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In this site: Travel articles and many links about various topics, such as lodging, tourist attractions, transportation, and more. 

Zion National Park

This park is 600 square kilometres in size. It is full of impressive cliffs and canyons, rich plant life (over 800 kinds of plants) including hanging gardens and forests, and many wild animals (75 species of mammals, 270 species of birds and more).This park is home to the largest natural arch in the world: Kolob Arch, 95 metres wide. The lowest point of the park is 1128 metres above sea level, the highest at 2660 metres above sea level. The pioneers named it Zion as they thought its beauty was heavenly and holy. It was declared a national park in 1919. Entry is 10 dollars per private vehicle for a week. The recommended length for a visit to this park is one full day.

 The Grand Canyon

The grand Canyon is the most famous canyon in the word. The Colorado River, now winding through the bottom of the canyon, is what created this incredible geological wonder. The width of the canyon changes between 6.5 kilometres and 22 kilometres; its depth is 1600 metres measured from the southern rim and 1900(!) metres from the northern rim. The Northern rim is taller: 2680 metres above sea level compared to the 2100 metres of the southern rim. The canyon’s length is 443 kilometres but only a relatively small part of it can be seen from the national park’s viewing points. Regardless, The park is at the most breathtaking part of the canyon. Part of the uniqueness of the canyon stems from its colourful layers of rock, created over tens of millions of years and now exposed to the eyes of viewers from above. The Grand Canyon is a sort of natural museum for the history of the Earth.

Miami for Families

The best place to stay in Miami is Miami Beach, known for its long, beautiful beaches (over 10 kilometres!) and the many hotels along them. This vacationing spot is especially popular in the winter, when residents of colder areas of the US escape to warm, sunny Florida. The most famous and lively area of Miami Beach is South Beach.

Miami itself is known for its high crime rate, so it’s best to be cautious. Don’t go out on the streets after dark (not even in a car) and keep your children close. The city has many Cuban immigrants and the Central and South American influence is well evident in it: in Miami you will hear more Spanish than English.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon

Sequoia and Kings Canyon are two beautiful neighbouring national parks, often visited together. Sequoia is the southern of the two parks. The two of them together are 3416 square kilometres.

Sequoia is the second oldest national park in the US, after Yellowstone. It was declared a national park in 1890 in order to protect the enormous sequoia trees growing in it, including General Sherman Tree, the biggest tree in the world. Sequoia is also home to the tallest mountains in the US (outside of Alaska): Mt. Whitney and Mineral King. Kings Canyon was declared a national park only in 1940.

Lake Powell

A trip to Lake Powell is one of the highlights of a holiday to western USA.

The town of Page lies on the bank of the Colorado River near Glen Canyon Dam, one of the most impressive dams in the US. Don’t miss a visit to this dam! The dam’s visitor centre is open daily from 7AM to 6PM in the summer and from 8AM to 5PM in every other season. Entry and tour are free!

This dam created one of the largest and most beautiful manmade reservoirs in the US – Lake Powell. Its blue waters contrast boldly with the reddish hues of the mountains surrounding it. The waters of the lake have eroded the rocks around them into marvellous shapes; the most famous of these is Rainbow Bridge, the world’s largest natural bridge. Next to the dam is a big harbour, where you can take a tour boat for trips of two hours or more in the lake. The most impressive tour – and also the longest – is to Rainbow Bridge National Monument on the eastern side of the lake. You can also rent a speedboat, a fun experience for people of any age (though not recommended for those prone to seasickness). In the summer I recommend booking your boat ahead of time! You can also rent a yacht at the lake and live on it for a few days. This is an expensive experience, but a popular one.

Death Valley National Park - USA

Death Valley is two hours northwest of Las Vegas. It is a very unique and large national park, 100km long and 40km wide. The valley contains an incredible combination of dry desert views surrounded by snowy mountains 5000 tall. Some places of interest in the park visit have dark and gloomy names such as Hell’s Gate, Devil’s Golf Course and Dante’s View. The most extraordinary thing about this park is its great variety of landscapes of every hue and shape, all created by nature. At the centre of the park are enormous sand dunes which you can climb and roll or slide down. At the northern part of the park is Scotty’s Castle, a magnificent building built by a rich man from Chicago.

