by Sangay Glass

Created on: June 20, 2007   Last Updated: February 08, 2009

Many people can't afford the time or cost of an extended vacation, but there are some great options for day, weekend, or midweek getaways.

The trick in turning a quick getaway into a mini vacation is all in the mind set.

Remember how exciting it was as a kid to think all week long about a Friday class trip?

You can get that same anticipatory rush by doing some research. Planning may seem like a chore, but it actually builds excitement. It helps you envision what you are going to do, how much fun you're going to have, and how relaxing your trip will be.

So, get busy. The best thing is most of your planning can be done with the click of a mouse.

Here are some ideas for quick trips for inspiration:

1) Become A Tourist In Your Local Area

Just about every Country, City, Province or State has local attractions that the locals never bother to check out. Some are wacky like road side attractions, or just a place of interest like historical sites.

One really fun touristy thing to do as a family or couple is getting out the video camera and taking turns to be either the host or cameraman of a pretend travel show. Then send your video to http://travel.discovery.com/share/share.html , who knows you might get a new career.

Sites like www.wierdtourist-attractions.com are helpful in finding neat new places to see, as are Chambers of Commerce and Google searches under fun things to do in say...Homestead, Florida which by the way is where you'll find the Mysterious Coral Castle as seen on the 1970's creep show "In Search OF" hosted by Leonard Nemoy.

You're only limited by how far you want to travel to get there, or how long you want to stay.

2) Get A Room

Nothing says vacation better than not having to cook or clean up after yourself. This is one of the few times when baggage won't bog down the spirit.

We don't have a pool so it's a real treat for the kids to spend dawn till dusk in a hotel or motel swimming pool. It also gives me time to catch up on reading, do some writing, and depending on the services offered, I can be served lunch and cocktails poolside.

If your're still in the honeymoon stage of a relationship. Some of the larger hotel chains have theme rooms with Jacuzzi tubs (which I like because I can drain them and clean them to my standards). They can be found throughout the world. For USA and Canada try http://www.romanticmotels.com which had the largest data base I could find.

3) Try Something New

When people go away for vacation they tend to become adventurous. Don't short change

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>