October Family Travel Ideas

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Oct 052011
 

October  is a wonderful time of year for quick family getaways, particularly over the upcoming Columbus Day weekend.  Here in New England the evenings are chilly but the days are warm and the leaves are ablaze.   As a result, it is no surprise that our email is overflowing with great family travel offers, contests and inspiration for October family travel fun.  Here are some of the best ones that have come our way recently:

Four Seasons Luxury Family Vacation Contest

Family travel experts  Poshbrood, Luxury Travel Mom, and Ciao Bambino have partnered with Four Seasons to offer three unbelievable luxury family giveaways!  Over the next two weeks they will be giving away  Ski, Beach, and City vacations — to the Four Seasons Resort Vail, Four Seasons Resort Nevis, and Four Seasons Hotel Boston!

The full details for this contest are available at the Ciao Bambino blog or you can go straight to their Facebook Four Seasons contest page to enter.  Each of these luxury family vacations includes 4 nights deluxe accommodations for a family of 4 and some really special family friendly extras like an in-room visit from the ice cream man in Boston or a day’s use of a family beach house complete with a butler in Nevis.  This contest is open until October 17th so don’t miss out.

Columbus Day Weekend in Vermont

Vermont's fall foliage was on full display over Columbus Day weekend

Vermont's fall foliage was on full display over Columbus Day weekend

Columbus Day Weekend is one of our favorite times to visit Vermont, as the foliage is usually at its peak.  This year, we all know that Vermont was hit hard by flooding from Hurricane Irene, but, the leaves are still there, most roads are passable  and these hardy New Englanders are bouncing back in time for families to enjoy the 3-day Columbus Day weekend running October 8-10.  Sugarbush ski resort in Warren VT is hosting its annual Community Weekend complete with free lift rides, pumpkin carving and live music performances.  The area is offering a wide range of bed and breakfast and condo lodging packages, some starting as low as $45 a night.

The Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Vermont is also offering its AutumnFest packages through Columbus Day weekend.  These include condo lodging, use of the pool, FunZone, mini golf and an additional night free when three nights are booked.   There is lots to do outdoors in the fall at Smugglers’  including hiking, ziplines, Segway tours, canoes and kayaks.  

If you are looking for a Vermont Inn or B&B experience over Columbus Day weekend, or during the winter, consider the wonderful Vermont Inn Keepers who provided amazing support for their communities during the worst of the flooding.  They took in neighbors whose homes were underwater and served as centers of relief efforts in their towns.  Vermont counts on tourism dollars so do your part and have a great weekend!

Fall Family Beach and Poolside Getaways

A-Bay at sunset

Sunset at A-bay on the Big Island of Hawaii is a great place for a quick evening swim

The Hilton Waikoloa Village, a 62-acre oceanfront resort on the Big Island of Hawaii, transforms families into a team of explorers with Pacific adventures and the discoveries of a lifetime via their Ocean Explorer Family Escape. Available now through Dec. 31, 2011, starting from $264 per room, per night for a four-night stay for two adults and two children, the Ocean Explorer package welcomes kids with backpacks filled with essential exploring gear such as an underwater camera and ocean fish guide card for use in the snorkeling lagoon, coloring book & Dol-fun activity book, dolphin key chain and keepsake Rubbah Slippah magnets and more. Two adult and two children explorers also receive a daily full breakfast buffet and a one-time Ocean Sports glass bottom boat cruise of Anaeho’omalu Bay. The swimming and snorkeling are great at A-Bay too!

For West Coast  families looking for something fun with a Halloween theme, the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego is offering poolside monster mash hula hoop contests, pumpkin painting, trick-or-treat bag decorating and more. Back by popular demand are hair-raising waterslides (with eerie fog and enhanced with haunted music, ghostly sounds and spooky lighting) and spider-webbed pool cabanas and creepy cocktails for adults add to the fun. Come nightfall, families can trick-or-treat around the property then enjoy a spirited family movie at the pool.  The program is offered over two weekends – Oct. 23-24 and Oct. 29-30.  They are offering a special, spine-chilling non-refundable getaway rate of $169 per night  for the weekend of Oct. 29-30. 
 
And don’t forget that just across the bay, families can enjoy more frightening fun at SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular. The park gets into the spirit with a silly and spooky Pirates 4-D movie experience, The Search for Captain Lucky’s Treasure walk-through adventure, gobs of ghoulish goodies for trick-or-treaters around the park, a children’s costume parade and an enchanting underwater Halloween Fantasea
 

Make Some Memories

Just because the teens, tweens and kids are back to school doesn’t mean that family travel fun is done.   Check the calendar. With long weekends for Columbus and Veterans Days and maybe school conferences or  Thanksgiving breaks there are lots of opportunites for some quick family travel getaways at great prices.  And don’t forget to enter the Four Seasons Luxury Family Travel Giveway!
 