Tourist season is only from October to March, as the summer heat is unbearable: It can get as hot as 48 degrees Celsius in the shade, and the hottest temperature ever measured in the world was here: a ground temperature of 84 degrees C in 1972. This is the hottest and driest place in America. In the winter the weather is pleasant during the day and quite cold at night.

Everglades National Park -USA

This park is the only large subtropical area in the US. It is made up of vast areas of sweet water, sea water and swamps. The park also has mangrove forests.Many animals live in the Everglades, including sea snakes, crocodiles, alligators, and manatees. It serves as a nesting ground for many different species of birds, especially colourful water birds, some of them endangered. This national park is a million and a half acres in size (half of them are water). The Everglades are actually a wide and shallow slow-flowing river. The best way to see this park is by foot on the wooden walkways, by boat and from overlooks.

The Overseas Highway to the Florida Keys

If you are in or near Miami, take advantage of this opportunity for a beautiful trip on across U.S. Route 1 to the Florida Keys. This road goes through 22 small islands, reefs and capes interconnected by long bridges. This road is called the Overseas Highway and it is one of the most unique and scenic roads in the United States.

The overseas highway

The drive (without any stops) to Key West, the last of the keys, takes roughly 3.5 hours. However, as a large part of the fun in this road trip is the road itself, I highly recommend stopping in some of the keys, looking out at the views, enjoying the beaches and touring the small towns along the way. Next to each of the impressive bridges linking the islands is an area where you can park and look at the view.

Along the islands are several ocean reserves which are great for diving. One particularly well known one is John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park, at the north of Key Largo. Twice a day, glass-bottom boats leave the reef for a two and a half hour trip. There are aquariums and screenings about the creatures of the reef in the park’s visitor centre. Another great reserve is the Looe Key Marine Sanctuary, which is south of the longest of the bridges: The Seven Mile Bridge. Even people who don’t like diving will enjoy the beautiful beaches of golden sand and coconut trees. Dolphin lovers who have not had their fill of them in Orlando should stop on the way to visit Islamorada and Marathon City, where dolphin shows are held.

A Tour of Hershey and the Amish Towns

This trip combines a visit to the town of Hershey, the original home of the famous American chocolate, with a visit to Amish towns where it seems like time has been standing still for centuries.

Hershey

Hershey is a small touristy town whose entire tourist appeal is based solely on its chocolate factory. The actual Hershey’s chocolate factories have long ago moved elsewhere, but the town remains loyal to the company and to the many tourists flooding their town. Many interesting attractions now stand where the factory used to be. The main attraction is Hershey’s Chocolate World, where you can take a 12-minute tour in trolleys moving along a chocolate assembly line, starting with cocoa beans and ending with the finished product. The tour is free and ends in a big and colourful Hershey’s chocolate store.

Nearby are several other attractions: There is a large theme park called Hersheypark, open from mid-May to early September. It features over 50 rides including 6 roller coaster and 6 waterslides. Another attraction is the Hershey Gardens, botanical gardens which are also open from mid-May to early September. Finally, there isThe Hershey Story, a museum about the history of Hershey’s chocolate.

Guided Tours of Manhattan

Besides a myriad of attractions, Manhattan also offers its visitors a great variety of guided tours. Some are more general, great for first-time visitors to the city, and some more specific, focusing on a particular area, neighbourhood or topic (such as films, arts, food, etc). Some tours include physical activities such as bike riding or walking, while others are more passive and include bus, trolley or boat rides. Some tours are a full day, others half a day and others still are just two or three hours long.

There is such a huge selection of tours that picking the ones that are just right for you can be very difficult, especially if your time in the city is short.

Extended Stay Hotels

Extended stay hotels are the most comfortable kind of lodging for the travelling family. The rooms aren’t simply rooms, but apartments with at least one bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen. There is no need to cook every meal inside your apartment, but having the option to cook for yourself is very handy. Staying in a single hotel or motel room as a family can get very crowded and uncomfortable, so after several weeks of travelling it is lovely to stay somewhere where there is enough space for everyone to be comfortable.

