Iceland may not be the obvious family vacation choice, but it should be. Known as the "land of fire and ice,” Iceland's breathtaking scenery is largely due to the fact that it is one of the most volcanically active areas on earth. You will see this activity first-hand as you drive along its southern coastline which showcases a constantly changing geography of flat farmlands, mountains, fields of moss-covered lava rocks, black sand beaches, and steaming geothermal pools.
Read moreCummins Falls State Park - A Not So Hidden Gem That Is Still Worth Discovering
Cummins Falls State Park is one of Tennessee's newest state parks (dedicated in 2013), but people have been trekking to the 75 foot high falls for generations.
It is not the easiest of swimming holes to get to, but the magnificent falls and swimming hole at the end are enough of a draw that 250,000 people visited the falls in 2015. I wouldn't go near this place on Labor Day weekend, but on a Monday morning in May, it was a gorgeous pit stop on a drive between Nashville and Knoxville on I-40.
Read moreScience And Fun? Yes Please. Both Can Be Found At The Tellus Science Museum In North Georgia
This is a great museum- with a wonderful planetarium, interesting exhibits, and a fun kids section. If you are looking for a enjoyable and easy day trip for you and your kids from Atlanta or Chattanooga, you should definitely check out the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.
Read moreGreenville, SC- A Weekend Of Food And Outdoors
Overlooking the Reedy River from Main St in downtown Greenville.
I have been reading about Greenville for awhile, its food scene and the 20 mile Swamp Rabbit Trail, a rails to trails project that goes right through town. After 3 days there, I can say all its recent buzz is well deserved. We hiked, we biked, and we ate our way through town, having a great time the whole way. If you are looking for a weekend getaway spot, Greenville should be at the top of your list.
Read moreLooking For Educational And Fun Things To Do In Atlanta With Kids? Visit The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park
Outside the Visitor Center of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park was an excellent adventure, full of interesting immersive experiences, thought-provoking displays, and beautiful grounds for the kids to run a little bit. I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Atlanta with kids of any age, as there was something for everyone to enjoy.
Read moreNever Used Airbnb? It Will Change The Way You Travel
View from the huge deck of our Sydney Airbnb. One of my best finds ever.
If you are new to the world of Airbnb, let me just say it will open your mind to what can happen with travel accommodations. No more tiny hotel rooms, tip- toeing around as soon as the kids go to bed. Cook full breakfasts in your own kitchen and do laundry mid-trip. So grab a glass of wine, a comfy spot on the couch, and follow these steps below to find your amazing Airbnb.
Read moreZion National Park Without the Crowds (and the Heat!)
View from Kolob Canyons Road
Heading to Zion National Park in the summer is a family vacation to remember for sure but unfortunately, part of the memory will be waiting in line for shuttle buses and wilting in afternoon highs of 100℉. Because the canyon is so fantastic, the other memories easily outweigh these irritations but you can also skip them by detouring to Kolob Canyons, the unheralded northwest corner of the park. Here you can take scenic hikes, and drive through a beautiful canyon and actually stand a chance of finding some solitude on the trail. The higher elevation (700ft versus 4000ft) means that Kolob Canyons is great alternative when the heat is too much for hiking in the main canyon.
Read moreWhat Makes Our Itineraries Unique?
Where to stay, eat, and play. Find out with one click. You will have all the info you need to plan the perfect vacation. Destinations range from mountain getaways to national park explorations to international journeys, all delivered to your email as a PDF file for easy printing or viewing on any mobile device.
A pre-planned trip itinerary will save you hours of groundwork and provides great tips for your family, allowing you more time to enjoy the fun. Many itineraries are free, others are priced from $5- $15. Money-back guarantee. Get inspired for your next vacation!
Read more7 Gift Ideas for the Traveling Kid
I am forever on the lookout for gifts that are practical and needed but also fun. That's a hard combo to find. We travel a great deal and the kids always look forward to their next trip so I often focus my gifts on something they can use on their next adventure. Here are a few things that have worked out really well for us in the past.
Read moreKid's Fire Tablet or I-Pad? It's an easy answer.
In this day and age, it’s almost inevitable that you will buy an electronic device for your child. But what is the best option?
For my first daughter, now 11 years old but age 5 at the time, I splurged and bought her an iPad mini after growing tired of loaning her my own. I happily welcomed back my Ipad, now free of sticky finger prints and botched control settings, but I had misgivings about her now owning a device that could be easily broken and provided open access to its settings and the internet. In short, the iPad was parent intensive. Between loading appropriate content, monitoring screen time, and limiting what she could see and access, it required a lot of my time.
Read moreThinking About Visiting the Great Barrier Reef? Look at Staying on Hamilton Island.
By Toby Hudson - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11137678
If you are traveling to Australia, there is a good chance the Great Barrier Reef is on your list of things to see. If it is not on your list, then maybe you need to reconsider. If one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World doesn't do it for you, then consider that it may not be around much longer as it is under tremendous stress from warming ocean temperatures. That fact moved it from the "I would like to someday..." to the "Need to do this now..." list for me. (And yes, I get the irony of using huge amounts of fossil fuels to get somewhere to see something that is disappearing because of huge amounts of fossil fuel use.)
Once you decide that the Great Barrier Reef is on your to do list, there a few ways to see it. Most fly to the city of Cairns in northern Queensland as it is very close to the reef, has hundreds of hotels, and a huge tourist industry devoted to Great Barrier Reef excursions. We decided to try something different though and flew to Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands.
Read moreMy new favorite island of Hydra- Why I dragged 9 of my family members onto a ferry to visit this car-free oasis.
The largest town on Hydra, also called Hydra. Or Hydra port or Hydra town. It is not as confusing as it sounds, I promise.
I was excited about visiting Hydra as soon as I came across a description of it in a guidebook- small, no cars, beautiful, no cars, easily accessible from the mainland, historic architecture, no cars..... I was desperate to go to this non- motorized paradise and made the rest of the family go with me. It did not disappoint. We loved this island.
Read moreNo time to plan a vacation? We've already done it for you...
The constant act of juggling work and family, running errands, and shuttling kids between activities leaves most families more than ready to escape their daily routine for even just a few days. But for many parents, planning a vacation just adds to an already growing list of things to do. That’s why Amy Ragsdale, mother of two daughters, and Amanda Luhn, aunt and frequent travel companion to eight nieces and nephews, have recently launched www.simplyawesometrips.com, a travel web site offering family trip itineraries to destinations in the U.S. and abroad.
Read moreWhy Two Friends Decided to Start a Travel Company-SimplyAwesomeTrips.com
First off- Happy Spring Everybody! Not that this winter has been anything winter- like (at least for us in the South) but I still love the dogwoods blooming and the first days of T- shirts and sundresses. It also seems happily coincidental that this is the time of year it worked out for Amy and I to begin our website. Since this is our first blog post ever, I feel like it is a good time to explain a little bit about what we are about.
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