The Grand Canyon National Park Makes a Great Family Vacation Destination

The Grand Canyon in Arizona is enormous in size. You can't just drive to the gorge, spend some time looking around and then leave. To really make the most of a visit to the Grand Canyon, you must take a few hikes, ride the Colorado River and explore each corner open to tourists. The many different views the Grand Canyon can give you will certainly be a surprise.

Here are some ways you can take in the mystique of the Grand Canyon:

The South Rim. Aside from the view of this magnificent gorge, you get a close look at some historical buildings and ruins.

Toroweap Overlook. This popular overlook is on the North Rim and is 3,000 feet straight up from the river. This gives you a breath-taking view due to the steepness of the gorge.

Grand Canyon Skywalk. This gives you quite a scary view and really gets your heart pounding since it is a glass-bottom walkway that extends out from the edge of the gorge.

Lipan Point. Also at the South Rim, this marks the starting point of the Tanner Trail. Take some time to grasp the beauty of the Canyon from Lipan Point before heading down the trail.

Tanner Trail. This trail heads towards the floor of the gorge and can be a challenging hike. The view of the Canyon from this trail is overwhelming.

Whitewater Rafting. Some visitors prefer to go down to the bottom of the river by foot, while others prefer to ride the river. Being at the Grand Canyon bottom where you are thrown by the water, and surrounded by huge rocks can be an astounding experience.

Aerial View. Some people prefer the aerial view from a small plane or helicopter from one of the many charter services that will give you a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon can be quite a family vacation adventure on a budget. If you like camping The North Rim is open for campers free of charge. Also there are plenty of benches and tables set up for eating. So make sure you pack your sleeping bags, tents and food so you won't need to spend any money for lodging or dining while visiting the Grand Canyon!

Washington DC - A Family Vacation on a Budget

Washington D.C. is our capital city full of markers and monuments of our great nation’s beginning, plus the ever present wheeling & dealing of democracy in action. There are more than just the buildings and monuments to see. The city is also known as a major tourist attraction for families and especially if your on a budget.

There is actually never a bad time to visit Washington DC with kids. Every season offers many fun activities and events that can be enjoyed by the entire family. Deciding what you want to do can be a real challenge. The best thing to do before visiting is check out Washington DC online with your family and carefully plan your visit. With so much to see and do it is impossible to do it all in one family vacation. So you may decide to make a few trips and not try to over extend your family in seeing as much as possible and not able to fully enjoy your vacation.

One thing is for sure, when you are looking for fun stuff to see and do most our free. Whether you want to visit the monuments and the seat of our government, leaning toward museums, kids want to go the National Zoo I have pulled together a list of attractions that will help you in planning your family vacation visit to Washington DC.

Here are some locations and of course they are free:

The White House, The US Capitol, The National Mall, The National Zoo, Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, National Museum of American History & the International Spy Museum to name a few.

When considering at trip to Washington DC with the family and lodging is a concern, hotel rates drop on weekends, during holidays, and in late July and August when Congress is not in session make a great time to visit. With rates in DC being the highest you may wish to consider staying in surrounding cities of Arlington or Alexandria for your hotel stay. Wherever you plan to stay make sure your hotel is near a Metrorail station. Parking in DC can be hard to find and costly traveling on the Metrorail is very economical.

For more information on Washington DC visit the Convention and Visitors Association. Start planning your next family vacation today!

Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Make an Excellent Family Vacation Destination

Located in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have been a family vacation destination for decades. Nestled in the Smokies these two locations have shows and attractions that include theme parks, thrill rides, family-friendly recreation, live entertainment theaters and variety shows. With the numerous number of activities everyone in the family will find something that is enjoyable and at the same time is affordable.

No matter what time of year you plan to visit these cities are great family vacation destinations. A great time to visit is in the Fall to take in spectacular views of the changing colors that paint the mountainside.

As attractions go in Pigeon Forge probably the top one is Dollywood. This theme park includes 125 acres of lively music, spectacular shows, thrilling amusement park rides and much more. Pigeon Forge also has 6 outlet malls for the shopping enthusiasts in the family. Visit here for more visitor and travel information on Pigeon Forge.

As for Gatlinburg one of the best attractions is Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. This 1.4 million gallon aquarium features over 10,000 creatures from around the world including twelve-foot sharks. Plan to spend at least two hours here to take in this attraction. And if aerial views are in your plans, then make your way to Ober Gatlinburg for a spectacular ride up the side of the mountain to a small amusement park at the top. For the official site of Gatlinburg visit here for a complete listing of entertainment, lodging choices and much more.

Regardless of your age, people who come to experience Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge will find something to enjoy. It's all here waiting for you and your family so start your planning today!

Planning a Family Vacation - Don't Exclude Water Parks

When planning a family vacation be sure to include water parks in your planning options. In the past water parks consisted of swimming pools and water slides offering a great way to stay cool on a hot day. However with the advancement of theme parks so to have water parks evolved mixing heart-pumping thrills with family-style fun.