Hawaii’s Big Island Volcanic Landscape: A Study in Contrasts

 Best trip archives, Hawaii  1 Response »
Sep 202010
 

     When we visited Hawaii’s Big Island we spent a lot of time outdoors (see our Top 10 must do list of Hawaii Big Island activities here).  Hawaii is truly a land still being created and we were constantly amazed at the abilityof stunning plants to thrive in what appeared to be barren volcanic soil.  We thought you’d enjoy a look back at the colors and contrasts of life in the volcano zone.

     The active volcanic areas such as the Halema`uma`u crater at the Kīlauea summit and the ocean entry, where new lava pours into the sea, feature large smoking plumes of sulfur-laden gas that create a pretty hostile area for any kind of flora or fauna.

A smoldering Halema`uma`u crater on the summit of the Kīlauea volcano

     Amazingly however, plant life quickly establishes itself and works to transform the landscape.  Examples of the powers that the island’s plant life have to re-emerge after the lava cools were abundant.  Along the Devastation Trail, the cinder field left from a 1959 eruption is showing signs of new life.

The Devastation Trail shows the results of a major eruption

      But amid the cinders, new life takes hold and blooms.

Amid the cinders life renews

      Along the Chain of Craters Road, which offers access a number of trails and lava viewing overlooks, the lava fields show signs of new life.  Even in the East Rift Area, where the flows are active, the plant life returns quickly.

The lava ocean entry in the East Rift Zone

Green emerges in the most barren areas

     In older volcanic areas, such as dormant Mauna Kea which last erupted 4,500 years ago, a wide range of vegetation has returned including some very rare plants like the Silversword.

Silversword at 9,200 feet altitude near the Mauna Kea Visitor Center

     Finally, in rainy areas where volcanic activity occurred in the distant past, ferns and large trees return to stand next to ancient lava trees.

Lush ferns at Lava Tree Monument

      We felt like we were in Jurassic Park!

Lava Trees are left behind when lava cools around a live tree

     Hawaii’s Big Island is a wonderful family vacation for teens and tweens.  The challenges of hiking, snorkeling and exploring the island assure they will never get bored.  We highly recommend making the trip.

    We included a link to this post in the Delicious Baby Photo Friday round-up.  Stop by over there for more fun family travel photos.

Hamakua Coast: Breathtaking Views

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Dec 302009
 

     The Hamakua Coast is generally defined as covering the northern section of the island above Hilo, along the Mamalahoa Highway (also known as Highway 19) to Waimea.  As we were planning to stay on the east side of the island for several days we used the day of our drive from Kohala to Hilo to take in the breaktaking views along the way.  This is another in our series on Top 10 Big Island of Hawaii Activities for families travelling with teens and tweens.  Click the link to see the rest!

Hamakua Coast Offers Glimpse of Old Hawaii

     The coast was once covered in sugar cane plantations but all that remains today are stands of wild sugar cane by the side of the road.  Much of the area has a remote, wild feel to it with steep cliffs providing beautiful views of rugged coastline.  We did not have the time to visit the remote but famed Waipio Valley but did find time for the following stops:

  • The Parker Ranch just 10 miles away from Kohala but a world apart from the resorts covers over 40% of the island.  Although we didn’t stop to do the official ranch tour,  just driving through the Ranch and the town of Waimea gave us a look at a vast, lush agricultural landscape that was starkly different from the lavascapes we had left behind. 

    Parker Ranch

    Parker Ranch

  • Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park  stands in tribute to 20 children and adults that were camping at the park in 1946 and lost their lives to a devasting tusnami.  This is a great lunch spot as picnic tables overlook the lava tidepools and crashing waves.
Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park

Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park

  • Pepeekeo Scenic Drive about 5 miles North of Hilo.  This 4 mile drive allows a chance to get off the main highway and travel a winding local road over one lane bridges and rain forest. 

     Akaka Falls, which is discussed in a separate post is also nearby.  Give yourself enough time to really enjoy this part of the island, it is definitely more than a drive by.

Petroglyph Hike for Teens and Tweens

 Best trip archives, Hawaii  1 Response »
Dec 262009
 
Petroglyph Hike for Teens and Tweens

       This is another in our Top 10 Activities on the Big Island of Hawaii discussions.  Please click the link for more info on the rest.    Petroglyphs – a look into the past      Although there are several locations where you can see petroglyphs on the Big Island the largest is the Puakõ Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve, located just north of the Fairmont Orchid Hotel.   There are about 1,200 petroglyphs in the main area which is accessed via the 1.5 mile roundtrip Malama Trail.  The first part of the trail winds through a scrubby Keawe tree  forest, past a lava cave, and then up a hill and out across an open lava field.       Although there are some individual petroglyphs along the way the actual petroglyph field at the end of the trail is [...]

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