Kids Travel Picks Archives - Page 5 of 8

Kids Travel Picks

Is Busch Gardens Christmas Town Worth the Cost? Plus Tips From Locals

December 23, 2016 by Dana Zeliff 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

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Are you considering a trip to Busch Gardens Christmas Town? Christmas Town is one of our favorite family traditions. Each year we take the kids to experience the park, drink hot chocolate and see the lights. But is it worth the cost? If you’re unsure if you should spend the extra cash, I’ve listed some of the pros and cons to help make your decision.

Pros:

Gorgeous light display – Busch Gardens definitely has one of the best light displays in VA with more than eight million lights! The entire park is lit up and the Polar Pathway is a sight to behold. We can’t even fathom how they get all those lights on Escape from Pompeii!

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Getting Up Close With the Animals at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens

November 17, 2016 by Dana Zeliff 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

cotswold-wildlife-park-and-gardens-england-zoo

If you’re searching for Cotswold’s attractions for kids, look no further than the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens in Burford. A mix between a zoo and a safari park, the Cotswold Wildlife Park will delight visitors, young and old. The park boasts of over 260 different species of animals & has the largest privately owned zoological collection in the UK.

As you walk around the grounds, you’ll notice spacious enclosures for the animals that blend in with the natural environment, taking advantage of the beautiful Bradwell Grove Estate. Visitors can get closer to animals than in many of the other zoological collections we’ve visited. Even the kids noted how nice it must be for the animals to have so much space.

The park is divided into several sections, each with it’s own unique plant and animal life. Our first stop was at the Large Animals section, home of the giant tortoises and the parks oldest resident, both in age and duration. These massive reptiles were fascinating to watch. They may be slow and ponderous but their size amazed us when compared to their smaller turtle cousins we were used to seeing. We had seen the giant tortoises at only one other park.

Large rhino enclosure with the Manor House in the backdrop.

Next, in large paddocks you’ll see the white rhinoceros up close and personal. Never have we been this close to one. They are usually so far back at our home zoo that you need the long-range camera lens to get a good picture. These guys were just hanging out, having breakfast near the moat. While we were safe from the animals (and they were safe from us), the design of the wildlife park made feel it like you could just walk right up to the them.

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Weekend at the Gorges du Verdon – Exploring the Grand Canyon of France

June 21, 2016 by Dana Zeliff 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

Weekdn at the Gorges du Verdon

Sometimes it’s nice to leave the city and sea behind and escape to the mountains for a bit of R&R. When researching where to get away for the weekend, we kept coming across gorgeous photos of Les Gorges du Verdon in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region of France. Factor in that I could also check off a bucket list item – visiting the lavender fields, we jumped at the opportunity for a trip in mid-June.

The Gorges du Verdon or Verdon Gorge is about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) long and up to 700 meters (2296.59 feet) deep. At the end of the canyon, the Verdon River flows into the man-made lake, the Lac de Sainte-Croix. The gorgeous turquoise-green color just begs you to take a dip in its clear waters.

Visitors can take a leisurely drive around the rim of the Verdon Gorge, hike, rent kayaks & even rock climb the massive limestone walls. It’s a nature lovers dream trip just a couple of hours from the French Riviera.

Here is a look at our itinerary plus a few tips to make your trip a success.

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Cork and Blarney Castle Tour – Our Day Trip from Dublin with Extreme Ireland

April 27, 2016 by Dana Zeliff 20 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

Day Trip from Dublin

We finally made our first trip to Ireland! Trying to see a representative portion of the country in six short days took a considerable amount of planning. We considered a road trip, but I was a bit nervous about driving on the opposite side of the road. After a lot of discussion, we decided to base ourselves out of Dublin and take a day trip from Dublin to other parts of the country every other day and leave the driving to someone else. We could get a taste of what Ireland had to offer and maybe even discover places we wanted to visit again.

One of the things everyone said we HAD to do while in Ireland was to kiss the Blarney Stone. My first thought was “why do people kiss the blarney stone?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to put my lips on something thousands of other people have kissed, but as a veteran traveler you have to be game for almost anything. Besides, we would be visiting a castle to kiss it and that is one place I think all kids like to explore.

The day after arriving in Dublin, we jumped on board a comfortable coach with Extreme Ireland to visit Blarney Castle and Cork. The day started off EARLY – with the bus leaving at 6:50am! We had a lot to pack into one day.

Our guide, Jennifer, greeted us and gave a brief itinerary for the day. I was thrilled to learn of a coffee stop planned about an hour into our drive as I was in desperate need of my morning caffeine. The apartment we rented didn’t have a coffee maker and none of the coffee shops opened before 7am. You do NOT want to be around me when I haven’t had coffee!

As we drove out of the city, Jennifer gave us a bit of Dublin history. Of course, some of that history included Guinness. In 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease. I thought maybe I had heard that number wrong. Who in their right mind signsa lease for 9,000 years? I did a google search the next day and sure enough, Mr. Guinness was an optimistic man. Only 8743 years left!

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Nice Carnival Parade in Pictures – One More Reason You Should Visit Nice in February

March 3, 2016 by Dana Zeliff Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

Carnival Parade in Nice, France

One of the winter highlights along the French Riviera is the Nice Carnival. Each year, a million visitors attend Carnaval de Nice enjoying the fun, sea, sunshine and Niçoise cuisine.

The 2016 theme was King of Media (Roi des Médias). The floats this year didn’t disappoint with their big head construction, jabs at over consumerism and even portrayed our obsession with cellphones. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Queen had cellphones coming out of her head!

The carnival parade included a procession of 16 floats and entertainment from over 1,000 musicians and dancers from across the world. The high energy event takes place day and night on the Place Masséna with adults and children dancing, throwing confetti and spraying of silly string. Your senses will be awash of thumping music and an array of colors splashing across the sky.

Take a look below at some of our favorite floats and entertainment from the event. The carnavaliers are true masters of their craft and incorporate impressive details into the floats.

A few interesting facts:

There were 44 performing groups from 10 countries including Colombia, Korea, Croatia, Spain, France, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, and UK.
The 16 carnival parade floats were 12 m long by 3 m wide (39.4 ft X 9.8 ft) and from 8 to 17 m (26.2 ft – 55.8 ft) high!
There were 180 animation elements including the traditional big heads.