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Take the Family to Pigeon Forge

By Lolita Mordinova | by Lolita Mordinova

Featured

Planning an ultimate Vacation? If you’re tired of the traditional trips to the beach and looking for something new and exciting, there is nothing quite like a trip to Pigeon Forge. Experience the ultimate feel of relaxation with all the activities they offer.

This incredible getaway spot will leave you breathless and rejuvenated. All the adventure and excitement you can imagine is packed into one spot that is guaranteed to be the perfect getaway for your family and is a bit more budget friendly than a Caribbean vacation.

The Five Rivers Adventures gives you an up close and breathtaking view of the spectacular scenery. It’s a perfect addition to your schedule, and the kids will love it. This tour guided trip also includes a picnic lunch. Keep in mind that this activity is seasonal and opens during the month of March up to the month of October only.

Another famous activity is Rafting in the Smokies. Enjoy the Rocky Top Outfitters with a fully stocked fly and tackle shop, featuring modern and high-quality spin and fly fishing equipments.

The Rocky Top Outfitters have professional guides that you can hire during the season. Your kids will love the thrill of rafting across the river through a spray of white water; kids always seem to like getting wet.

After white-water rafting, you might be looking for something more relaxing. Attending a show is the perfect way. And The Louise Mandrell show just may be the one. Louise Mandrell is a one woman band that can performs multiple shows. She plays everything from the fiddle drums to the base and throws in dance routines that would even make an athlete gasp for breath.

Another show is the Comedy Barn. A family-friendly show, no need for the kids to have earmuffs and even the youngest should enjoy this kind of show. There is nothing quite like clean country comedy and a night full of laughter.

While there, why not toss in a little education. By visiting the famous Tennessee Museum of Aviation which is located in the parkway of Pigeon Forge.

You can take a leisurely stroll through the premises, and observe the impressive and extensive collection of aviation memorabilia. This part of Pigeon Forge gives honor to some known Tennesseans who have contributed a lot in the field of aerospace and aviation.

Hooray for Dollywood!!
You won’t want to miss taking a trip to Dollywood, an amusement park that combines country music, great rides, and some tasty food. And who doesn’t love Dolly Parton!! Among the 40 rides and attractions are the Thunderhead and Mystery Mine roller coasters. Dollywood’s Splash Country, was twice recognized by the Travel Channel as one of the country’s top ten water parks. This has fun for the kids written all over it whether they know who Dolly Parton is or not.

There truly is no place quite like Pigeon Forge. It’s a vacation your family is sure to remember forever and probably want to visit again.…

Travel

Grand Oasis Cancun

By Lolita Mordinova | by Lolita Mordinova

Featured

Straight off the wire from Hot-Wire here’s a great family travel deal.

You can get an all-inclusive Grand Oasis Cancun beach resort from a low $379* per person, flight included.

Kids stay, play and eat at no extra charge. Did you notice the * after the price along with the word “from”? That tells you that the price shown is a bare minimum.

Most times you have to go upgrade a bit to get what you want. You wouldn’t be sleeping on the veranda but you won’t be in a penthouse suite either.

One more thing that gets me about these type of buy now advertisements is the announcement that kids stay free.

In my travels I’ve not come across a hotel or resort where the kids had to pay extra. Maybe I’ve just dodged those places or have been lucky.

At any rate, this offer is exclusive to Cheapcaribbean.com so surf on over to their site and check it out.

The greatest part about these inclusive offers is that kids eat free. Whether you have one child or five, free food for them is a bonus. And with this deal from CheapCaribbean alcohol is included, Woo-hoo!

Grand Oasis Cancun is a pyramid type structure which gives everyone a spectacular view of the sea. It’s located in the center of the Hotel Zone of Cancun, directly on the beach.

You’ll get your fill of shopping, and there are plenty bars and restaurants. The Grand Oasis is only 12 miles from the Cancun International Airport which is about a 25 minute ride and 20 minutes from downtown Cancun.

This is a great venue for water sports, especially the complimentary kayaks, paddleboats and surfboards. They even offer complimentary green fees if you want to golf.

Want to burn more calories?

A tennis court is available with available instruction, if there’s an instructor free; plus rental equipment and lights for night play are available at an additional charge.

OK, this place sounds awesome!!! I could be here all day describing the rest of the amenities so in the interest of brevity I’ll get right to it.

There’s a multipurpose field, gymnasium, pool, entertainment provided by the hotel staff, live shows, free parking and taxes and gratuities are included. Wow, that’s a bunch!!

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3 Ways to Save on Beach Vacations

By Lolita Mordinova | by Lolita Mordinova

Featured

Here’s three simple ways to save on beach vacation travel. We all know that the beach is an incredible experience.