Water parks have plenty of entertainment for the entire family including water rides with eighty-foot drops, lazy rivers, white-water rapids, lazy pools, arcades and outdoor games such as miniature golf and go-carts, which all can be found in today's water parks. There are slides for all levels and ages including water pools for the very youngest of family members.

Of course, some water parks do it better than others with mixing the family-style fun with the heart-pumping thrills. Here are the top 8 water park picks in the United States as selected by the Travel Channel for you to consider for your family vacation:

1. Noah's Ark, Wisconsin
2. Six Flags White Water, Georgia
3. Water World, Colorado
4. Soak City, California
5. Splish Splash, New York
6. Water Country USA, Virginia
7. Raging Waters, California
8. Schlitterbahn Waterpark, Texas
   

Family Vacation at Yellowstone National Park

A family vacation to Yellowstone National Park is fun and attractive destination for many people, especially families. It became a national park in 1872 that consisted of over 3,400 square miles with many geysers, hot springs, wildlife, rivers, lakes and other attractions. The park is actually situated in three different states that include Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Visitors can do many things following the rules of the park like wildlife watching, fishing, sightseeing, camping, skiing and other activities.

Here are some tips to consider when planning a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park:

1. Begin by visiting the website of Yellowstone National Park. This site has a vast amount of information about park wildlife, current issues to trip planning and information on making reservations in the park's campgrounds or other lodging. Involve the family in the planning stages through the online field trips and education resources available.
2. Yellowstone is 3.2 million acres big and it is best to select a home base, otherwise without careful planning you could spend most of your trip in the car. Select one or maybe two locations and plan to spend a few days in one area. The lodging in the park fills up first, but if you are looking for the best values you will want to consider the neighboring communities. Shop around and make sure you understand your lodging choices and especially where they are located.
3. Build plenty of time into your schedule. Nothing is more discouraging than having to try to do or see to much in too littler time. It takes time to maneuver around the park since the roads are narrow and mountainous and the average speed is usually around 30 mph.
4. Don't try to see everything. Yellowstone National Park is extremely large so you will want to try to get a little of everything that you are interested in and maybe a few things you are not. It is a good idea to keep a family trip log of what you have seen.
5. Plan to attend at least one ranger program during your visit to the park. Programs vary and are designed for families. Evening programs are offered at most of the campgrounds and developed areas.
6. Don't depend on cell phones or other technology. Many cell phones don't work with limited coverage and internet access is very hard to come by.

AND, Don't forget to have fun!

Family Vacation Deals: Busch Gardens Tampa

Family vacation deals are numerous, but one sure to get your attention is a trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. While Disney may have put theme into theme park, but when it comes to re-creating the wild in a safe environment Busch Gardens does it better than anyone. Since it's opening over 42 years ago as a bird sanctuary and visitors center Busch Gardens Tampa this theme park has expanded to 335 acres and includes over 2,700 creatures from 320 different species. And, let's not forget the thrill rides and entertainment. Busch Gardens is considered Florida's largest zoo, and is home to a host of free-roaming animals, which many are threatened or endangered in the wild.

With animals roaming the grounds of the 70-acres Serengeti Plain attraction visitors can travel through and observe giraffes, zebras, wild beasts, antelopes, and gazelles aboard a monorail, chug along train or in a safari truck. The Edge of Africa is a walking safari that allows visitors to stroll through abandoned African villages and into the natural habitats of lions, hippos, vultures, a Nile crocodile and other wild creatures. Meanwhile, The Myombe reserve, which hosts the Great Ape Domain allows visitors a glimpse into the world of chimps and gorillas, while making a trek through rugged terrain, thick vegetation and clouds of mist. In other areas of the park visitors can see birds, koalas, kangaroos, elephant and yellow and white Bengal tigers.

A new attraction to Busch Gardens is Rhino Rally, an eight-minute off road river safari with a Survivor theme. With a blend of thrill seeking and animal watching, Rhino Rally takes visitors on a guided course through 16-acres of African wilds and ends with a raging river ride. Different from other rides, this one attempts to turn spectators into competitors. 17 visitors ride in each land Rover and compete for the "world's off road trophy."

For more thrills, visitors have their selection of roller coasters from four steel track and one dual-track coasters. The Gwazi is a wooden duel-track coaster that features dueling trains that travel at speeds of 50 mph through 7,000 feet of track that includes six flyby encounters in which the two dueling trains come within feet of each other. Of the park's steel coasters, the Montu is the largest and fastest inverted steel coaster in the Southeast.

For those who aren't excited about being whisked through the air at high speeds or meeting up with a lion face-to-face there are numerous entertainment and food options, plus Adventure Island, a 30-acre water park. This definitely is one of the best in family vacation deals. Visit family vacation deals and begin your planning today for and exciting vacation to Busch Gardens Tampa!