Check out these U.S. Travel Destinations for how to have more fun by doing off-the-beaten-path activities.
A beach and a margarita have their place, sure, but sometimes you crave something infinitely more exciting. You want an adventure you can brag about, something you’ve always wanted to try or that you can check off your bucket list.
Hey, that’s what I’m here for – to provide inspiring ideas and the practical info you need to make more fun happen. I’ve got a whole year’s worth of crazy-fun adventures just waiting to be booked. Check these out:
JANUARY: Reach for the stars at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.
Matt Damon made it look easy in The Martian, but training to be an astronaut takes major mojo. High-pressure assignments on mission control? Difficult. Attempting to complete a mission while suited up and floating in zero gravity? Exponentially harder. You’ll try both scenarios, but not before you get lots of time in the simulators at this center founded by a former NASA director.
The three-day Family Space Camp includes meals, lodging and a full schedule of training from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day for adults and kids – talk about a STEM project! (They also have adults-only and kids-only camp options.)
FEBRUARY: Step up your sexy in New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans is known for being a bit risqué, so it’s the perfect place to learn some racy new moves on a girls’ trip. Make your vacation coincide with Mardi Gras (takes place in February) and you can check off a bucket-list item and do something a little daring.
In between nibbling on beignets on Bourbon Street and touring plantations and swamps, take a burlesque dance class led by world-famous performer Bella Blue at her French Quarter studio. You’ll learn the art of seduction – no feathers or tassels required!
MARCH: Explore the art scene in Scottsdale, Arizona.
This city 20 minutes east of Phoenix has more spas per capita than anywhere else in the U.S. So most people come here for massages, body treatments, and to soak up the sunshine and warm temps. But Scottsdale is also home to more than 100 art galleries, many concentrated around charming old town filled with kitschy Old-West storefronts, wine tasting rooms and farm-to-table restaurants.
Within walking distance to 14 art galleries and the Museum of Contemporary Arts is The Monarch, an ultra-mod and colorful hotel. Stay here with your girlfriends and enjoy DJ’d pool parties, spa treatments and paddleboard yoga in the pool. You can also check out loaner bikes or request a ride in one of their golf carts to various nearby locations if you don’t feel like walking.
APRIL: Swim with sharks (or dolphins or stingrays!) in Orlando, Florida.
Don a wetsuit and walk into a rocky pool to swim with five species of sharks at Discovery Cove, a man-made island paradise that lets you get up close to amazing animals. Their shark snorkel program is scary enough to get your adrenalin pumping (you’re in the water with about 20 sharks!) but super safe. Multiple trainers are in the pool with you and teach you about shark anatomy and the threats these predators face in the wild.
If the rest of your family isn’t the swim-with-sharks types, they’ll still have a great time padding around man-made beaches, floating down the lazy river, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling with tropical fish and stingrays, and feeding island birds by hand. Learn more about why you should skip Disney and go to Discovery Cove instead.
MAY: Experience theatre in an entirely new way in New York City, New York.
You don’t to be a fan of Broadway to totally dig the production Sleep No More, a sexy twist on Macbeth. Don Venetian masks and wander the hallways of a warehouse-turned-fictional-hotel to spy on the character’s devilish acts. Follow one character around or roam at will to stumble upon scenes being acted out throughout the six floors.
With the suspense of Hitchcock and the voyeurism of reality TV, this ain’t your mother’s theatre. Afterward, swap stories about what you saw – since no one’s experience of the show is the same – with fellow theatre-goers in the attached Parisian-style jazz bar. And of course, since you’re in NYC, enjoy incredible restaurants, shopping and the sights for one awesome weekend with your S.O. or friends.
JUNE: Backpack the Appalachian Trail in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Channel Reese Witherspoon in the movie Wild and head off into the mountains on a mind-clearing trek. If everything you know about survival comes from binge-watching Naked and Afraid from your couch, don’t worry.
A Walk in the Woods guide service provides all the backpacking gear, meals and a guide to lead you through the wilderness on a three-day, two-night trip. You’ll learn backpacking basics like how to wear a pack and hike long distances pain-free in the Great Smoky Mountains. By the end of your off-the-grid trip, you’ll be a newbie survivalist.
