to find shark’s teeth,” Leatherman says. “These black petrified teeth belonged to sharks millions of years ago.”
The island also offers wildlife-watching. “You can spot southern bald eagles, royal terns, American oystercatchers and other birds,” says Martha Robinson, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State Parks. “Between November to April you can see endangered manatees from the shore. In summer, loggerhead turtles lay their eggs on the beach.”
Best party beach
Despite Daytona’s fine sands, driveable beaches and NASCAR revelers, Panama City, on the west coast, bested its east coast rival by more than 2-to-1.
During three to five weeks in March and April, Panama City pops as one of the prime spring break destinations, attracting as many as 300,000 students. Bikini contests, beer pong and D.Js. liven up the day parties, and the revelry roars on into the night at Spinnaker Beach Club, Club La Vela and other popular spots.
Crowds also come to the town’s many festivals. Toby Keith and Trace Adkins headlined the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam in September. Panama City’s sixth annual Beach Ball Drop on New Year’s Eve targets families. At midnight, an 800-pound glowing beach ball descends and 10,000 inflatable beach balls drop along Pier Park Drive.
Break from the celebrations to enjoy the shore.
“The beach has super-fine white sand,” Leatherman says. “The water is emerald-colored. It’s great for swimming and … the waves here are measured in inches.”
Best hidden-gem beach
Little Talbot Island State Park may have 5 miles of white-sand beach, but the Gulf Coast’s Anclote Key Preserve State Park won with 63% of the vote. Accessible only by private boat or ferry, Anclote Key Preserve consists of four islands — Anclote Key, North Anclote Bar, South Anclote Bar and Three Rooker Island.
“Most people have never heard of this place,” Leatherman says. “The beach is beautiful although not very big. The swimming is great because there aren’t any waves and the water is warm and clear.”
Located off Tarpon Springs, the preserve is popular with boaters and birders. Bring binoculars to look for roseate spoonbills, bald eagles and pelicans.
Best boardwalk
Leatherman says Clearwater’s 1,080-foot pier and park is “the place to see and be seen. And in ways it’s better than a boardwalk because you get to walk out into the gulf.” Nonetheless, Clearwater’s Pier 60 was trounced by the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, which won with 63% of the vote.
Built in 1926 and extensively renovated in 2008, the “broadwalk” — a beach-level path with unobstructed ocean views — stretches for 21/2 miles. “It’s very pleasant,” Leatherman says. “You can ride bikes, go inline skating and stroll.” The seaside avenue, about 30 feet wide, includes bicycling lanes and a crushed-shell jogging path.
Hotels, pizza parlors, cafes and restaurants line the route, and free outdoor concerts are held several nights a week. The American Planning Association named the boardwalk one of the top 10 public places in America.
Sweet dreams: Valentine’s Day ultra-getaways
USA TODAY||by Candyce H. StapenCategories: Adventures, Air Travel, All-inclusives, Central & South America Destinations, City and Cultural Vacations, Cruises & Resorts, Europe & Scandinavia Destinations, Southern United States Destinations, United States Destinations, Western United States DestinationsAdmire sweeping city views from a private helicopter ride. Dance in a ballroom staged for two. Indulge in a hotel room fragrant with hundreds of roses. Or thrill to fireworks fashioned just for you.
Even if you and your sweetie can’t experience these over-the-top Valentine’s Day options, they’re fun fantasies. Here are five sumptuous getaways:
Real bling in Miami
Heart-throbbing highlights: Gift each other with glittery diamonds. Dance in a private ballroom.
Indulgent details: Serious diamonds — 15.4-carat hoop earrings ($50,000 value) for her and 4.34-carat cuff links ($10,000 value) for him — plus dancing in a ballroom staged just for the two of you make this pas de deux sweet. The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach choreographs this “Dazzle You in Diamonds” overnight package around the couple, starting with a personalized dinner from Bistro One LR’s chef de cuisine Gihen Zitouni served outdoors on a cabana bed on the pool deck. Then slow-dance or swirl through the 10,000-square-foot ballroom to favorite tunes requested from your own DJ. Afterward, retreat to your oceanfront suite, perfumed with 100 red roses. Before departure, get that special glow from 110-minute facials using products infused with diamond dust.
Price tag: $100,000 per couple, ritzcarlton.com/en/properties/southbeach, 786-276-4000. Cupid Concierge: 786-276-4006
Epicurean delights in Paris
Heart-throbbing highlights: Sip vintage Champagne in a historic wine cellar. Savor dinner prepared by a two-star Michelin chef.
Indulgent details: The luxury for this overnight package begins when you step into your Hermès Rolls Royce Phantom for your chauffeured drive to the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris. At the iconic property, steps from the Champs-Elysées, relax in your flower-adorned Penthouse Suite until it’s time for your aperitif served in the wine cellar. Nearly 46 feet underground, the cellar contains 50,000 bottles, hand-picked by award-winning sommelier Eric Beaumard. Sip your Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1998 Champagne (a bottle sells for about $9,347) in the glow of the candle-lit cave. Back at your suite, with its 360-degree view of Paris and the spires of Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower, tuck into your sumptuous meal prepared by Eric Briffard, the hotel’s two-star Michelin chef. Before departing the next morning, enjoy Champagne breakfast in your suite.
