Get away and travel for new years

New Year’s Day is the end of the holiday season.  For many of us, it’s the most stressful time of the year.  If you just need to get away from it all and chill out after a long, tough holiday season, here are some new years travel ideas.

One way to save some money is to find a vacation package.  There are plenty of them out there, so no matter what your family’s tastes, there’s a family vacation package for you.

Warm Up

If you’re living in the land of ice and snow up north, you may simply want a break from the cold, the stopped traffic, the dangerous driving and the messy, ugly slushy roads.  If this is the case, take a short trip down south.  Both California and Florida tend to stay fairly balmy during this time of year in the south, so you don’t even have to leave the U.S. to warm up a bit.  Head down to Orlando to take in the many theme parks, or go down to Miami or the Keys and hit the beach.

If the west coast is more your speed, shoot down to Los Angeles and take in the sights.  Within a relatively short drive is Hollywood and nearly every major film studio that you can tour, and beaches galore.  For warmer weather, you can go even further south to San Diego.

Cool Down

Getting too warm in the middle of winter is usually not an issue, even you live in the south, but it’s winter!  Seeing a little snow is always nice.  If you live in a place where there’s no snow, take a New Year’s trip up to a winter wonderland.  Vermont is one of the many states with great ski lodges and others wintery fun that you can take advantage of.  And as long as you’re “thinking cold,” why not take in a tour of the Ben and Jerry’s factory while you’re up there?

On the west side of the continent, there’s Vancouver, which is a major film production center and has some truly spectacular views to see in the area.  Going to Canada is fairly painless, but requires a bit more up-front planning than a trip inside the U.S.

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See the Sights

The United States is packed with interesting historical sights.  Just about anywhere in the nation, you can see something interesting.  Whether it’s natural wonders like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley or the great Salt Lake, somewhere close to your part of the country is an amazing sight created by nature.

There are also plenty of amazing things to see in America that were created by man.  Whether it’s the arch of St. Louis, the Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore, just as with the natural wonders, there is some amazing man-made structure within a day’s drive of any spot in the U.S.

In addition to man-made and natural wonders, there are also many historical sites in the U.S.  Most of these are on the east coast, but not all of them.  There’s the oldest city in the U.S., Saint Augustine in Florida, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the sites of many battles from the war of independence and the civil war and of course the many, many historical sites in Washington D.C.

Outside of the east coast states, there are still plenty of historical sites though, such as the birthplaces of many of our presidents, the Alamo, and many other interesting and educational sites.

In many cases, multiple locations are close enough to combine natural, historical and man-made sites in one trip.  Mount Rushmore is close to the Badlands; The oldest city in the U.S. is near the Everglades, and a huge variety of interesting things abound in the areas surrounding Los Angeles, so no matter where you live, if you want a great, interesting getaway during your new years travel, you won’t have to go far to find it.