AMERICA is still our most popular long-haul destination, with more than 4.1
million UK visitors last year. It is also one of the wackiest — treats this
year include a giant beagle-shaped B&B in Idaho, a teepee luxury spa
retreat in New Mexico, a glass-bottomed walkway hanging over the Grand
Canyon, a miniature Everest in Florida, and a chance to pan for diamonds
(and keep them) in Arkansas. Plus the exchange rate is great: almost $2 to
the pound. Prices listed are for package holidays in June and August.
FAMILIES
1. Expedition Everest is the biggest new attraction this year
at Disney’s Florida theme parks — at Animal Kingdom in Orlando. It consists
of a giant rollercoaster, with a “legend of the yeti” theme, that screeches
through a 300ft (91.5m) man-made “mountain” designed like the peak of
Everest — in the middle of pancake-flat Florida.
Details: Funway Holidays (0870 4440770;
www.funwayholidays.co.uk) has two-week Orlando trips. Adults £725/£1,050;
children aged under 12 £265-£530.
2. San Diego is the big new destination for British families
visiting the West Coast — popular for its 70 miles (112km) of pristine
beaches, SeaWorld, Legoland, zoo and Wild Animal Park. Los Angeles, with
Disneyland and Hollywood, is still a must-see, but now companies such as
Virgin are combining a week in LA with a week in San Diego.
Details: Virgin Holidays (0871 2220306,
www.virginholidays.co.uk). Adults £1,093/£1,359; children aged 12-16
£919-£1,199.
3. TrekAmerica has a new ten-day escorted camping tour from
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming — known for its elk, buffalo, moose and
Old Faithful geyser — to Jackson, to see a rodeo, and on to Dinosaur
National Monument, with its dinosaur fossils, and the Moab desert. Children
help to set up tents and cook camp-fire meals.
Details: TrekAmerica (0870 4448735, www.trekamerica.com). Adults £455-£512;
children aged 8-16 £410-£461.
4. Stay in frontier-style cabins (but with all mod cons) on a
ranch in Texas during this week-long trip. Ranch America offers full-board
outdoor breaks for families at Wildcatter Ranch, 90 miles northwest of Fort
Worth. Horse riding, canoeing, climbing, hiking, fishing and swimming are
included.
Details: Ranch America (01923 671831, www.ranchamerica.co.uk). Adults
£1,395-£1,540; children under 12 £850-£890.
5. The Skywalk at Grand Canyon West, a horseshoe- shaped,
glass-floored walkway extending 70ft out from a cliff-top, 4,000ft above the
Grand Canyon, is one of the scarier highlights on this 11-day escorted
Canyons and Cowboys family holiday.
Details: Exodus (0870 2405550, www.exodus.co.uk). Adults £1,304-£1,854;
children aged 6-11 £1,194-£1,684.
6. Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is the summer playground for
affluent East Coasters, and more Britons are recognising its laid-back
charms. Self-catering two-bedroom cottages with barbecue decks in Harbour
Village are a good family option.
Details: Bon Voyage (0800 3163012, www.bon-voyage.co.uk). Adults £959/£1,399;
children under 12 £652/£999.
7. Hawaii is not just for honeymooners: it’s great for
families, too. Self-catering accommodation is available, including Estates
at Turtle Bay on Oahu, which has two- bedroom apartments for 14 nights with
air-conditioning.
Details: Jetlife (0870 7875957, www.jetlife.co.uk). Adults £1,849-£2,131;
children under 12 £479-£623.
COUPLES
8. Wild Frontiers has a two-week Thelma & Louise “cowgirl
power” road trip. The self-drive holiday is in an open-top car travelling
from Oklahoma City to Las Vegas, via Amarillo, parts of the old Route 66 and
the Grand Canyon. Stays are in “kitsch hotels and crazy lodges”.
Details: Wild Frontiers (020-7736 3968, www.wildfrontiers.co.uk). From
£1,995-£2,100pp.
9. Follow the John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park,
California, during a ten-day camping trip. The tour includes a drive through
Death Valley to Las Vegas. Four nights are in hotels.
Details: KE Adventure (01768 773966, www.keadventure.com). From £2,245pp.
10. The Dog Bark Park Inn in Boise, Idaho, is one of the most
unusual places to stay in the world: a one-room B&B based in a 12ft-high
structure in the shape of a giant beagle.
Details: Trailfinders (020-7938 3939, www.trailfinders.com) has a fortnight
fly-drive to Boise, Idaho from £699-£859. Dog Bark Park Inn
(www.dogbarkparkinn.com), rooms from £53.
11. Travelbag has five nights in Washington at Hotel Rouge, a
five-star pad in the trendy Dupont Circle neighbourhood, followed by five
nights at the Royalton Hotel, designed by Philippe Starck, on 44th Street in
New York. A hire car is provided to drive from Washington to the Big Apple.
Details: Travelbag (0870 8146545, www.travelbag.co.uk) from £1,280-£1,463pp.
12. The Green Mountain Trail 12-night walking holiday takes
you through Vermont’s national forests, stopping at B&B inns, many
of which are directly on trails. Three nights at the Beacon Hill Hotel in
Boston are included.
Details: Inntravel (01653 617906, www.inntravel.co.uk). From £1,945pp.
13. The East Coast 13-day escorted tour takes in key sites
connected with colonial and Civil War history. It begins in Atlanta, before
heading to Washington, Philadelphia and New York.
Details: Page & Moy (0870 0106400, www.pageandmoy.com). From
£1,299pp-£1,499pp.
14. Try your luck at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in
Arkansas. You can pan for diamonds — and keep what you find — on this
week-long fly-drive.Hotels are provided for two nights each in Little Rock,
Hot Springs and Eureka Springs, plus one night in Conway.
Details: Premier Holidays (0870 8890854, www.premierholidays.co.uk). From
£1,039pp for a week in June; £1,415pp for two weeks in August.
SINGLES
15. An 11-day walking break in New England, based at a
half-board inn, takes in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, including a
section of the Appalachian Trail. There are stop-offs in Lenox to see The
Mount, Edith Wharton’s former home. A performance by the Boston Symphony
Orchestra is included.
Details: Ramblers Holidays (01707 331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk). From
£1,587.
16. A “pack trip” in Montana, into the eastern Rockies, is
one of the most remote in America. You are led on horseback by guides for
six nights’ camping.
Details: (01798 865946, www.americanroundup.com). From £1,923.
17. Hoping to discover your spiritual side? If so, the El
Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa in New Mexico could be for you. El
Monte Sagrado has “luxury teepees” with gourmet meals, yoga classes, spa
treatments, acu-pressure, and hiking from £620 a day.
Details: (00 1 505 758 3502, www.elmontesagrado.com).
18. Experts approved by the Smithsonian Institute are on hand
during an eight-day Boston to Berkshires art tour that covers the Clark Art
Institute in Williamstown — where a presentation on New England artists is
made — and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. Accommodation is in
hotels.
Details: Collette Worldwide Holidays (0800 0921888, www.collettevacations.com).
From £1,829/£2,009.
19. Holland America Line’s nine-night glacier cruises in
Alaska stop at Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. Native artists and experts in
traditional culture make presentations on this full-board cruise.
Details: Holland America Line (020-7940 4477,
www.hollandamerica.com). From £2,278/£2,713.
20. Delivering cars from one part of the country to another
is one of the cheapest ways to get across America. You will be given a car
with a full tank of petrol, and a certain number of days to transport it.
Drivers must be aged 23 or over.
Details: Autodriveaway (www.autodriveaway.com). Free, but £200 deposit
required.