No matter whether you’ve traveled to far western Australia or taken a quick weekend trip to the Jersey Shore, barring rain, the beach is usually a really enjoyable experience. It’s a matter of taking the time to do a little extra research.

Well, you are in luck. The travel research has been done for you, all you have to do is be willing to keep reading. Before you know it, you’ll be taking the beach vacation of your life, at a discount. Here we go:

1) Buy it used. Well, not really used: more like discounted (or unused actually). Sometimes, people can put their vacation properties up at real discounts. Did you know that there are all sorts of people out there who own time shares but can’t use them for whatever reason?

Maybe the season isn’t right, or they can’t seem to get the flight that they need. Ebay has a thriving market for timeshare opportunities. A lot of the listings are permanent (e.g. people looking for others to buy their times shares out completely), but sometimes people are just looking to monetize a weeks worth of timeshare that they can’t seem to use themselves.

Their loss can be your opportunity. Pay attention to the bidding and the time left on it if you’re searching on Ebay.

2) Compare everything. Guess what? Expedia and Orbitz seem like they are juggernauts of internet travel and they control a lot of the market. BUT, they don’t have every vendor available.

A lot of the discount airlines like SouthWest and JetBlue don’t use either of these massive companies and you can only get their deals by going directly to their website.

Don’t tell anyone, but from what I’ve heard, JetBlue is supposed to have really nice seats and monitors on new planes with really good prices. I haven’t flown JetBlue yet, but it’s supposed be really good (especially at delivering good value on Northeast to Florida routes). That tip alone could save you some bucks while getting you a really nice flight.

3) The first 2 points are perfectly valid in any trip planning but almost worthless when you consider that you might have to shell out a lot more bucks for destinations abroad.

There is a beautiful beach state located not too far from anyone East of the Mississippi. That’s right. Florida. Florida is back and it’s beaches are still fantastic. Florida is still beautiful. There has been a lot of development of Florida during the last 50 years, but Florida is still a massive state with plenty of undiscovered beaches.

The state of Florida can be great if you know where to look. It’s pretty nice. And the undiscovered spots of Florida can really be something else. However, they are becoming more and more difficult to find as thousands of people migrate to Florida in search of a warmer climate.…

Travel

Washington D.C. with Kids: 15 Great Ideas and Walking Tours

By Lolita Mordinova | by Lolita Mordinova

Washington D.C., our nation’s capital, is a gorgeous area with a thousands of great restaurants, walking tours and things to do. However, I have only been there as an adult traveling with another adult. I can name off tons of great “un”friendly places to take children, like long leisurely dining places.

In fact, if you are going with older children or without children, I highly recommend to take walking tours in Washington DC. Also the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. My husband and I went here a couple years ago, and it was the most moving and educational museum I have ever encountered. Also take a look at those tours here.

However, since I do have very young children now and this is a site geared to families, I asked my new friend, Jon, over at The DC Traveler, to help. Jon sent me a list of suggestions and things to do, especially with families in mind.

15 Great Ideas in Washington DC Area

1) Remember to keep museum visits short based on the kid’s ages, attention spans and interests.

2) The always kid-favorite Natural History museum can keep the attention of just about any kid (and adult too). Dinosaurs, insects, the Hope Diamond and lots of special activities for kids in the Discovery Room, Insect Zoo and Naturalist Center are sure to delight the little ones.

3) Ride the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument to get a bird’s eye view of the Mall area and city.

4) The Air & Space museum is still considered among the “really cool? Smithsonian museums by most kids. Space ships, planes and rockets and even a moon rock to touch memorize most children.

5) The National Archives holds the Declaration of Independence the kids have hopefully studied about in school and it usually takes less than an hour to tour.

6) I’d recommend avoiding the art museums with young kids. That way they don’t get bored and crabby looking at the 153rd presidential portrait.

7) Take advantage of all the parks and open areas around the National Mall. Let the kids run around once in a while as you relax and enjoy lunch under a tree near a monument.

Rent bikes and tour the Mall. Even kids as young as 4 can be put on a tandem trailer or carriage behind your bike. Check out Bike the Sites for rentals.

9) If kids are at least 16 years old, take a tour of the Mall on a Segway 2-wheeled transporter. Your kids will think you are the coolest…not to mention being able to brag to their friends back home about their experience. Plus, it’s a really fun way to tour the Mall and get your introductory bearings.

Outside the Smithsonian “Castle” on the National Mall is the Carousel on the Mall. Take the kids for a ride and enjoy some cotton candy.

9) Near the Jefferson Memorial in the Tidal Basin you can rent a paddle boat. Kids …