Places to See, and Beach Vacations. Cedar Point, Puerto Vallarta, Seattle.

Here’s a short article from ABC’s Channel 7 in Chicago about some ideas and deals for a summer vacation. I loved seeing Cedar Point on there. Being from Ohio, I grew up going to Cedar Point.

Summer Vacation Steals

Puerto Vallarta

Apple Vacations launched their first-ever 2-week “Summer Super Sale” on May 21st with great savings on family travel. All sale packages must be booked by June 2, so travelers will only have 3 days to take advantage of these great deals.

For example, with this sale, Apple Vacations is offering an amazing beach vacation steal to Puerto Vallarta.

Canto del Sol Plaza Vallarta, located in the in the heart of the city, offers three restaurants, snack bar, two bars, pool, tennis courts, nightly entertainment, daily activities, non-motorized watersports, gym and kid’s club.

Seattle

Expedia.com is currently offering their largest sale ever for summer travel May 1 – September 4. Packages must be booked by July 10th.

As part of the sale, Expedia is offering a vacation steal for a city getaway to Seattle. For $714/person, enjoy roundtrip airfare from Chicago’s O’Hare airport to Seattle on American Airlines and 3- night accommodations at the 4-Star W Seattle Hotel. Travel June 21- June 24.

This stylish hotel is located in Seattle’s prime downtown setting just three blocks from the Seattle Art Museum and seven blocks from the Pike Place Market and Pacific Place shopping.

Seattle is a great place to visit during the summer. With its vibrant scenery and oceanside setting, there are endless things to do. For a relaxing day trip, I recommend taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island (about a half hour trip). There you can check out the many breweries, wineries, vineyards and quaint shops and cafes. Or I recommend checking out the Experience Music Project Museum to get a taste of Seattle’s great music scene.

Amusement Park Getaways

Cedar Point – Sandusky, Ohio

Cedar Point is a 5-hour drive from Chicago (one hour west of Cleveland). The park has the world’s largest collection of roller coasters and was voted “America’s Favorite Amusement Park”

Stay at the family-friendly Cedar Point’s Castaway Bay Resort, which offers it’s own waterpark within the resort and is located within a few-minutes of the Cedar Point, Soak City and Challenge Park entrance gates. Summer rates start at $184/night.

Cedar Point’s brand new “Maverick” coaster marks the 17th roller coaster for the park – a new world record. This train-like new thriller offers one of the steepest first drops and soars at 70 mph through Wild West scenery.

Wisconsin Dells

For a closer-to-home amusement park getaway, I recommend visiting Wisconsin Dells – the waterpark capital of the world, which is about a 3 hour drive from Chicago (located in Central Wisconsin).

Stay at the Wyndham Tamarak Hotel, which is conveniently located three miles from the Mt. Olympus Theme Park and Noah’s Ark Water Park. Rates start at $165/night for travel June 28 – July 1.

For a day of fun, I recommend visiting Mount Olympus Water & Theme Park – Rates starting at $33/person over 2 years old – This summer check out the grand opening of “Poseidon’s Rage – one of the world’s largest surf pools. Or, visit Noah’s Ark Water Park, America’s largest water park that features 45 waterslides, 2 huge wave pools, 2 endless rivers, 4 childrens water play areas and much more. Daily admission range from $25.99 – $31.99.

Just a few places to look at. One thing I can say is that I have noticed that prices can change daily on some of these travel sites like Expedia, Priceline and Hotwire. The best way to get a deal is to get an idea of the range of prices you can expect, then figure out how much you want to spend. After that you can just keep searching until you find what you want. That’s why on big trips I recommend starting about a year in advance.

My wife and I (and our friends) started planning our trip to Jamaica a year and a half early. It hard because you just want to go now, but it’s also exciting planning it out. Plus, you can think about what you really want to do, so you don’t get there and not know what to do.

Posted on June 4, 2007 - Filed Under Beach Vacations, Beach and Vacation Travel Tips and Help, Beaches to go See, Recommended Beaches and Places

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