Memorial Day Weekend sneaks up on you. Suddenly, it's less than two weeks away, but it's not too late to plan a fabulous last-minute trip.
07.05.2024 - 18:09 / lonelyplanet.com
Settling yourself for a week or a weekend on a car-free island can come with unexpected benefits: the joy of getting around via bicycle, the conversations that happen while walking from one place to another, the hilarity of golfcart transportation. But while we all love a good road trip, sometimes the car is just a means to getting from point a to point b. On these islands, even the getting around is part of the fun. Not to mention its stress-free and incredibly freeing for everyone coming along on the trip.
This vacation season, choose to leave the car behind. From the Lowcountry of South Carolina to offshore Southern California and way up near the Canadian border, we’ve scoured the United States for some of the best places for car-free (and carefree) summer fun.
Best for a slow pace of life
Word is spreading about this remote island off the South Carolina coast, between Hilton Head and Savannah, that’s accessible by ferry only. But Daufuskie Island remains a sleepy, car-free escape where visitors and locals ply the oak-lined roads by bike or golf cart. Vacation rentals are available for overnight stays within the Haig Point community.
A favorite is the two-bedroom historic lighthouse said to be haunted by the friendly ghost of the former lightkeeper’s daughter. When you’re not exploring the island’s 3.5 miles of white sand beaches and quiet backroads, check out local galleries like The Iron Fish , visit a rum distillery or go horseback riding along the beach.
Best for dining on soft shell crabs
Located 12 miles off Virginia’s eastern shore and accessible by ferry, Tangier Island’s locals speak a unique dialect of English that’s been largely preserved since the 1700s.
Most visitors arrive on the car-free island for quick day trips via seasonal passenger ferries from Onancock, on Virginia’s mainland. But it’s worth settling in at a vacation rental or bed and breakfast for a night or longer to really feel the rhythm of a true fishing island (and to eat as many soft shell crabs – Tangier’s sublime seafood specialty – as you can).
Exploring more of Virginia? Here are the best places to visit right now
Best for snorkeling
Lapped by the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico, roughly 70 miles west of Key West, the seven tiny islands that make up the Dry Tortugas require a ferry or seaplane to reach. And it’s well worth the effort to get here from crowded Key West.
The reward comes in a car-free escape where you can camp beachfront at Garden Key, explore the historic 19th-century Fort Jefferson and snorkel in the pristine waters, where rays, parrot fish, sergeant majors and sea turtles (tortugas, from the islands’ name) abound.
Looking for other great places to visit in Florida? He
Memorial Day Weekend sneaks up on you. Suddenly, it's less than two weeks away, but it's not too late to plan a fabulous last-minute trip.
If you’ve ever sat in an even smaller than usual coach seat, had your flight canceled, or fought with a rude customer service agent—you know the airline you fly can make a huge difference in the pleasantness of your trip.
Jackson Hole offers adventure for every season. This wondrous Wyoming destination is irresistible to skiers eager to conquer the surrounding slopes, hikers longing to summit stunning peaks and naturalists excited to trek into some of the United States’ top national parks. The town, nestled amid the Rocky Mountains, makes a scenic base camp with luxurious lodgings to match. The next time adventure calls, Jackson Hole and its amazing accommodations await.
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The sun-drenched sepia photograph shows a dapper European, handkerchief in pocket, cigarette in hand, sitting among a row of men dressed in bisht and keffiyeh. The moment was captured during Jacques Cartier's first visit to the Persian Gulf in 1911, on his way back to London from Delhi—part of a sales trip encouraged by his father, Alfred, then the head of Cartier. The decline of the Ottoman Empire and the 1905 Persian Constitutional Revolution had flooded Europe's artistic centers with new influences, forging an aesthetic then known as “the Muslim arts.” Eager to learn more, Jacques spent four months traveling throughout Asia and the Middle East, rifling through bazaars and emporiums and mixing with high society.
It’s been yet another rocky year for the airlines amid a parade of troubling headlines ranging from problems with Boeing aircraft to concerns about cancellations and delays as we head into what could be a record-breaking summer for air travel. So, it may come as little surprise that fliers have mixed feelings about the airlines these days.
Part of the and specialising in ranch holidays across the US and Canada, leading tour operator American Round-Up is thrilled to announce a fresh lineup of captivating Western adventures for 2024. The list includes Ranchlands’ new Paintrock Canyon Ranch, the stylish glamping retreat located at the base of the Big Horn Mountains in Northern Wyoming, and The True Collection’s latest Yellowstone ranch pop-up, the historic Blackwater Creek Ranch only 15 miles from the east gates of America’s first ever national park.
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