If you are staying in a single destination for a full week, you can stay at a vacation home, which is usually cheaper than renting two motel rooms. There is a wide variety of options: a villa with a private swimming pool, a mountain cottage, a condo, and others. Some vacation home owners agree to renting out for a shorter time frame (4-5 nights), but for many travellers this is not a viable option as they want to stay in each location for only two or three nights, sometimes less. The best option for such families is extended stay hotels. There are rapidly growing extended stay hotel chains all over the US and Canada.

Travel Guide to New York for Families

New York isn’t the classic city for family holidays, but a trip to the US isn’t complete without a visit to New York. Any family member of any age will be impressed with the huge, busy city, its amazing variety, its tall buildings and its many sights to see. No one can remain indifferent to this lively city. Some hate it, but others are enchanted by it and return again and again. 

The optimal stay time for a family in New York is three to five days. In this time period you will not get to see all that the city holds, of course, but you will definitely be able to see its main attractions, especially those intended for kids as well.

Staying in a Villa near Orlando

Orlando is full of hotels and motels of every kind. You can get a decent room at a good location for less than 50 dollars. But there is another living option in Orlando that is far better for families: staying at an apartment or villa. Staying at a 2-3 bedroom apartment in a vacation apartment complex costs 60-100 dollars, depending on the location and the time of the year. However, for 100-140 dollars a night you can live in a dreamy villa with 3-5 bedrooms, a living room, a family room, a big, fully equipped kitchen, a dining room, private parking, and the main attraction: a big private pool with a lovely patio. The patio and pool are protected from mosquitoes and other bugs by a flyscreen.

The Main Attractions and Hotels in the Strip of Las Vegas

Circus Circus:

Circus Circus was the first casino hotel. Over twenty years ago it adopted the idea of providing fun activities for the whole family alongside casino facilities. An entire floor of the hotel is dedicated to circus shows that take place every fifteen minutes from 11AM to midnight. Around it are many carnival sideshow attractions where kids and adults can win stuffed toys of every shape and size. Right next to the hotel is an indoor theme park (very good for the hot summer months) called Adventuredome Theme Park. The rides are suitable for all ages. You can purchase a daily ticket for unlimited use of all the rides, or alternatively buy single tickets for specific rides.

Large Theme Parks in Orlando

Orlando is a very popular tourist destination and is the most suitable city for family recreation in the United States. There is no other place in the world that provides such an abundance of options for leisure and entertainment for families.

The turning point in the development of Orlando's tourism was in 1971, following the opening of Walt Disney World. Orlando quickly developed from a quiet town to an international tourist attraction.

Orlando has branches of famous theme parks; Universal Studios, Sea World, the water park Wet and Wild and others. For a short trip Orlando may be chosen as the main destination, simply because it has everything. In the center of Florida there are over 1200 lakes and dozens of nature parks. The John F. Kennedy Space Center is also close to the city. Unlike other big cities like New York, living expenses in Orlando are relatively cheap and fit any budget, from cheap motels to lavish villas at attractive prices.

Guide to Motels in USA

People who are new to vacationing in North America may be unfamiliar with motels. The word ‘motel’ is a portmanteau of the words ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’ – meaning a roadside hotel. If you do not have a car you will have to stay in hotels in central city areas, which are far more expensive (double the price or more). If you have rented a car, however, I recommend living outside of the busy central areas, just a few miles outside of the city centre. There, prices drop significantly while service remains just as good.

Family Diners in USA

The US has many chains of family restaurants with a typical American menu and kids’ menus with activities to keep your child occupied and entertained until your food arrives. The kids’ menu comes with crayons and features puzzles, colouring pages and the like. Some well-known family restaurant chains are Denny’s, Friendly’s, Perkins’, Shoney’s, Applebee’s, and Chili’s Grill & Bar (the latter specialises in American and Mexican food).

Americans love Steak. As such, you will find steakhouses around every corner. The best steakhouse chain, in my opinion, is Texas Road House, which has over 200 restaurants in 39 states. Before your meal you get delicious sweet bread buns.

Italian food lovers will also have a plenty to eat in the US. Some of the big Italian restaurant chains are Olive Garden, California Pizza Kitchen, and The Old Spaghetti Factory.