AR is too hot in the summer. I would do mexico, Colorado or a beach. I went last year to AR for my summer vacation but it was too hot to go outside.
Helen Georgia. Fly into Atlanta. It is 1-1.5 hours from there. A lot of the design of the town is German like. This is also home to the largest OktoberFest in US and Helen is beautiful during Xmas time. But great camping/tubing in Summer. We are going to the Ozarks (Arkansas part) in a few weeks.
You could package a Sedona/ Grand Canyon ( north rim especially) trip (Flagstaff has some great hikes too) but it might be a little bit, however it wouldn’t be much different than a Texas summer. Santa Fe is pretty great. Lots of good day hikes and fun things to do around the town
Pigeon Forge sucks. Gatlinburg is much better. Or even Wears Valley area if you want to go into the Smokies every day. Was a cool trip when we went in October last year, but was crowded. I'm going to Phoenix in a few weeks for just 3 or 4 days. Going to do the Sedona trip for at least a day. Looking forward to that.
Is the North Rim better than the South Rim? Did the South a few years ago on a limited day trip, and it was awesome!
Nah, we ran out of time. We meant to, just didn't get a chance. My kids are a little small for them, at 5 and 2, but might have been able to take my 5 year old on one.
Went on the Alaskan cruise last year too. It's by far the most majestic place I've been. It's a bit of a drive, but I can't recommend the Everglades enough. Total opposite of Alaska, but beautiful in it's own way
I like it better. Less crowded, more trees, higher elevation (you look down on the South Rim), different views than the standard tourist photos on Instagram, good options for viewpoints and hiking, plus condors. It is harder to get to. Most underrated major national park is North Cascades. Tons of stuff to do on the Seattle/Sound side and awesome views throughout the park and neighboring national forests. Leavenworth is a tourist trap but worth seeing. Lots of great hikes and drives. I'm kind of amazed it is hardly ever mentioned with Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc.
I highly recommend Costa Rica for something that is a quick flight. Travel infrastructure galore and extremely safe for families if that is important. if you’re interested at all I can break down a few different towns/areas. I really cant recommend it enough.
Like rimrocker said, the views and landscape is different and because it’s more difficult to get to the herd is thinned out. South rim is fantastic but the north has enough to make the trip if you really love the canyon and good hikes Sedona is great. Again it will be hot that time of year but you wake up for a sunrise hike and get done by lunch. Have a great lunch, drinks and a nap. Wake up and drive to a nice sunset hike. If you Rent a place with a pool and jacuzzi you can sit out at night to enjoy the desert sky. Rinse and repeat. Even throw a little golf in there too
That sounds amazing. Unfortunately I won't be able to live that out this trip, but sounds like something I should do in the future.
It’s moderately more expensive than other Central American countries. Because it is a more popular destination. But less than the US overall. In CR off the South West part of the country we took a boat out for fishing and it was probably 1/2 as much or even less than when I have done it in Florida.
Agree except for Gatlinburg traffic now is unreal. Take the loop around but still...not relaxing IMO. Now staying in a cabin overlooking the mountains is nice. There is some good hiking but again traffic takes a lot of fun out of it. My fav states to vacation are: HI, UT, MT (in that order)
