5 outside-the-box family vacations
A view of the rugged Beartooth Mountains as seen from the Beartooth Pass near Red Lodge, Mont. Credit: Getty Images / iStock / Danielrao
Planning your next family vacation? Turn the tables and try something new and different. Here are five ideas to consider:
1. Trade a ritzy resort for the backcountry. For the purest connection to nature, make your way off the beaten path. Hike, paddle or float into a pristine location where your family can learn or hone wilderness skills. Encourage each person to take responsibility for the adventure, whether that be early research, carrying a small pack, collecting kindling or serving as master storyteller around the fire.
INFO backcountry.com; nps.gov
2. Trade the country for the city. Join Sofitel New York in its salute to Broadway and the Tony Awards. Check in to the midtown hotel’s Tony Awards Suite, a luxury space with Broadway memorabilia, including scripts from award-winning plays, photographs, playbills and a video loop of footage from this season’s most popular productions. Head to the TKTS booth in Time Square to snag last-minute, discounted tickets.
INFO sofitel-new-york.com; tdf.org
3. Put down the clubs and pick up a racket. At the Woodstock Inn & Resort in Vermont’s Green Mountains, the new family programs include instruction at the Woodstock Tennis Academy. The program consists of four half-day sessions, Monday through Thursday. (Check the website for dates and details.) While visiting the 2,500-plus acre property, families can also enjoy hiking, mountain biking, fishing and gardening classes.
INFO woodstockinn.com
4. Trade terra firma for a boat that floats. Have a family adventure aboard a Disney cruise ship. Choose from four vessels, Disney Wonder, Magic, Dream or Fantasy, each designed to conjure a bygone era but with plenty of modern amenities. Expect top-notch services, daily character meet-and-greets, movies, performances, pool time and a menu of enrichment experiences. What you won’t find: a casino.
INFO disneycruise.disney.go.com
5. Don't fly over, make it a road trip. The Beartooth Highway, a windy, cliff-hugging 68-mile stretch, introduces road explorers to the visual trifecta of Montana, Wyoming and Yellowstone Park. It’s also the highest-elevation highway in the Northern Rockies. Stunningly beautiful, the All-American Road showcases wide, high alpine plateaus, glacial lakes, forested valleys, waterfalls and wildlife. Plan to pull over frequently.
INFO beartoothhighway.com
