With 35 miles of beach and 18,600 acres of state park, Virginia Beach is a perfect place to find outdoorsy, inexpensive adventures. There is a resort zone with shops and restaurants, but it’s compact, while the parks and reserves sprawl almost endlessly.
If you’re traveling as a family, take a day to visit the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. It just completed a $25-million renovation and opened a new permanent installation called The Restless Planet. This brings the exhibit count in the Aquarium up to about 300—most of them interactive in some way. Museum admission is under $20 for adults, slightly discounted for children.
Starting out from just outside Naples in southwest Florida, the 50-mile Tamiami Trail Scenic Highway will take you into the heart of one of America’s last topical wilderness: the Everglades. The wetlands of Big Cypress National Preserve (and adjacent Everglades National Park) protect rare orchids, the endangered Florida panther, and a thriving ecosystem under siege from the demands of agriculture and urbanization.
File this nightly event under: Must See to Understand. And yes, it’s free! Famous within certain circles and a wonderful surprise to tourists who discover it without forewarning, Key West’s sunset party in Mallory Square is one of America’s greatest street theater experiences. The level of talent spans the spectrum, from “Wow, isn’t that guy in Cirque du Soleil?” to “Wow, I can’t believe that guy would make such a fool out of himself in public.” There are jugglers and acrobats and musicians and performance artists… as well as crafters and vendors, hawkers and hagglers, and hordes of European tourists who are typically more wowed by the sunset than the human spectacles playing out from every direction. (Street theater is not uncommon in Europe, after all.)
Created by a rich developer from a wealthy family, as a playground for his similarly wealthy friends, Hilton Head seems—by reputation at least—like the kind of place where you need to be worth millions to get past the front gate. But that’s not the case. This picturesque island has its gated communities, yes, but it welcomes all kinds of tourists, and its activities are diverse. If you don’t want to splash out, you can find a lot of ways to stretch a $100 bill around Hilton Head.
For $100
Get a 50-minute therapeutic massage at FACES DaySpa and still have money left over for tip.
OR rent bicycles for a family of four for the entire week at Pedals Bicycles.
For $75
Pay your half of the couples’ green fees at any of the Heritage Golf Collection courses including Shipyard Golf Club, Port Royal Golf Club, and Oyster Reef Golf Club.
OR get a one-hour private tennis lesson at Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center.
You want great music, comfort food, fun for all ages, and an affordable price tag? Take your pick of places. But if you want all that plus Elvis impersonators, ducks on parade, and a great American river, then Memphis is the only place for you.
First and foremost, obviously you’ve gotta do Graceland. Yeah, it’s a tourist trap, and some people find all that old-school pop idol worship—and all those souvenirs—a little cheesy. But this is the birthplace of America’s King! Pay your respects, and take comfort in the fact that everything’s self-guided, so if you’ve got squirrelly children or a personal low tolerance for Elvis mania, just do the mansion tour and then get out.
So often, when people say a place is an “arts community,” they’re actually referring to a twee little town with lots of galleries catering to the very rich. Not vibrant, not authentic, not welcoming.
And then occasionally, you get a place like Asheville, North Carolina. Nestled up against the Smoky Mountains, this town embraces its artists, providing plenty of space for them to create and exhibit, and plenty of events and venues where they can be seen. The Asheville Downtown Gallery Association numbers more than 30 members, while the River Arts District contains dozens of studios, all within walking distance of each other. Historic Biltmore Village and the Grove Arcade are two local landmarks converted into shopping centers; both have various fun little galleries and craft places to explore. Great one-stop venues where you can see works from many local artists include the Bender Gallery in downtown Asheville and the Folk Art Center, a major exhibitor of Southern Appalachian mountain art and crafts.
Here are some free things to do in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, for when you're not out sampling the area's great local wines and exploring the trails and lakes.
Name of activity: The Arnot Art Museum Location: Elmira, New York
Price: Free
Description: Housed in its original 1833 showcase, with a grand late-20th- century gallery addition, the museum displays its permanent collection of 17th- to 19th-century European paintings and 19th- and 20th-century American art. Temporary exhibits highlight various aspects of the collections and include works from around the world.
Dates open/available: Year-round
Website: www.arnotartmuseum.org
Name of activity: Second City “8 Days a Week” series at the Candy Box Theater
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Price: Free
Description:The Second City Training Centre's 8 Days a Week series has a different comedy show every night, each one pay-what-you-can.
Dates open/available: Year-round
Website: www.secondcity.com
Creative play comes naturally at the top-ranked Children's Museum of Houston. Kids discover pond life and watch eco-friendly puppet shows at the EcoStation, shop at a re-created Mexican village's open-air market, and dress up and role-play at the Victorian Playhouse. There’s even a “city” run by kids, Kidtropolis, featuring a real-life, kid-sized metropolis complete with a skyline, city government, occupations, and the systems that make a city work. The museum offers free family nights on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m.
Photo credit: Children's Museum of Houston, Texas (Greater Houston CVB)
Name of activity: Park City Museum
Location: Park City, Utah
Price: Adults are $10, youths (7-17) are $5, and children are free Description:
After a $9 million renovation and a two-year closure, the Park City Museum reopened its doors in October 2009. The newly remodeled museum provides locals and visitors a hands-on experience with Park City's historic mining past. Take a peek at a 30-foot diorama of the old Park City mine shafts and buildings, test out what it was like to use a jackhammer or dynamite to dig through the tunnels. Or, spend some time in Utah's only remaining territorial jail cells (in the basement of the museum, naturally).
Dates open/available: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday, 12-6 p.m.; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Website: www.parkcityhistory.org