Price tag: About $40,515 per couple, fourseasons.com/paris/
Royal treatment in Edinburgh
Heart-throbbing highlights: Dine like a queen and king aboard a royal yacht. Watch fireworks created just for you.
Indulgent details: Celebrate like nobility with a private meal aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. “The UltimateValentine’s Experience” begins with you being welcomed aboard by a piper. Then stroll the moon-lit decks, walking in the footsteps Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Winston Churchill, as well as Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who honeymooned on the vessel. Enjoy drinks in the State Drawing Room prior to a five-course meal accompanied by a classical string duo. The pièce de résistance: fireworks exploding just for you. Consider extending the lord-and-lady experience by over-nighting at a partner property such as the manor-like Gleneagles Hotel set on 850 acres in Perthshire. How do you get there? A chauffeur drives you, of course.
Price tag: About $8,300 for Royal Yacht Britannia meal for two, royalyachtbritannia.co.uk. About $2,280 a night for Gleneagles Hotel, gleneagles.com,866-881-9525
Sky-high in Los Angeles
Heart-throbbing highlights: Fly over the city on a private helicopter tour. Dine atop the hotel’s helipad.
Indulgent details: The “Hearts on the Helipad” two-day package from the InterContinental Los Angeles is all about views — from your 30-minute private sweep of the city in a twin-engine helicopter, to your dinner on the 18-story-high helipad at sunset, to panoramas of the Hollywood Hills, the Pacific Ocean and downtown Los Angeles from the wrap-around balcony of the Presidential Suite. In between, relax with a body polish, massage and bathing ritual for two in a couple’s spa villa while refreshing yourselves with strawberries and Champagne. The next morning, linger over breakfast in bed.
Price tag: $11,000 ($8,000 without the helicopter ride) per couple, intercontinentallosangeles.com, 310-284-6500
Sensuous rhythms of Buenos Aires
Heart-throbbing highlights: Dance the tango at local clubs. Horseback ride across a ranch in the pampas.
Indulgent details: Move to the beat of Buenos Aires on this four-day/three-night package offered by TravelSommelier. Melt away jet lag during your couples’ spa experience at the boutique Faena Hotel, your Buenos Aires base. The next day tune up with morning meditation and yoga at the hotel then take a private, guided tour through the city that includes strolls through the trendy neighborhood of Palermo Soho and the cobblestone streets of San Telmo with its antique shops, cafes and plaza. That evening join in the national dance by club-hopping to milongas, venues where locals tango away the night, partnering with each other and with tourists. Then horseback ride across a ranch and feast on a barbecue lunch prepared by gauchos — Argentinean cowboys — who grill your steaks and ribs, pairing them with local wines.
Price tag: $5,669 per couple, travelsommelier.com, 203-286-8338
For help planning a Valentine’s getaway, contact a travel agent specialist at Tripology.com.
Get free admission to national parks on Monday
USA TODAY||by Candyce H. StapenCategories: Adventures, National and State Parks in the US, Northeast United States Destinations, Southern United States Destinations, United States Destinations, Western United States DestinationsSome of the best views in the U.S. look even better when they’re free. Take advantage of nine days of complimentary admission to America’s national parks—the first is Jan. 20—so you can savor the spectacular scenery and discover the history of these unique places.
“The entrance fees aren’t that expensive, but the National Park Service wants to eliminate any barrier to enjoying the parks,” says spokesperson Kathy Kupper. Typically, children younger than 16 enter without cost and adult fees range from $3 per person to $25 per vehicle for everyone in the car. The get-in-gratis days eliminate those charges at 133 facilities; the remaining 268 parks and monuments of the 401 in the national system never charge entrance fees.
“Most Americans live within an hour or two of a national park,” says Kupper. “Yosemite is not too far from San Francisco, Olympic National Park is reasonably close to Seattle, Joshua Tree is near Los Angeles and the Everglades are easy to reach from Miami,” says Kupper.
The National Parks Trolley, which debuted Jan.4, makes it even easier to access both the Everglades and Biscayne National parks from the Miami area. The shuttle departs from Homestead’s Losner Park every Saturday and Sunday through April. As part of a partnership between Homestead and the parks (separate from the National Parks free days initiative), trolley riders always receive complimentary transportation and admission to the Everglades and Biscayne National parks.
Along with making access more affordable, another goal of the National Parks free days is to remind people of the dramatic views, history and engaging activities available in the parks. (Although free days waive entrance fees, activity fees may apply).
At Florida’s Everglades National Park, a 1.5 million acre subtropical wilderness, for example, you can paddle through mangrove – lined creeks and look for alligators as well as view manatees, bald eagles and dolphins on a naturalist led boat trip through the 10,000 islands. Admire river- carved canyons, desert vistas and keep an eye out for black bears in Big Bend National Park, Texas; learn about the ancestors of the Puebloan people as you view 700-year-old cliff caves at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, N.M. ; and admire the wild horses at Assateague Island National Seashore, Va. and Md.
The free entrance days for the National Parks are:
• Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Feb. 15-17, Presidents Day Weekend
• April 19-20, opening weekend of National Park Week
• Aug. 25, National Park Service Birthday
• Sept. 27, National Public Lands Days
• Nov. 11, Veterans Day