May is the BEST time to confirm summer vacation plans - My tips for great trips :)

Even though a lot of people have already planned any summer travel they want to do, there is still time if you missed the boat or haven't been ready to lock in plans. And I have some EASY ideas...

It’s May now, and for us that means we’re in the last few weeks of school (I know that’s not everyone). This year has been flying by with the crumbling of American democracy and visiting cool places amidst the chaos. Today I wanted to share some easy, fun summer vacation plans that YOU can put together with little notice. I’m one of those people who plans way far in advance, but that’s not how everyone else operates, so hopefully you’ll find some encouragement and helpful tips today.

I’m not getting into the despair that’s sweeping the nation in this week’s newsletter because it’s too much. As we’re getting ready to send our oldest into public high school in Florida in just three short month, the disassembling of the Dept of Ed and some of the different actions states are taking is just too much to process at the moment, so I’m focusing on what I can control today and what brings me joy: talking about travel! Thank you for giving me a bit of grace while I write this week from a viewpoint of pretending that the world is okay.

Also, if my newsletter isn’t your jam, please just unsubscribe. Last week somehow I ended up with a huge stack of hate emails from trolls responding to my newsletter, so I don’t know what was up with that. I don’t have the energy to deal with that crap, so if I’m not your cup of tea, just peace out quietly. Thank you!

New on our Travel Blogs this Week

I am excited to take a break from social media for the next week because it really is a time suck. I had several things I had to do on Insta and such that ate up my time, so hopefully having a week of social media detox will help me get recentered. Here’s what I DID get completed this week though:

• 2TravelDads.com - I’m still working through our New York articles and writing about the details of planning and doing the most worthwhile stuff. Soon I’ll have a fresh guide up, but in the meantime this week I was able to publish articles about the Great Gatsby on Broadway, visiting the Statue of Liberty (and climbing to the Crown) and a detailed article about the Empire State Building and why I think it’s the most worthwhile attraction in Manhattan.

• MyAlaskaTrip.com - With the unofficial end of Aurora Season in Alaska I was able to publish two articles about different Northern Lights experiences, both of which are really fun and give you a chance to warm up between light bursts: Aurora Pointe in Fairbanks and the Chena Aurora Tour (this was a late night adventure I’d happily do again!). There’s more coming, including several lodge and hotel features.

• MyAlohaTrip.com - I got some writing done, but I haven’t gotten the chance to publish any thing new this week. The latest is still all about camping on Maui with articles about Camping at Haleakala National Park and Camp Olowalu near Lahaina. More is coming soon though!

• TheKeysExplored.com - Our trip through the Florida Keys last month was a blast. It was 10 days of sunshine and new experiences. Fresh on the blog we’ve got the scoop on the wild boat ride to Dry Tortugas National Park (it was rough), our beautiful stay at the Faro Blanco Resort on Marathon, and one of the best Key West charter experiences I’ve had going out with Lazy Dog Adventures doing a sandbar and paddle charter. There’s more on the way, but that’s all I could get done this week.

Summer Vacation Planning Tips and Ideas

Since most of my newsletter peeps are based in the USA and it’s feeling iffy planning international travel right now (that’s how we feel) I’ve got some great ideas for being able to explore here in the States with a few different types of trips. Each of these options can be done either on a budget or full on luxe. I’m a big fan of road trips, but I know not everyone else is, so adjust my suggestions for what you think will be the most fun for you and your fam!

Wyoming Road Trip

There’s more to Wyoming than visiting Yellowstone National Park including small towns, beautiful canyons, tons of wildlife and more. Yes, you should always include Yellowstone on any trip to Wyoming, but add to that some cool spots like Cody, Lander and Kemmerer. You’ll get the chance to stay in cabins, yurts, you can go camping or you can do it all in hotels. You can make it fit almost any budget.

Check out our Western Wyoming Road Trip plan for an easy and fun adventure. We did this by flying into Salt Lake City (Utah is next door) and driving up through Wyoming, exiting Yellowstone into Montana and returning our rental car in Bozeman, MT. It’s very doable with small kids or teens, as there are fun things to do, interesting towns and lots of hiking opportunities all over the place.

This trip includes:

• Yellowstone NP

• Fossil dig sites, including active dinosaur dig areas

• waterfall hikes

• wildlife watching

• old west and rodeo experiences

New York City with Kids

I know, I moan about having to visit NYC whenever I have a work trip there, but I’ve actually started to really enjoy visiting since bring the family along. Last month we had a great trip to New York and it really refreshed my memory as to why it’s such a fun city to visit with kids. I’m still putting together a bigger guide to planning a NYC vacation, but I have lots of articles up already. And Broadway is a big part of visiting New York, so check out our show reviews if you want to add one to a visit.

Visiting New York with older kids is a chance to take in so much culture… and consumerism if you feel like shopping is a vacation activity. New York is a good 5 day trip, but I think more than that can feel like too much, and it becomes pretty costly.

Our New York City ideas include:

• Broadway shows (loved Little Shop of Horrors, SIX and Wicked)

• Lower Manhattan historic sites

• the Empire State Building

• the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

• Times Square

• MOMA and the Met

• New York Public Library and Morgan Library and more!

Alaska Road Trip

I know that Alaska can be one of the most expensive destinations to visit in the USA, but it’s also amazing. A lot of people visit via a cruise ship, but that’s only giving you a small taste of what you can actually experience. I love doing road trips in AK because you can see and do so much, and there are all kinds of adventurous things to do that you might not consider anywhere else.

I think doing a Two Week Alaska Road Trip is the best option in the summer, but you can also spend just a week and still have an awesome time (one week itinerary here). A big highlight of visiting Alaska in the summer is getting to do both Kenai Fjords National Park and Denali National Park. I’ll be honest though, if Denali National Park is important to you and you don’t have your Tundra Wilderness Tour booked yet, you may feel like it’s not worth planning, but there is another way to get into the park (restricted entry most of the year). As of now, there are still lots of reservations available for the Denali Transit Bus that takes you deep into the park.

Here’s what you’ll find in our Alaska road trip itineraries:

• Anchorage sites

• Kenai Peninsula (Seward and Homer)

• fishing experiences

• Palmer and the MatSu Valley (hiking and glaciers)

• Talkeetna

• Denali National Park

• Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs

BONUS: Big Island of Hawaii

If you’ve been watching the news, you know that Kilauea (active volcano) in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been having non-stop eruption episodes that are absolutely incredible to experience. There’s a lot more to the Big Island of Hawai’i, but I will forever ooh and ahh over lava. We have lots of trip planning advice and itineraries on our Hawaii site, so check it out and see if you can plan a trip out to the Islands of Aloha this summer!

Our ideas on the Big Island include:

• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

• Guided hikes on private land to really cool places

• unique beaches, like black sand and green olivine sand

• Hawaiian historic sites

• Luau experiences and more

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That’s everything I wanted to share this week. We have a lot happening in our house with our 8th grade trip happening, the end of the school year coming, a trip to Houston at the end of the month and then a jam packed summer. Thank you for following along and supporting us/me as I continue to write and share. I enjoy getting to be a travel writer (first published 27 years ago) and having people that tune into what I’m working on brings me so much joy! Thank you :)

Have a great week, stay healthy and safe, and I can’t wait to share next week about what we did over the next few days. I’m sure that the upcoming experience with our school trip is going to give me some great stories to share. Take care!