Guide Extra: Travel Book Review
Dateline: 08/28/98
500
Best USA Vacations
Edited by: R. Alan Fox
Publisher: Vacation Publications, Inc.
Publisher’s Address: 1502 Augusta Drive, Suite 415, Houston, TX 77057
Copyright: 1996
Paperback
Pages: 248
While not a "New England" book per se, I love this little travel guide which has 500 suggestions for unique American vacations, including quite a few in the six New England states.
While foreign destinations and exotic ports of call may lure many American travelers each year, Vacation Publications, Inc.’s "500 Best USA Vacations: The Ultimate Guide to America’s Travel Treasures," edited by R. Alan Fox and written by a plethora of accomplished travel writers, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that one could spend an entire vacation lifetime stateside without ever tiring of America’s attractions. Culled from a variety of sources including 700 destinations featured in "Vacations" magazine’s annual "100 Best USA Summer Vacations" and 3,000 reader suggestions, the 500 trips that made the cut range from the strange to the sublime.
Looking for a "Haunted Hideaway?" A chapter featuring lodgings so luring that even the dead can’t resist will lead you to a classic Maine shipbuilder’s home turned B&B, an 1872 New Mexico former saloon which served as the stage for 26 gunfights and two stabbings and which now offers overnight guests a chance to spot the specters of bandits and gamblers, and more. Is something a bit quainter up your alley? The "Idyllic Small Towns" chapter points travelers to undiscovered gems like Eureka Springs, Arkansas, with its "twisting streets" and Victorian homes and trolley transportation, and Carmel-by-the-Sea, a tiny California diamond studded with more than 70 art studios, galleries, and antique shops.
Each of the 500 suggestions is captivatingly presented in a concise, punchy style which is enough to entice and inspire the prospective traveler to research each travel recommendation, and all of the necessary information is provided to make planning a jaunt a snap. Addresses and phone numbers for travel and visitors bureaus and for specific accommodations and attractions mentioned are included for each featured vacation.
While not a substitute for a more in-depth travel guide to a particular American city or state, this guidebook’s simplicity and thematic approach makes it one that avid travelers will turn to again and again for a seemingly bottomless well of ideas. Other chapters point would-be adventurers to America’s river towns, scenic drives, historical places, and "streets of dreams." Readers will also find a myriad of options in chapters on weekend getaways, active adventures, natural wonders, and romantic inns. There’s even a round-up of "Fun and Funky Festivals" that have a uniquely American spirit and flare.
If you’re searching for the offbeat, the untamed, the unusual vacation destination, one you’ll be talking about for years, "500 Best USA Vacations" is your map emblazoned with 500 "Xs" marking the country’s most treasured vacation spots.