JULY: Learn to surf in San Diego, California.
Surfer girls have killer bodies but that’s not the only reason to ride the waves. Just being in the water puts you in a mildly meditative state. That means you’ll be instantly more relaxed and ready to hang ten on your first day of surfing.
Surfari Surf School offers 1.5-hour lessons that include all the gear and small-group instruction (three students to one instructor). You also get one hour afterward to practice what you learned at Mission Beach, one of the most popular beaches in San Diego. It’s around the corner from Belmont Park – a historic oceanside amusement park – and near the restaurants and bars on Ocean Front Walk.
AUGUST: Try your hand at farming in Rochester, Vermont.
There’s nothing like waking up to a rooster’s crow on a cool, summer morning knowing a hearty breakfast, strong coffee and a day of frolicking on a farm awaits you. At Liberty Hill Farm & Inn nestled in the Green Mountains, kids can help around the farm – from collecting eggs from the hens or apples from the orchard to milking cows and picking blackberries – while you kick up your feet with a good book.
You can also hike mountain trails or roll an inner tube down the road to White River for a leisurely float to the farm’s “beach.” Every day begins and ends with a farm-fresh meal around the family table, too.
SEPTEMBER: Attend the second-largest Ocktoberfest in the world in Cincinnati, Ohio.
More than half a million people come to America’s Oktoberfest, a three-day celebration of German heritage, beer and food in downtown Cincinnati. It’s the largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich with live German music on seven stages.
There’s more than 200 dishes of food to choose from and competitions like barrel racing and brat-eating contests. Don’t miss being a part of the “world’s largest chicken dance” and watching the Weiner dog races, too.
OCTOBER: Stomp grapes, sip wine and sample the harvest in Santa Rosa, California.
At the Harvest Fair of Sonoma County, teams of two have been competing in the World Championship Grape Stomp for 45 years. For a small registration fee, anyone 18 years or older can sign up and compete in the contest for a chance to win the $1,500 grand prize.
Name your team, dress up in costume if you like, and then work together to squish out as much juice as you can. One team member stomps grapes inside a wooden wine barrel while the other pushes the juice toward the spout. The team that collects the most juice wins!
After you’ve cleaned the grape juice off your legs, get a ticket to the Tasting Pavilion where you can sip wine from more than 100 local vineyards and try perfectly paired small bites.
NOVEMBER: Run like a rock star in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Only in Vegas could they make running a clubby experience. Sign up for the 5K, 10K, half or full marathon and race down the Strip at night. You’ll pass by blinking neon signs, the dancing Bellagio hotel fountains, and five outdoor stages with live bands. Past entertainers in the city’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Run have included the Goo Goo Dolls, Pitbull, Kid Rock, Snoop Dogg and Macklemore.
Finish in front of a fiery volcano at the Mirage hotel and celebrate at any number of restaurants, clubs or shows – runners get VIP freebies and discounts all over the city. The bonus? Taking home the spinning, glowing finisher medal.
DECEMBER: See the northern lights in Duluth, Minnesota.
You don’t have to go to Iceland or even Alaska to see the dancing, magical lights of the aurora borealis – the phenomenon that splashes colored light across the night sky. In Duluth, you can watch the lights twist over Lake Superior.
The northern lights are notoriously hard to predict ahead of time – they happen when there’s an explosion on the sun’s surface that sends microscopic particles into the earth’s atmosphere. But your best chance for spotting them is on clear winter nights.
During the day, enjoy Minnesota’s winter wonderland. You can go dog sledding, tubing, skiing, or fat-tire biking through the snow.
Going on an offbeat adventure is a great way to spice things up. So go for it. Do something different this year. I promise you won’t regret it and you’ll bask in the I-did-this-cool-thing-and-had-a-blast afterglow the rest of the year!
Happy travels,
P.S. Want fully-loaded, downloadable itineraries? Shop my travel guides for carefree travel-planning that takes the guesswork out of your trip. Guaranteed good times!
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